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We had the distinct pleasure of waiving Lulavs and eating in the Sukkah this past Sunday. For those present it was a glorious Sukkoth holiday. Here is a poem I wrote that captures some of the meaning of Sukkoth:
Life is like a Sukkah.
Temporary; fleeting; and, yet, somehow ever-present
7 days for Sukkoth, a permanent, set time.
Is the time of every soul established and permanent?
A Sukkah is like life.
Canvas blowing in the wind; the sky our ever-changing szchach.
Pieces of our lives as ornamentation; artwork hanging by string.
We are visitors in God's universe, God's Sukkah.
God is like an Etrog.
Beautiful. There for us to see and hold and smell;
Yet, amorphous just the same.
Nourishment? Adornment? Or something just to please the senses?
Man is like a lulav.
Multi-faceted; with a strength like the date palm.
And a presence like the pleasant scent of hadas
Yet weak like the leaves of the willow that wither quickly when out of water.
And somehow, just as the etrog is incomplete without the Lulav,
God is incomplete without Man;
Man is unfinished without God.
Each needs to hold the other gently, acknowledging existence together...East, South, West, North, to the Heavens, to the Earth.
Saturday morning, October 7th, is Shemini Atzeret. This means that we will have a Yizkor service that morning. Services begin at 9:00 am, and I expect Yizkor to be at about 10:30 am. As part of Yizkor observance, it is customary to light a Yahrtzeit candle the night before. Thus, this year, you should light the candle on Frida evening, October 6th, before lighting Shabbat candles.
Saturday evening at 6:00 pm we will be having Pizza-in-the-Hut. After dinner we will have Simchat Torah services which will include taking all the Torahs out and dancing with them.
Sunday morning, we will be a first. Services will begin at 9:00. At 10:00 AM, members of the congregation will be handing water out to runners engaged in the 18-mile run. While we normally would not participate in a sectarian event on a holiday, this year, since it only involves setting tables out in front of the JCC and handing water to thirsty runners, we are going to observe both our holiday and the run.
This will lead to the fulfillment of at least two mitzvahs. First, by giving water to the runners, we will be taking care of the needy. Secondly, everyone who joins us to hand out water, will be invited to join us in the JCC to dance with the Torahs!
When we are done dancing, we will finish reading the Torah and roll it all the way back so that we can read the very beginning of the scroll.
This is a momentous time in our tradition. The symbolism is, among other things, that every ending is a beginning. The Torah has been read completely, every year, for millennia.
We shift from the awe of the Holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur to the wonder of Sukkoth, to Shemini Atzeret, to helping runners to succeed in their goal, to the boundless joy of Simchat Torah. Join us for any, or all, of these happy events!
Shabbat Shalom and Moadim L’Simcha – Rabbi Michael S. Jay
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