This week, we celebrate the festival of sukkot which is, according to our tradition: z’man simchateinu, the time of our joy. One would imagine a festival of joy to find us gathering in lavish settings, enjoying the fruits of our labour; a time of excess and ostentatious celebration. Instead, we go outside to temporary dwellings, simple huts with roofs which allow the rain to fall inside, exposed to the elements. We separate ourselves from the permanence of our lives and confront the fragility of our existence.
From that place, we begin to understand how fleeting our wealth and possessions are, how it can all be taken from us in an instant. That we build walls and structures which give an illusion of security but in the end, they are just that: illusions. When we sit in our sukkot, we are forced to consider what is really important, what truly makes us happy and that is not necessarily our possessions, our wealth but rather the nurturing of our spirit, community, finding meaning in our lives.
We read the book of Kohelet, Eccelesiastes, whose author has, by his own admission, acquired riches and wealth beyond imagining but found it does not bring him happiness. Dwelling in our sukkot reminds us the true source of our joy, not in material possessions but in finding and counting our blessings. The joy of the festival comes not from lavish excess but rather the recognition that we don’t need those things to be happy, that we can find joy in other places.
We turn towards one another. Sukkot is the time we are called to invite guests into our sukkot, to share the time with others, to reach out and see that our blessings can come from connection and inclusion from being part of a spiritual community of searchers, rather than from the acquisition of possessions and wealth.
And we are reminded that each of us is important and significant. When we shake the lulav we bring together the four elements, each representing a different kind of person, we hold them as one, reminding us of the diversity of our communities, our connection with one another and the significance of each element. We all bring our differences and our uniqueness and each of us is important and has a role to play, a place and a home in our community.
But the joy of sukkot is not all austere deprivation. Interestingly, the rules of sukkot also remind us to celebrate. Even though our sukkot are impermanent and open to the elements, we are to make them places of beauty and comfort. If the weather is bad, we are called to go inside. A passage from the Talmud says: “if the weather is bad enough to spoil your soup, a person who stays in the sukkah is an ignoramus.” Sukkot is not a time of suffering, it is a time for relaxation, friends and family. The author of Kohelet reminds us that our days are fleeting, we have a limited time on earth so we should “eat drink and be merry” enjoy the fruits of our labour, enjoy the blessings we are privileged to possess.
So, Sukkot is a festival which brings us joy by helping us to recognise what is truly important, bringing together community, enjoying our blessings and sharing it with others.
May Sukkot be a season of joy for us all.
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi Jacqueline Ninio