The
Jewish lunar month of Tishri, which falls in September and October on the civil
calendar, is the busiest time of the Jewish year, filled with holidays and
observances both solemn and joyous. Within the past two weeks we have
celebrated Rosh Hashanah (the New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement),
the start and the conclusion of a 10-day period of spiritual self-reckoning,
penitence and renewal, a time when we stand in judgment before God and pray for
forgiveness for our past transgressions. Wednesday evening, Oct. 16 at sundown,
marked the beginning of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths or Tabernacles, a joyous
festival that is observed for seven days and that is referred to in the liturgy
as “the season of our rejoicing.”
Sukkot
is one of the three pilgrimage festivals, during which, in ancient times, Jews
in the land of Israel would visit the Temple in Jerusalem to worship and to
bring offerings. All three of the
pilgrimage holidays (the others are Passover in the early springtime and
Shavuot, the Feast of Weeks, in the late spring) are related to both the
agricultural year and its harvests and to the historical experience of the
Israelite people. Sukkot, because it occurs at the conclusion of the
agricultural year before the onset of the winter rainy season, was likely a
more popular and convenient time for undertaking a pilgrimage than the other
festivals. It was known additionally as the festival of Ingathering, because
the harvested crops had been processed and stored away for the winter – grapes
made into wine, wheat and barley milled into flour.
The
historical significance of Sukkot is to recall that the Israelites during their
journey from Egypt to the promised land lived not in homes but in temporary
shelters. Although it is more likely that those traversing the desert of Sinai
would have dwelt in tents, Scripture refers instead to booths. “You shall live
in booths seven days” in order to remember “that I made the Israelite people
live in booths when I brought them up out of the land of Egypt” (Leviticus
23:42-43).
For
Sukkot, observant Jews put up an outdoor structure called a sukkah that is
enclosed on at least two sides and part of a third. The roof must be
constructed from something that is organic, that grew in the ground but is now
detached from it – corn stalks, branches cut from a tree, or bamboo, for
example – and that is laid on top of the sukkah, so that there is more shade
than sunlight within but so that one can still look up and see the sky. An
additional reason for the sukkah might be the association with harvest time,
when farmers, because of the pressures of their labors, would sleep in
temporary shelters out in the fields rather than returning home at night. The scriptural
command to live in the sukkah entails, weather permitting, having all of one’s
regular meals during the holiday week in the booth rather than indoors.
During
Sukkot, it is customary to take up in one’s hands a festive bouquet made up of
a palm frond (lulav) with sprigs of myrtle and willow along with a citron
(etrog), to recite a blessing and to wave it upwards, downwards, and in all
four directions of the compass, to symbolize that God’s presence is everywhere.
The Four Species, as they are called, are associated with the various organs of
the human body (myrtle leaves, for example, resemble eyes, and the leaves of
willow look like lips) and are interpreted as a reminder that God is to be
worshipped with all of our human faculties, physical and spiritual. According
to rabbinic interpretation, these species also represent the personal qualities
of different members of the community, their virtues and their deficiencies.
Just as we hold these species together in our hands during Sukkot, so all of
us, whatever our individual merits, must come together to constitute a
community.
The
joy and gratitude for the bounties of the harvest that characterize the Sukkot
festival served as the inspiration for the Pilgrims in 17th century New England
to proclaim a Thanksgiving observance and celebrate a festive meal.
Along
with the joy of Sukkot, it should be noted that there is also an underlying
current of sadness and wistfulness. The sukkah, a temporary structure open to
the elements, reminds us of the impermanence of life and the blessings it
brings us and of our vulnerability to adversity. After nearly three weeks of
holidays, we need to return to our weekday labors; and the arrival of winter
and its harsh weather is imminent. Accordingly, it is customary during Sukkot
to read the scriptural book of Ecclesiastes, which reflects a sense of futility
and despair, highlights the role that chance and mishap play in life, and
starkly describes the infirmities and indignities of aging. “Vanity of vanity,
all is vanity.” And yet, even within Ecclesiastes, there are notes of optimism
and hope. If we are realistic about life, there are opportunities for joy and
fulfillment that we have and which we need to seize when they come our way. “O
youth, enjoy yourself while you are young! Let your heart led you to enjoyment
in the days of your youth. Follow the desires of your heart and the glances of
your eyes … (11:9).
Rabbi
Barry Marks is rabbi emeritus of Temple Israel in Springfield.
This article appears in Citizens want a voice in CWLP.
