Liberal Judaism - Written Word - Thought for the Week

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You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens of Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations shall know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I the Eternal your God (Lev 23:42-43).

...you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days. You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow in your communities (Deut 16:13b-14).

However, I was so inclined to search for spare bits of wood from the garage and shed that would otherwise just clog up space, cut down some branches and cut back the bushes in the garden; get Liora and Shaya searching through nail and screw trays (generally there for decoration and pretence!) and picking out the flowers they wanted to make decorations with. In the growing twilight of the Monday between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, we added increasing numbers of clothing layers to extend the time we had outside making our booth, our sukkah for 5768.

When I looked back into the garden after they had gone to bed and in the last available natural light I reflected: I am truly rubbish at DIY and thank God Sukkot only lasts for seven days as I do not think it will stand for a day longer!

But oh what joy! What delight at being able to eat dinner in it, to look up and see the fading light, the stars and moon, to smell the last of this year's flowers, the apples from the tree, to see the vibrant colours of the vegetables grown. From the Torah it seems clear that the connection with the wilderness is a retrospective connection and some scholars suggest that the booths originated from the ingathering of produce before the winter came in (as described in Ex 23:16), the workers living in temporary huts in the fields.

I now know that its providence does not matter; getting my hands dirty was the most important thing. I may never pick up another hammer or nails again this year, but at home and also in fulfilling the mitzvah of chiddur mitzvah - beautifying the commandment - with fellow NPLS members for our communal sukkah, I disconnected with my life in time and joined with my ancestors in communities and families at this season to celebrate what is real.

p.s. please do not think me overly idealistic. I put the kids to bed and went back to the laptop, the mobile phone etc. But for those moments...I think we really live.

p.p.s. do not forget that the commandment is to, "rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, AND your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless and the widow in your communities." Do think who you might invite into your sukkah and at the very least, please see www.liberaljudaism.org/congregations to find your local Liberal Judaism community to bring tins and dried goods to donate to the food parcels that will be delivered to local charities and individuals in need.

Sukkot Commentary 5768

by Rabbi Aaron Goldstein