fbpx
Kol Tikvah

November 14, 2024 ()

Sukkot: One Year Ago

Rabbi’s Reflections on Sukkot: One Year Ago

By Rabbi Jon Hanish (10/15/24)

A year ago, I endured my third of six rounds of chemotherapy.

A year ago, I could barely move from my bed to my couch without exhaustion overwhelming me. 

A year ago, I purchased a new sukkah. 

In the midst of experiencing extreme physical weakness and contemplating the limited nature of life, I was determined to build a new home – just like my ancestors did – I wanted a sukkah unlike any I had in the past. I wanted a new temporary shelter. I said goodbye to the bent poles of a 20 year old sukkah. Out with the old and in with the new. I purchased a new sukkah kit. I didn’t have the strength to pick it up so friend and congregant Adam Friedman drove it over. He offered to help me build it but I didn’t have the strength that day and wanted to be part of the process. I was not going to have someone else put it up. 

A few days later, I enlisted a visiting cousin and my wife, and together we set out to build this new edifice. Now, I’d like to claim it was an architectural achievement, but it was a much simpler structure than my prior sukkah. We were done in under an hour. And, while I’d like to think I did most of the heavy lifting, I can’t guarantee that I did. Those days remain foggy in my memory. Nonetheless, I was proud of it, proud of the fact that somehow, the holiday was not going to pass me by. I was going to honor the mitzvah of dwelling in a sukkah – in a sukkah I put together with a little help from family.

For the next week, I had a third stop in my daily route – from bed, to couch, to sukkah. That last stop made me feel whole. In a folding chair under a canopy of thatch, I contemplated the beauty of being outdoors, of being alive, of seeing another day. I invited in ushpizin, honored guests, in the form of memories of past sukkot celebrations with family, friends, congregants, and classmates.  I remembered the joy of evenings spent outside having a drink or two or three after eating too much food… I remembered singing songs until late into the night… I remembered waving the lulav and etrog too many times in order to teach others… I remembered elaborate meal planning… I remembered so many moments of joy and happiness and fun that occurred in the sukkah. 

I remembered. 

And, I felt blessed.     

Before Sukkot starts on Wednesday night, I’ll pull out my now one-year-old sukkah. It became part of my life when I was ill. Now, it is part of my life, life in remission. Whatever my state of being, I will dwell in it alone and with others in order to share the joys of sukkot. 

May your sukkah give you the same comfort mine gave me just 12 months ago. 

Sukkot beings Wednesday night.

Kol Tikvah’s Sukkot service, followed by a community celebration, will take place on October 18 at 5:30 p.m. RSVP here.

Kol Tikvah’s Sukkot Yizkor will take place on October 23 at 7:00 p.m. Prior to the service, join us in the sukkah at 6:00 p.m. for a Wine & Cheese Gathering. RSVP here

***

SUMMARY OF SUKKOT FROM THE URJ

  • Sukkot is one of the most joyful festivals on the Jewish calendar. “Sukkot,” a Hebrew word meaning “booths” or “huts,” refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest. The holiday has also come to commemorate the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after the giving of the Torah atop Mt. Sinai.
  • Also called Z’man Simchateinu (Season of Our Rejoicing), Sukkot is the only festival associated with an explicit commandment to rejoice. Sukkot is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, and is marked by several distinct traditions. One, which takes the commandment to dwell in booths literally, is to erect a sukkah, a small, temporary booth or hut. Sukkot (in this case, the plural of sukkah) are commonly used during the seven-day festival for eating, entertaining and even for sleeping.
  • Our sukkot have open walls and open doors, and this encourages us to welcome as many people as we can. We invite family, friends, neighbors, and community to rejoice, eat, and share what we have with each other.
  • Another name for Sukkot is Chag HaAsif (Festival of the Ingathering), representing the importance in Jewish life of giving thanks for the bounty of the earth.

FOR MORE ON THIS HOLIDAY GO TO: 

https://reformjudaism.org/jewish-holidays/sukkot

For past Torah Talks go to: https://www.koltikvah.org/learning/torah-talk/

To make a donation: https://koltikvah.shulcloud.com/donate

WEBSITES FOR UPDATES ON THE STATE OF JEWISH AFFAIRS: 

RAC (Religious Action Center of the Reform Movement)

https://rac.org/

ADL (Anti-Defamation League) 

https://www.adl.org/

Jewish Federation of Los Angeles

https://jewishla.org

Campus Impact Network

https://www.jewishla.org/program/cin/

Community Security Initiative

https://www.jewishla.org/program/community-security-initiative/

Hillel International

https://www.hillel.org/

Standwithus

https://www.standwithus.com/

AIPAC

https://www.aipac.org/

J Street

https://jstreet.org/

Images of the Hostages

https://www.kidnappedfromisrael.com/