Sukkot 5774

Sukkot 5774

A police man comes across a person standing under a street lamp frantically searching for his house keys.  As the police man approaches him he realizes that the man had been drinking.  He asks if he can assist him and proceeds to look for his keys in the immediate area as the man goes through each of his pockets.  Being unsuccessful in their attempts, the policeman asks the man how certain he is that this is the place he last saw his keys.  While pointing to the other side of the street, the man replies, “I lost them over there, but the light is better here.”

Sometimes we look for things in the wrong places.

 Consider the many ways in which we search for happiness in our society. leaf through the advertisements in any magazine and the message you will garner is that happiness can be found in a new watch, a fancy car, or a beautiful piece of jewelry.  It appears that happiness awaits us in the material realm. 

Others tell us that the road to happiness directs us to feats of physical prowess.   A marathon, Iron Man competition, climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro, etc. While these are clearly great physical accomplishments, there’s certainly no guarantee that completing them will guarantee happiness.

Social scientists have long pointed to the fact that our experience of happiness is often bound up with a sense of fulfillment that comes with attaching ourselves to something higher than ourselves or in those moments when we  inject deeper meaning into the world that surrounds us.   Deepening our awareness of the profundity of the world and events enhances our sense of happiness in the world.

Sukkot is the only holiday in the Torah where happiness is a command; “and you will rejoice in your festival” Deuteronomy 16:14  (Ve’Samachta Ve’Chaecha)

On the festival of sukkot we leave our home and all its security to take up partial residence in a temporary dwelling.  The Sukkah is a place where everything has a deeper meaning.  The temporary nature of the dwelling is a reminder to us of our vulnerability not only in the desert experience of the Exodus, but also through out Jewish history.   The message goes beyond the helplessness and serves as a reminder of God’s presence and protection of the Jewish people over these many centuries.   

The roof is more than simple leaves and bamboo, rather it tells the story of a promise fulfilled.  The tradition teaches us that we are to the look through the roof and be reminded that God’s promise to Abraham that his descendants will be as numerous as the stars in the heaven has been fulfilled. Finally, when we pick up the luluv and etrog, their meaning goes far beyond the different aspects of nature.  According to the rabbis, the four species symbolize the four different types of Jews in the world.  But just as we hold all four together when we shake the luluv and etrog, so too is our belief that God holds all of Israel together in his divine hands.

The fact is that while the Jewish people did not invent the harvest festival; we have deepened the meaning of every aspect of our observance.   Our rejoicing on this festival is a powerful statement about fully appreciating the festival on all levels.   Unlike the man who was looking for his keys in the wrong place, happiness for the Jew can be discovered in a rustic hut holding the symbols of nature itself.  In our case the light doesn’t come from a street lamp, but from a grand tradition that allows us to attach ourselves to greater concepts and ideals. 

Rabbi Michael Siegel