Hag Shavuot Sameach

 

Writing in MyJewishLearning.com (10/16/16), Rabbi David Golinkin lays out a variety of reasons for why we are commanded to live in the sukkah. He notes the agricultural reason cited in the Torah: “After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days…You shall hold a festival…in the place that the Lord will choose, for the Lord your God will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy” (Deut. 16:13,15).

            A historical reason is also found in the Torah: You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths. In order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt… (Lev.(23:42-43).

            Tradition adds additional reasons: Philo, the first century Egyptian-Jewish philosopher,  suggests that “it should remind us of the long wanderings of our forefathers in the depths of the desert... and to remember your poverty….”

            There is more to this line of thought. Most of us have the ability and the means (the privilege) to live in far better conditions than our ancestors. Thus, the sukkah becomes an ironic statement of gratitude. Philo says that it’s a pleasure for a prosperous person to remember the “bad old days.” He adds one additional factor: sitting in the sukkah leads us to thank God for all the kindness He has bestowed upon us.

            At a time of plague, physical separation from our community, racial strife, the rise again of anti-Semitism and political division, it may be difficult to remain grateful for what we have received. I believe that the act of putting up the sukkah in my backyard is one of hope that with God’s kindness, we can overcome the difficulties we face.

Why Jonah?

Maya Bernstein has written about the four traditional reasons why we read the Book of Jonah on Yom Kippur at the afternoon  mincha service (MyJewishLearning.com, 9/25/17).

            The first is that the story of Jonah’s travel and disobedience  reminds us of God’s infinite mercy. If God could forgive Jonah, of course God can forgive us.

            The second Rabbinic response is related to Yom Kippur’s most profound theme of teshuva. Again, the people of Nineveh offer a paradigm of repentance, a model for us as we struggle through the day.

            Third, the Book of Jonah reminds us that the entire world is in God’s hand. The wind, the kikayon plant, the sea, and the great fish are all used by God in this story.

            Finally, according to the Mishnah in Brachot 6a, mincha time is believed to be especially poignant for having our prayers answered.  As we read of Jonah being answered from the belly of the fish, we are reminded that we too can be saved, even as the day begins to wane.

            Bernstein points out that there is something more to this book and Yom Kippur.  Much like life, it is a book of contradictions and ends in an unanswered question.

            The Sages themselves question who Jonah really was, and when the book was written. Was he swallowed by a big fish, or is that a metaphor of imagination?  There is constant tension in this brief book: between sleep and wakefulness, up and down, an acceptance of God and an evasion of Him, an acceptance of mission and an evasion of mission, good and bad, compassion and hate, a desire for mercy, and a desire for truth.

            We read this book as we stand before God in the hours just before Yom Kippur concludes. We are hungry, we are thirsty, and we are tired of facing down our fears. At this time during the Yom Kippur experience, we are all Jonah. We long to be undisturbed, to be left alone. But we know that the Gates are closing and that we cannot give in to the desire to cease our self-examination and prayer.

            Jonah’s riddles remain unsolved. And so, we, Jonah-like, enter the service as he entered the fish, and insecurely call out to our Creator for salvation. Perhaps our call will be heard.

            May all of us be sealed in the Book of life, health, prosperity, and hope.