Sukkot As I’ve mentioned before, on Sukkot, we are commanded to be happy (the Hebrew phrase is “u’smach-tem”). While all holidays have commandments associated with them, this is the only one for which happiness is a requirement.
For some, the command to “be happy” is extraordinarily difficult. Many of us face difficulties which are so hard to bear that being happy is close to impossible. Thinking globally, how can those who have suffered from floods, earthquakes and epidemics be happy? How can the Jews being persecuted in many lands be happy?” How can the Jewish People, so divided amongst ourselves, be happy?
On a more individual level, how can those who prayed less than a week ago with sincerity for security, peace, atonement, health, or success be happy when their prayers appear to have been unanswered? Some of us are angry at God for being deaf to our righteous and sincere prayers. This anger makes some doubt whether such prayers can be efficacious, or even doubt that there is a God who listens to our supplications. Faith is a fragile thing.
And yet.
We need to be happy, even for a moment. Those who face the bleakest of challenges need to understand and accept that there must be something about which to be happy. Happiness can be found in things we love, be they people, nature, or family. Perhaps we should be happy because we can support others, and in turn be supported by them. Perhaps we should be happy even when it appears that hope is lost, because hope is never totally lost. It may, however, be difficult to hold onto, because hope, like faith, is a fragile thing.
Because faith and hope are both fragile, we can discern a suitable metaphor for this holiday, when we are commanded to live in flimsy, fragile structures. Let us find the strength to keep hoping, and in that hoping, find happiness.
