From the Rabbi - October 2004

Dear Friends,

I write this article in the midst of moving back into our newly renovated Temple offices. As I look around my study, I can see piles of boxes filled with books, papers and the ever-increasing assortment of knick-knacks and personal mementos that I have accumulated over the years. There's a lot to look at…

As some of you may know, I am cursed with a tendency to be a pack rat. I collect everything from guitars to books to Israeli souvenirs. The thought of unpacking and finding space for everything fills me with dread. There's just too much stuff.

Sukkot is a festival where we make a conscious effort to move away from all of the "stuff" we have collected over the years. For seven days we are commanded to move outside of the comfort and familiarity of our homes and dwell in sukkot - booths. A sukkah must be a temporary structure. We decorate our sukkot with articles of nature - all of which are perishable. We invite friends and family to celebrate with us inside of our sukkot. As a matter of fact, we are literally commanded to celebrate on Sukkot. The Torah teaches: v'samachata b'chagecha "you shall rejoice in your festival." (Leviticus 23:40)

In this light, Sukkot is not merely a festival where we give thanks for the bounty of the harvest. The act of celebrating inside a fragile shelter that is, by design, subject to the whims of nature teaches us that no matter how hard we might try to insulate ourselves, we are all part of - and subject to - the natural world which God has created. The sukkah is the antidote to hubris. It reminds us that the truly important aspects of our lives are not the things with which we surround ourselves, but rather the opportunities to celebrate life with those whom we love.

May you have a joyous Sukkot and Simchat Torah.

B'shalom V'yididut,
Rabbi Joseph R. Black

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