Rabbi Shanks’ column from the August 2007 Ruach.
No, but This Year I Want You to be Ready to Help Start a New Isaiah Sukkot Tradition!
Every year the busy cycle of autumn Holy Days seem to take us by surprise because they never arrive at exactly the same time. The Hebrew calendar pushes us to watch the phases of the moon, check our calendars faithfully and be ready when the Tishri New Moon ushers in Rosh HaShanah in early September, mid-September or even early October. Then we immerse ourselves in a month of solemn and festive celebrations, culminating with Simchat Torah.
Unfortunately, the “loser” in this whirl is often the wonderful holiday of Sukkot. The Torah designates the Feast of Booths, Sukkot, as a week of rejoicing that begins just four days after the self-denying fast of Yom Kippur. Rabbi Yitz Greenberg writes: “On the Day of Atonement, Jews reenact their own death, only to be restored to life in the resolution of the day. Only those who know the fragility of life can truly appreciate the full preciousness of every moment. The release from Yom Kippur leads to the extraordinary outburst of life that is Sukkot. On this holiday, Jews are commanded to eat, drink, be happy, dance, and relish life to the fullest in celebrating the harvest and personal wealth.”
We enhance this week of celebration by bringing it outdoors, under shining sun and full moon, within the temporary walls of a sukkah. The sukkah is meant to be stable enough to stay up for a week, but fragile enough to allow us to enjoy the natural world around us.
If you have never created a sukkah, never entered one to eat and shmooze, never shaken a lulav or smelled the tangy etrog – this is the year to start! We are inviting Temple Isaiah members to our: First Annual Open Sukkah Shabbat on September 29, from 1–5 p.m.
How will it work? If you plan to build a sukkah at your home, let the rabbis and cantor know by contacting our assistant, Nina Jones at or by phone at 925.283.8575. Tell Nina your address and which two hours between 1 and 5 you will be sitting in your own sukkah on September 29. During those hours, other Temple members will be invited to drop by for a light snack, a refreshing drink and wonderful conversations. During the other three hours of your Shabbat afternoon, you will be a welcomed guest in other sukkot and get to see how they build and decorate.
We are creating a very informal, progressive, get-around-the-neighborhoods Sukkot Tour for everyone who wishes to participate. Once we have the list of Open Sukkot and hours, we will distribute it to members. You don’t have to build a sukkah to be part of the festivities, but we hope this event will encourage many, many more in our community to try your hands at sukkah building. Start a family tradition and help us start an annual Temple Isaiah one too!
There are wonderful “pre-fab” sukkot that can be purchased on the internet. Try these sites: http://www.sukkot.com, http://www.sukkahdepot.com, http://www.sukkahkits.com. It’s just the beginning of August – plan now for Sukkot and let’s celebrate together! (The rabbis and cantor will be visiting as many sukkot as we can, and I hear there will be some special prizes awarded for creativity in design and execution.) Get your grandparents, siblings, and kids planning now for Sukkot.
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