Let’s face it: Change is difficult.
Over the years, I’ve come to understand that [most?] people, by nature, are simply afraid of change. As much as one clamors about leaving the status quo, inertia still seems to beckon as a comfortable place.
Why?
I think it’s the sense of vulnerability that inevitably comes with the experience.
If you’re in a bad spot, it may be uncomfortable, but at least it’s your spot. You know what you have and you know what you’re lacking.
Leaving that situation, even if it’s toward a better one, entails a leap/journey. You need to move from point A to point B. And that state of transition is inherently unstable. You’re neither here nor there. You don’t have a settled place.
So if you really want to grow as a person, you need to chart a stable course, one which will afford you the trust and confidence to persevere.
To me, this trajectory is found in the Holidays we now celebrate.
First, we spend an introspective ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur; we’re painstakingly stripping the layers of self-image, shallow ego and defense mechanisms that allow us to ignore what we need to see and correct in ourselves.
Now, with Yom Kippur past us, we’re more self-aware; but we’re also a little unsteady.
I know the old me; how will I relate to a ‘new’ me?
Will my self-betterment plan work? Will it affect how I’m accepted and loved?
It’s a little scary. So, one really needs ‘training wheels’ before change can actually set in.
So G-d gives us the Holiday of Sukkot. During this Holiday we sit in a hut – the Sukkah - to eat, drink, study and celebrate with family and friends.
Conceptually, sitting in the Sukkah is like sitting in G-d’s Home; we are enwrapped in G-d’s embrace. Sitting in the Sukkah is sitting in a place of emotional and spiritual security, in G-d’s haven.
What a wonderful transition.
I’ve left Yom Kippur with a budding sense of self and a hope for change. But it’s new to me.
So I adjust in the safety of a Sukkah, protected by G-d and supported by loved ones.
Once the Holiday is over, and ‘I’m walking steadily’, I’m ready to leave the Sukkah and take on the year.
Looking forward!
ב"ה