You’ve probably heard about the Jewish Holidays’ shared theme: “They tried to kill us, we won, let’s eat!!!’
Sure, the joke is inaccurate and shallow. But it brings out a valid point.
There’s something about crisis that awakens [many] people to Higher Values, to Priorities, to G-d. So, throughout our history, a communal crisis often brought a spiritual awakening; and our joy in triumph was expressed in a Holy-day, a day of gratitude to G-d.
On Chanukah, Purim and Passover we were threatened by various peoples, and Sukkot celebrates G-d’s protection in the deserts’ untamed wilderness.
Yes, crises seem to be at the center of our Holiday experiences.
Even in our personal lives, we may notice how emergencies give us a jarring wake-up call, prompting us to ask G-d for assistance and to re-evaluate our priorities. And when there’s an appreciable victory, we feel the gratitude.
But what about the other days?
What about a day when things seem to be going right? What about the day when I landed the promotion, my relationships are fluid, my bills are paid? What drives me to G-d then?
What if it’s just a ‘normal’ day? What of a day with assorted stresses and pressures, but – thank G-d – no monumental crises?
Do I appreciate G-d then, amidst the success and the ‘normal’?
Hence Sukkot. Our calendar has a spine of Festivals – Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot – which are [also] framed in agricultural terms: Passover is the beginning of Spring and the beginning of the barley harvest, Shavuot is the general Harvest Festival and Sukkot is the Gathering [of the harvest from the fields]”.
Sukkot was the opportunity to soak in the rewards of your year’s work. It was when you got your ‘bonus check’; a time when you were feeling good about yourself.
So at that time – specifically that time – the Torah guides us to appreciate G-d’s consistent presence and protection. Not amidst crisis, but amidst plenty. When there may be less of an instinctive push.
May this be a year of Sukkot, when we rise to the challenge of appreciating G-d amidst the gifts which are certainly headed our way.