At this time of year, if you were to hear someone say “…after the Holidays…”, do you think that it means after Yom Kippur?
Think again. 'After the holidays', would actually mean a almost two weeks after Yom Kippur.
The Jewish calendar actually has a train of Jewish celebrations that begin on Rosh Hashana and continue on for most of the month of Tishrei.
Let’s start at the beginning. Rosh Hashana is the launch of a ten day exercise, reconnecting with our best selves and with the Divine. These days, culminating in Yom Kippur, are filled with the serious and introspective happiness that comes with self-awareness and self-improvement. They’re happy, but emotionally muted.
From there, we move to Sukkot, when the High Holidays’ quiet satisfaction morphs into full-blown joy at the beauty of our lives. For seven days, we eat, drink, study and hang out in a hut with an imperfect (temporary) roof. The Sukkah’s roof represents the ‘Clouds of Glory’ which miraculously protected the Jews in the desert after they left Egypt. Those Clouds represent G-d’s loving care for us, then and now. The Sukkah roof represents that connectedness, that spiritual intimacy, especially as it was felt – even if momentarily – on the High Holidays. Those holy moments are deeply meaningful, even as they’re so elusive and difficult to concretize.
The Sukkah brings this feeling into real life. When we sit in the Sukkah, we’re sitting in G-d’s embrace, because the Sukkah makes G-d’s love tangible and palpable.
But then what?
After the High Holidays’ quiet inspiration, and Sukkot’s exuberant embrace, where do we go? Do the Holidays lead us up a breathtaking mountain and leave us stranded at the peak?
Of course not.
Isaiah quotes G-d saying, “I have put My words (the Torah) into your mouth and I have covered you with the shadow of My hand."
The “shadow of My hand” refers to the Sukkah’s interior shadow, its embrace. Isaiah tells us we can always experience that spiritual intimacy, when we immerse ourselves in the Torah’s words and ideas – when we have the “words of Torah in our mouths.”
And that’s a real - lasting - reason to celebrate. We’re never alone. We can always re-discover the Holidays’ spiritual connectedness, through the study of Torah.
We’re soon exiting the Holiday season, but we’re not leaving it behind.
With the Torah. We can always re-experience the beauty.
On-call spiritual intimacy. What a reason to celebrate!
Rabbi Mendy Herson