Does it feel like Rosh Hashana was ages ago?
Think again. Rosh Hashana – in a sense - continues. And the “Rosh Hashana Journey” is so central to our spiritual health, that we need a smooth transition forward, allowing us to feel its power in the year ahead.
You see, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur aren’t just independent holidays; they are part of a spiritual continuum:
During the High Holidays, we reach deeply into our psyches to explore our principles and values. What do I stand for? Am I mindful of my responsibilities to the world around me? Do I properly appreciate my relationship with G-d, my loving Creator?
At the close of Yom Kippur, we lock in (Neilah, the name of the closing prayer, actually means “to lock”) a deeper, more profound sense of connectedness with G-d and with life itself.
So we spend much of the High Holidays in a spiritual cocoon – in our minds and in the synagogue – focused on contemplation and internal growth.
But the High Holidays’ internal dynamics must then find their way into our “external” behavior; our internal commitment to values should show itself in a life lived meaningfully.
So, after Yom Kippur, we venture back into “real life” – eating, drinking, socializing, etc. But, because we’ve had our High Holiday experience, things are a bit different. Beginning Sunday evening, we will transition into the Sukkah (the temporary hut in which we celebrate over the Sukkot Holiday), which Chassidism describes as “G-d’s hug.”
Think of it this way: Life in the Sukkah is an external expression of the Divine intimacy we felt during Neilah. We’re able to live “real life” – eating, drinking, etc. – within “G-d’s embrace”.
So Rosh Hashana’s peak is on Yom Kippur, and the power of both is manifested in the Sukkot experience.
So, stop into a Sukkah next week (ours is open), and bring your High Holidays to life.