Succot is actually an integral part of the holydays we’ve just celebrated. Traditionally on the last day of the Festival, Shemini Atzeret, the rabbi will wear white as s/he did when the year began; it is considered a “little Yom Kippur” when one may nudge God to be written and sealed in the Book of Life, just in case there was a question about that. It is also the last day we can wish each other a Shanah Tovah!
And for me Succot means Autumn, my favorite season There’s something about the lush colors of the changing leaves, the briskness in the air, the mystery of the strangely built Succah, the prayers for rain and all its interpretations.
When I told that to a colleague, he said, “Great! All autumn does is bring us closer to winter’s cold and snow, and the brightly colored leaves tease us into thinking it might last longer than it does!” Hmm, such cynicism. But cynicism at this time of the year isn’t the exclusive property of my colleague. In fact, the biblical book linked to Succot is considered to be the most cynical book in the Hebrew Scriptures.
During Succot we read the Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet). It opens with “Vanity of vanity, all is vanity” (or “Utter futility! Utter futility! All is futile!” as well as man other translations that say the same thing) and contains some other familiar phrases such as “There is nothing new under the sun,” “Eat, drink and be merry…” We also find the basis for the Byrds’ song, “To everything turn, turn, turn, there is a season…,” a tune my generation will surely recall. But the sages were very conflicted about Kohelet. Some felt it should not be included in the canon; others believed its contradictions and dilemmas were worthy of inclusion because they reflected reality. Kohelet keeps coming back to the question of meaningfulness, i.e. death is inevitable so what’s the point of our lives?
Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger said it well:
How fitting (Ecclesiastes) is for the High Holiday season. There is no better occasion than this time of ultimate accounting and introspection, to look death in the eye, even to blink and to struggle and to teeter on the edge of the abyss of meaninglessness, and to come out of this struggle with a renewed dedication to the sanctity and beauty of every single moment that God has given us on earth.
(And in case you’re saying to yourself, “Hmmm, this sounded familiar. I think I heard it before somewhere,” you did…in my Kol Nidrei sermon)
At 11:00 am on Saturday, October 10, just as all the Fall Festivals are ending – and maybe the leaves have turned - we’ll study Ecclesiastes via Zoom. More information about adult education will be forthcoming including your Zoom invitation.