Sukkot
There is a time to plant and a time to reap. A time to work… a time to sit down and read your At The Well newsletter. Then, there’s a time to rejoice. All of these times, however, are short moments strung together on a long journey. Just think — last week, we were fasting and getting real with ourselves and our communities about the places we can be better. Now, we’re celebrating, resting, and loving each other to honor the Torah’s commandment that we will “dwell in booths (sukkahs) to remember our ancestors, freed from slavery.”
Sukkot, a harvest pilgrimage holiday, starts on the Full Moon of Tishrei. If we can learn anything from our menstruating female bodies, it’s that this holiday is a happy time, a time to be outward in the world and energetic, to use the light of the moon to guide us in our prayers for peace, love, and harmony.
If you find a strong spiritual connection in nature, this holiday is for you. Sukkot is all up in Mother Nature — for a week, we live outside, perform ritual rain dances, and stop our normal routines to celebrate the creative forces of life. Jump in and participate. We need your soul to come wander with the collective. Together, we will be elevated as we pray that all of people of the world (even our enemies) will experience the many blessings flowing from the Divine. During Sukkot, we honor that life is temporary, and that every once in awhile we need to come together to really delight in the peace we already have. Zman Simchatanu — rejoice.
Journal Questions
How would you describe your relationship to nature?
What does it feel like to sleep outside?
What are you rejoicing about?