HAAZINU 5783

Are you pumped up for Sukkot after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Or have you had enough of holidays for the moment? Permit me to get a little philosophical as I discuss this. These are spiritual days where we are less focused on material survival, and more on the bigger issues of life: Why am I here? What is the destiny of my and my family’s life? What does the future hold?

It’s so healthy to have a season—and make no mistake about it, this is a season which began in Elul, a month before Rosh Hashanah and will continue till Simchat Torah in 10 days. Yes, it’s so healthy to have a season—not just a coffee break or a weekend—dedicated to soul searching and revisiting our life’s mission and our relationship with Gd. The Jewish calendar at this time of year is rich in layers of opportunity to peer deeply into our lives and come out renewed and empowered to take on life’s challenges.

The holiday season, according to Rabbi Simon Jacobson, is comprised of 3 stages—corresponding to its 3 major holidays: 1) Renewal on Rosh Hashana, 2) Sanctity on Yom Kippur and 3) Joy on Sukkot. Access these 3 forces—renewal, sanctity and joy—and your life will forever be different. Let’s review them:

         Renewal: One of our most powerful psychological adversaries is resignation, the sinking feeling that you’re stuck, that your life will never change...that we’re part of one endless merry-go-round that continues to repeat similar patterns—albeit in different shapes, forms and change of scenery—but do not fundamentally change our reality. Rosh Hashana teaches us that we have the power to envision our lives anew, to literally renew and revitalize our lives. Through prayer, focus and effort we can pierce the monotonous surface and access the enormous energy that lies within us, brimming with new possibilities.

         Sanctity: The ultimate secret to an exhilarating and invigorating life is to recognize every experience as an opportunity. Simply put, you see every event in your life, even the most trivial, as part of your mission to refine, develop and purify—or as the Kabbalists would say: to “elevate the sparks” within. Yom Kippur—the holiest day in the year—empowers us with the necessary strength to direct all our activities toward a higher purpose.

         So, on Rosh Hashanah is a renewal as we envision our lives anew. Yom Kippur recognizes everything in your life as a holy opportunity for growth. 

         Joy: But the triad is not complete without joy. The renewal and sanctity of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur now must lead us to rejoice. Not just to live our lives, but to celebrate them. Joy is uplifting, freeing—a glorious dance of the human spirit.

One of the tragedies of modern life is that we have precious few moments of joy in our overworked and overstressed lives. We compensate through escapist bouts of instant gratification—binging on ice cream or Netflix or social media—but it doesn’t satisfy. Even as we celebrate them we have our eye on the door and our minds on next day’s anxiety.

Comes Sukkot—a full cycle of 9 complete days ending with Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah—and it lifts us on its wings for a perpetual dance with the Etrog and Lulav and the Torahs on Simchat Torah. What and why are we celebrating?

Our bodies don’t dance without our souls. Once the soul is exuberant, the body follows along—lifting its legs in dance, swinging its arms in joy and parting its lips in song.

When your soul feels free, when it has a sense of belonging, when it is aware of its purpose—it celebrates. Children are natural celebrators, until “adult” life dulls their senses and lowers their expectations. So, on Sukkot, raise your expectations. Free your soul to feel the joy.

Now for the practical side of this. All this is well and good on paper. But how do we begin to access our souls? How do we rejoice when we don’t feel there is anything to celebrate, when our lives do not go as we hoped?

There are many answers, but there is one that comes to mind as we approach Sukkot. On Sukkot we invite ushpizin (guests)—both cosmic and physical to our Sukkah. We celebrate with the souls of 7 holy ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David…together family and friends. Lesson: We need to surround ourselves with holy souls.

Simply put, look at the people in your life. After Shabbat, turn on your phones and look at your contacts, and see how many of these reinforce your life and lift your spirits. No doubt that you will find quite a number who are always ready to tell you how depressed things are and how bad you should feel. After all, misery does like company. The key is to avoid the people who bring you down and make you anxious.

Find people who believe in you. Find people who bring the best out of you. Find people who empower you. Look for people who make you feel happy. Look for people who make you feel proud. Look for people who make you feel dignified. Find people who bring your soul to life…and do something that brings other people’s souls to life. Then you will see that you will be able to dance and celebrate. Where can you find such people? Right here in your shul. So come on Sukkot Monday and Tuesday as we dance and sing in joy together. Amen!