October 2nd, 2020
14 Tishrei 5781
When we’ve spent so much more time in our homes than expected, Sukkot feels like a welcome change. The weather has changed just in time for some crisp air to accompany my morning coffee. Of course, the sukkah is just an extension of my house, but it’s meant to feel so different that mentally, it transports me to another place. And in truth, it does. In its simplicity, and in the reality of leaves falling on the table, flies around me, I am reminded that the accoutrements that we often consider central or crucial to our dining experience are actually quite secondary. It’s nice to have good food, and it’s even nicer to have good company.
A Sukkot custom that became popular in the Middle Ages was to invite invisible, spiritual guests, Ushpizin, into our Sukkah. The Zohar recounts a story about Rav Hamnuna. He built a sukkah, and when he entered it on the first day of sukkot, he felt that something was missing. He had the right number of walls, the right amount of schach… and yet, it wasn’t right. He stood at the entrance of his sukkah and said, “Let us invite our guests and prepare our table.” After reciting the blessings for sitting in the sukkah he added, “sh’vu ushpizin elyonim sh’vu! Sh’vu orchei ha-emunah, sh’vu! Be seated guests from on high, be seated! Be seated, guests of faith, be seated!”
We invoke spiritual guests, just like Rav Hamnuna did, because they add to our experience of being in the Sukkah. Our tradition teaches that each spiritual guest, each ushpiz, brings a different attribute with them enhancing our holiday celebration. Connecting to this tradition of Ushpizin is meaningful, in part, because it reminds us that we also receive various blessings from bringing real guest into our Sukkah. But this year, we might feel a little bit more like Rav Hamnuna, we might feel like something is missing, when this sukkot feels so different than in years past. Rav Hamnuna’s desire, even if he didn’t have those guests in his Sukkah in reality, was to create connections. He wanted to feel connected to others, and he knew that those connections enhance his life.
That’s what Sukkot is about it. We gather together, outside, in small huts, without nice dining room tables or fancy artwork on the walls. We eat on folding tables, often with homemade decorations, no ceilings but minimal greenery to only semi-protect us from the elements. But what sustains us, what are the hidden riches of the time in the Sukkah are our connections to each other, even if they look different than they used to.
In that spirit, I’d like to encourage you to be a part of our Chaverim program. In Hebrew, chaverim means ‘friends,’ and we are using this time of physical distancing to enhance the relationships inside of our synagogue community. Individuals or families of all ages will be paired together to connect in the ways that make the most sense for them - calling to say hello, a backyard get together, or perhaps running an errand for someone who can’t. The substance of the connection is up to each pair, and we are excited to see the different friendships that are formed. If you’d like more information or to be paired with someone, contact Ariel Figueroa.
It would often happen in the line to grab kiddush lunch you’d end up speaking to someone you didn’t know, creating a connection that enhanced the web of our community. Let’s commit to continuing weaving that web. Let’s commit to honoring the way that connections - to those we already know and those we don’t know yet - can enhance who we are as individuals and as a community.
As we begin Sukkot this evening, I pray that the guests we have - real or imagined or virtual - will bring us joy, bring us company, and enhance our celebrations.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Sarit
