Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Succot – how fragile we are

24 September 2013

We’re in the middle of the Jewish festival of Succot when we build a succah (a booth or hut) in our gardens that we eat (and sometimes even sleep) in to remember the forty years of journeying of the children of Israel in the desert following their Exodus from Egypt.

But the succah is not just a historical commemoration, recreating the dwelling places of the Israelites. The story goes that throughout those many years in the wilderness, the children of Israel were protected by divine clouds of glory, shielding them from extremes of heat and cold and warding off their enemies.

And so the succah is a way of connecting that idea to our lives today – somehow being able to have faith in the face of insecurity (as R. Jonathan Sacks puts it), living life to the full in an uncertain and dangerous world.

It’s supposed to make us focus on the important things in life – not the gizmos and gadgets that fill our houses but the family and friends that fill our homes: we step out of our houses, reflect on how lucky we really are and express joy and gratitude for the good things we have.

For me, Succot encapsulates everything about Little S and her future – faith and fragility, wonder and worry, all rolled together.

We even sing the Hoshana prayer – a cry for a divine rescue from the perils of real life – and I can’t help but add Little S in as we sing: Hoshana Shoshana, protect her, save her.

And the strange thing is, at the moment she doesn’t even know.


Chag Sameach

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