Jewish American Heritage Month

Posted By admin on September 28, 2021

I have learned over the years that my High Holy Days experience was different from many Jews Id later meet. Growing up in my Orthodox bubble of New York and then Cleveland Heights, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were mainly about the prayers.

Where are you going to daven (pray) was a far more likely question than, Whos coming over for Rosh Hashanah dinner? In fact, we usually did not have any guests for Rosh Hashanah dinner. The solemnity of the day didnt feel compatible with the celebratory atmosphere of guests. Yom Kippur break-fast was a small and unimpressive affair.

And then came Sukkot.

Sukkot was the moment to celebrate, to travel to New York to be with our grandparents, aunts and uncles, or to have them come to Cleveland to be with us. To cook and enjoy big, festive meals. To walk from shul to shul on Simchat Torah, reveling in the spirit of the day and enjoying all the festivities. Sukkot was the relief after the intensity, the calm after the storm.

On Rosh Hashanah, Judaism teaches us to rejoice with trembling. But on Sukkot, it tells us to only be joyous. How should we be joyous, the Talmud asks? Here are some guidelines from thousands of years ago: For men, enjoy meat and wine. For women, new clothing and jewelry. For children, treats and sweets. In other words, find things that make you happy physically to enhance and awaken your inner joy.

Whats the inner joy about? Its exactly about the calm after the storm.

For 10 days, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur inclusive, weve been under a cloud of seriousness. The Book of Life is open; are we going to be written in it? Have we successfully repented for our mistakes? Have we apologized and cleared our slate toward others weve harmed? Not gonna lie, its a lot of pressure. And its supposed to be. Yom Kippur is really hard. Introspection and transformation are not for the faint of heart.

And fasting well, lets just say Id rather be eating. But when that shofar sounds at night, when all the prayers and tears are over, when we draw a collective ragged breath, smile and hug each other, whispering, Next year in Jerusalem! well, theres no relief like that. Theres no joy like a hard job well done.

The joy comes from the deep sense of satisfaction and love in the air that weve humbled ourselves and hopefully been forgiven. That weve done the grueling task of the annual audit and come out in the clear. That weve had the tough conversations and theyve ended well. Nothing feels better than doing something hard, and amazing.

So, Sukkot.

Try to find a Sukkah to visit if you dont have one of your own. Try to find a lulav to shake. Breathe in the clean air, drink in the sunshine. Celebrate this beautiful, underserved holiday with family and friends. Inhale the collective sense of relief, the relief of the family of Israel. Were in it together. Chag Sameach.

Read Ruchi Koval online at cjn.org/ruchikoval. Connect with her on Facebook at ruchi.koval and on Instagram @ruchi.koval.

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Only be joyous - Cleveland Jewish News

Category: Talmud
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