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Sukkoht -  The only thing that is permanent is change.

9/17/2013

6 Comments

 
Picture

It used to be, in America you got a job out of college, you worked for the same company your whole career and you retired with a pension. Today the average American works for 8 companies by the time he is 35. It is very hard to get a job out of college and the pension is a thing of the past.


In the words of Bob Dylan the times they are a changing. But change is nothing new, actually instability is the most reliable thing there is. Embracing the ever changing universe is a key aspect of Sukkot and a major theme of Kohelet.

One explanation for the sukkah is that we leave our permanent dwelling and venture out into a temporary structure to remind us of the changing nature of the universe. I argue that it is the exact opposite. The house is the temporary structure and the Sukkah is the permanent dwelling.

Look at Jewish history. The Epsteins have moved houses several times in the past twenty years as many Americans have. But what has remained the same is every year we gather in the sukkah and celebrate together. No matter where on earth or what time period the Jews are in they go out into the Sukkah. The Babylonians, Persians, Greeks and Romans all had massive empires with the Jews as their subjects and now they no longer exist, of the seven wonders of the ancient world only one is left. The real wonder of the Ancient world is the Jewish people still sit in the Sukkah.

Kohelet is read during Sukkot . One reason we read it is to remind us that everything in life is temporary, our house, our cars, our life’s work will all fade away and be forgotten.

When we go into the Sukkah it is an isolation chamber from our modern materialistic society. We separate from everything that is transient and we focus on what is permanent. Our relationship with our family, learning Torah, doing Mitzvot and connecting to God " for this is the whole of Humanity" .

This holiday I will focus on what is eternal.

Shabbat Shalom & Chag Samayach


6 Comments
Menachem Zakai
9/17/2013 08:44:45 am

One explanation for the sukkah is that we leave our permanent dwelling and venture out into a temporary structure to remind us of the changing nature of the universe. I argue that it is the exact opposite. The house is the temporary structure and the Sukkah is the permanent dwelling.

Brilliant! BTW did you see the new email group posts? (JL tefilah)

Reply
Esther
9/17/2013 09:40:08 am

Just perhaps that is what is suggested that there is a time for everything. And time changes. Only one thing -miraculously- has remained in time, and that is Shabbat. Past rulers have added days to the calendar to align it with the times. What has been awesome is that the sequence of the days has remained the same, throughout eternity, and Shabbat remains in its corresponding place. I learned from a Rabbi -in Geneva- that Shabbat is the Center of Time. What you so brilliantly express that the Sukkah is the permanent dwelling, and that the Seventh Wonder is that Jews still sit in a Sukkah may I suggest, is thanks to the Seventh Day: "Shabbat keeping those who observe Shabbat....". In a very changing and volatile world, there is indeed the permanence of Time, Shabbat, the permanence of Dwelling, Sukkah, the concept that His world -in time and place- is indeed perfect.

Reply
Yehuda
9/17/2013 11:38:02 am

I looked into what you said in several Jewish history books. I found not a single mention of these "Epsteins" that you speak of. Where do you get your facts from. I bet you randomly selected the name Epstein and thought no one would look into it, well you were wrong.
Whose the sukkah now.

Reply
Seth
9/17/2013 12:53:49 pm

In the words of Captain James Hook: "I like it, I like it, I LIKE IT!"

Reply
Ethan
9/18/2013 03:48:52 am

My favorite DT yet! Keep em coming :)

Reply
Serena
9/18/2013 05:27:19 am

What a beautiful idea! I never really got a satifying answer as to why we read kohelet on succot and I like this alot! This will definitely be repeated in my succah!

Reply



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