Sukkos is the end of the "holiday season". On some level it is the beginning of the year. As I think about my Sukkos this year, it has been relatively quiet.
It's not just this year, due to COVID, that it's the calm before a year full of programs. Sukkos is always the calm which guides the storm, making everything work with purpose.
This year is a Shmittah year. When the Torah tells us the laws of Shmittah, the "sabbatical year", the Torah says "Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them: When you come to the land that I am giving you, the land shall be given a complete rest, a Sabbath to the L-rd. You may sow your field for six years, and for six years you may prune your vineyard, and gather in its produce. But in the seventh year, the land shall have a complete rest, a Sabbath to the L-rd; you shall not sow your field, nor shall you prune your vineyard."
The Torah starts by telling us about the "sabbatical", the calm, at the end of the six-year period. This teaches us that first and foremost we need to recognize that Hashem is in charge of everything. Our purpose in this world is to commit ourselves to a higher purpose. First the calm, the holiness and spirituality, and only afterwards can you work the six years. The week can only get busy "making a living" if "in the beginning" you know it ends with Shabbos, Hashem.
Sukkos is the holiday of Joy, usually infused with big meals, lots of people etc. The message I heard this year is first recognize that the goal of everything is doing what Hashem wants. Sometimes this means a calm, not the myriad of programs we have planned. Only after that recognition can we get all the programs up and running. The goal of the programs is uplifting the world.
So as medical science allows me to run services again, I invite you to join me on Shabbos for services at 10 AM, Tuesday at 7 PM for the yizkor memorial service followed by Hakafot, the Simchat Torah dancing, or Wednesday at 10 AM for services followed by Hakafot.
Can’t make it this week?
Text the word "events" to 443-770-2829 and see what it sends back and RSVP :) :)
Have a good Shabbos,
Rabbi Kushi Schusterman