Money-worship, like idol-worship, stems from a lack of trust in God. The more it is uprooted, the more the world radiates with the blessing of the Holy One’s love. – from The Empty Chair, a collection of aphorisms of the Hasidic Master, Rabbi Nachman of Breslov (Ukrainian, 1772-1810), adapted by Moshe Mykoff.
Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, begins tonight. I’ve been thinking a lot about Occupy Wall Street and the people sleeping outside, building community, feeling connected, working cooperatively. From my perspective, this “movement” is a spiritual one, even for those who don’t believe in God, because it is about social justice and respects the inherent value of each participant. We can think of “god” as our built-in, hard-wired sense of the sacred, our inner compass, or a set of deeply held values such as kindness, compassion, altruism, love, and fairness. (By this definition, “following God’s will” means acting in accordance with these values so that we do not feel internally divided. In Judaism, God exists outside of time and space, and continually creates and sustains the universe. God is always engaged and involved; He never leaves – it is we who become disconnected.)
Rosh Hashanah reaffirms God’s sovereignty and supremacy as the source of existence. Yom Kippur heightens our awareness of our mortality. God is eternal, but the body is temporary. In Sukkot we experience the impermanence of possessions. All of this involves a process of letting go of what we can't control and becoming focused on what is meaningful and lasting.
The sukkah, built immediately following Yom Kippur, is a temporary structure with three walls and a roof of branches placed far enough apart that we can see the stars through them. We eat meals and also sleep in the sukkah. We do this to heighten our awareness that we are wholly dependent on G-d, the only real source of security. Everyone, rich or poor, is the same in this regard. To believe otherwise is an illusion. Whatever we have can be lost at any time. We don’t own anything; everything is a loan from God to be shared with others.
Each night, we are visited by the ancestors, who correspond to the seven of the ten sephirot (aspects or emanations of God) associated with corporeal reality. We put out a special chair for them, as we do for Elijah at Pesach. In order of appearance, they are:
Abraham & Sarah = chesed, loving kindness
Isaac & Rebecca = gevurah, strength in judgment (i.e. setting boundaries; righteousness)
Jacob & Rachel = tiferet, beauty
Joseph & Leah = netzach, victory
Moses & Miriam = hod, glory
Aaron & Abigail = yesod, intimacy
David & Esther = malchut, majesty
Every morning, except for on Shabbat, we wave the lulav and etrog, either inside or outside of the sukkah, to symbolize God’s universal presence. This is acollection of plants is known as “the four species.”
The etrog (citron) corresponds to the heart, the letter Yud in Y-H-V-H, and one who knows tradition and also does good deeds. The etrog has both flavor and fragrance. The myrtle corresponds to the eyes, the letter Hay, and the person who does good deeds but doesn’t know enough. Myrtle has fragrance but no flavor. The lulav (palm branches) corresponds to the spine, the letter Vav, and one who knows Torah but doesn’t do mitzvot. The lulav has flavor, but no fragrance. The willow corresponds to the mouth, also to the letter Hay, and one who neither knows enough nor does enough. It has neither flavor nor fragrance. The personalities they represent are said to make up a community – all are beloved by God and all are needed.
When the lulav and etrog are shaken, with the etrog in one hand and the lulav in the other, they go to the East, North, West, South (over the shoulder), Up, Down, and toward ourselves. We become centered. A human being living a decent and holy life becomes a Tree of Life.
On the seventh day of Sukkot, also known as Hoshanah Rabbah, the verdict from the High Holy Days is sealed. In Orthodox communities, people march around with the lulav and beat it into the floor, then save the remains as a broom to sweep out chametz in preparation for Pesach. The etrog may be pierced with cloves and saved for havdalah (the ritual closing of shabbat.)
Shemini Atzeret, the 8th day, or 8th Day of Assembly, includes a prayer for rain and the reading of Ecclesiastes. On the topic of rain, I encourage readers to learn about rainwater harvesting. The Talmud tells us not to be wasteful with resources. While alternative sources of energy exist, the planet holds a limited amount of fresh water. Benefits of collecting rainwater from our rooftops include reducing the amount of stormwater runoff that goes into the sewer system, and replenishing the local aquifer which supports the ecology of the region. Also, it saves money on irrigation. While it is more complicated to collect and purify rainwater for indoor use, we may need to begin to think in those terms due to increasingly poor ground water quality, corporate efforts toward privatization of the world’s fresh water supply, and a growing population. (Recommended resources: American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association and a 2009 documentary entitled “Blue Gold: World Water Wars” directed by Sam Bozzo, which is available in streaming video format on Netflix.)
The OWS events seem to represent a culmination of what progressives know at a gut level, even if they haven't felt able to do much about it. How do we make a sustainable world? How do we get out from under the environmental and spiritual destruction of the Industrial Age while preserving those aspects of technological advancement that are useful? How do we, in a society of isolated families, rebuild community? How do we make sure everyone has enough? Call me crazy, but I have a strong sense that we - not government, not banks, not anybody else - have to use this opportunity to identify what we value and begin to work with others in a democratic way to create that reality. And if that means abandoning The System by not colluding in our own mistreatment, so be it. As we do this, I think what is not working will naturally fall away. I feel all of this as a sea change in the way people think. (I love that guy with the sign in NY that said, "I love humanity. Let's work this shit out together.")
What do you think about that? And if you have any Jewish knowledge on our holiday to share or if I have made any egregious errors in my explanation, please let me know.