I am freezing.
This is the sentence that has been stewing through my head for the last two days as the weather has suddenly changed. Just two weeks ago, I drove around with no top on my car, wondering whether global warming had finally created an eternal summer. But now, as a cold front has finally arrived, I find myself scurrying into the closet to pull out a box of sweaters and beginning to have that familiar craving for a cinnamon stick bathed in a hot cup of Apple Cider. I find myself looking forward to crawling up under a blanket and escaping into my fortress of solitude.
In a sense, this cold weather is welcome – for this is the season of Sukkot, a time in which it is supposed to be cold outside. Sukkot encourages us to go outside just as we are feeling least anxious to do so, just as we want to throw on the covers and journey into self-isolation. This eight-day holiday opens the frigid period of the year by reminding us not to lose ourselves in the artificial protection of our fortresses.
By forcing us to be outside in the cold, Sukkot reminds us that no matter human ingenuity and human skill, we are still dependent on that which exists outside of our homes. Our homes, our blankets, our hot cups of cocoa and our buildings do not sustain us – we still need the physical and natural world which surrounds them.
Sukkot also reminds us that we need other people. This is the time of year in which we begin to isolate more and spend time alone. Our Netflix and Prime Video feeds start to enjoy a lot more usage as the cold invades.
Just as this is taking place, Sukkot asks us to get out of the house, to turn off Jeopardy or the Bachelor or Nobody Wants This and to be with other people.
We build a Sukkah, a structure that is open to the elements and to other people. We wave the lulav and etrog, which represent the bounty and the directions in which it comes from. We eat meals and celebrate togetherness outside – all ensuring that this time of year does not break us away from that which matters most — our communities and the natural world in which they live.
And so yes, I am freezing – but tonight, I will bundle up and join you outside in our Sukkah for an Erev Sukkot service followed by a post-card writing drive in support of Proposition One on the ballot this November.
Alongside Reform synagogues across the county, TBS is organizing in support of the Equal Rights Amendment. This is a time of year in which we think of all of those who need our support.
To learn more, please visit www.racny.org
In the meantime, moadim l’simcha—