I was clicking through the web today and stumbled upon this series by Tablet Magazine. All they do is ask people what they would bring into their sukkah, but there’s a catch. The concept is that the sukkah is not just a place where you hang out and eat for the week of Sukkot. It’s not even just a place to remember the fact that we were once poor strangers in the land of Egypt. Tablet is presenting the concept of the sukkah as a “soul booth.” I’ll come back to this in a second…
Traditionally, Sukkot is a harvest festival and the insides are decorated with gourds, palm leaves, etrogs, and other produce. I’ve always loved this holiday because I have a special affinity for all things produce: farmers markets, pick-your-own orchards, and my fathers unruly herb garden. However, the truth of the matter is that I don’t really harvest any food myself. I’ve always taken Sukkot as an opportunity to remember the closeness we have with the earth and the incredible bounty that can spring forth for it. I still really like that concept, but Tablet has given me a whole new way to approach this holiday.
One commenter on the “Sukkah of the Soul” thread, Laurel Snyder, stated she would fill her sukkah with “whatever I feel I’ve been harvesting that year.” With that, Ms. Laurel Snyder stopped me in my tracks. It’s sort of like when you’ve known the lyrics to a song for years and then one day their true meaning hits you. I’ve been singing the song of Sukkot for years, but only now did I gain a deeper understanding of it. Sukkot is about celebrating your harvest.
What have I harvested this year? I’ve harvested a year’s worth of nursing knowledge and experience, a new job, this blog, probably 100 pieces of new clothing. What is my most treasured “haul” this year? Probably the remarkable friendships I’ve cultivated. If I had to fill my sukkah with my soul, then it would be the people in my life (and of course my dog), with maybe a tiny corner for some alone time (which is pretty critical for me). I might bring books, pens, paper, pretty pictures, or other distractions, but for the most part I think it’s community that has harvested me this year. I am the by-product of this year’s harvest. And just as Leviticus 19:9 reminds me, I can not reap the corners of my soul. I have to save parts of my soul to share with others.
As I move through this week of Sukkot, I hope to recognize the harvests of my friends and loved ones. Maybe take the time to acknowledge and congratulate them on their harvest. Maybe even sit down at the same table and share our metaphorical bounty.
I’ll end this post with a beautiful passage from the Babylonian Talmud about Sukkot. It, to me, speaks to the importance of recognizing your harvest and distributing it justly. Consider your bounty. What do you have that you need? What do you have that you need to give?
Our Rabbis taught: Gemilut Chesed (loving-kindness) is greater than charity in three ways. Charity is done with one’s money, while loving-kindness may be done with one’s money or with one’s person [e.g., spending time with a sick person]. Charity is given only to the poor, while loving-kindness may be given both to the poor and to the rich [e.g., consoling one who is in mourning or depressed.] Charity is given only to the living, while loving-kindness may be shown to both the living and the dead [e.g., by arranging a proper burial for a person who died indigent].
-Babylonian Talmud Sukkot 49b
And You Shall Love 