Where do we go to feel close to G-d?
We might picture a synagogue, an open prayer book, or a quiet moment on Yom Kippur. Yet just a few days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot offers a surprisingly different setting: a simple sukkah, a table, and a meal. On Yom Kippur, we draw close to God through fasting. On Sukkot, eating in the sukkah is itself a mitzvah.
The Talmud explains that we should dwell in the sukkah as we normally dwell in our homes: bringing in our beautiful dishes, eating, drinking, and spending time there. We are not simply visiting a sacred space. We are bringing our everyday lives into it.
Perhaps this transition teaches us something important. Holiness is not only about stepping away from ordinary life. It is also about what we bring into ordinary life.
It is possible to leave an inspiring service wondering, “How do I hold on to this when life gets busy again?” The sukkah offers a response: begin with the life that is already yours.
The table where we eat can also be where we welcome someone who feels alone. A conversation can become an opportunity to offer encouragement rather than criticism. A meal can include a blessing or a thought from the Torah, giving nourishment to more than just the body.
We do not have to wait for an extraordinary occasion to deepen our Jewish lives. There is room for G-d in the ordinary moments, too.
This Sukkot, as we sit around the table, perhaps the question is not only, “What are we having for dinner?” but also, “What are we making room for in our lives?”
Shabbat shalom and Chag sameach!
Rabbi Klein and the JET Team
