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In the book of Deuteronomy, as part of Moses’ review of the laws, rules, and stories of the Torah, we read about Sukkot. Moses adjures us:
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ.…וְהָיִ֖יתָ אַ֥ךְ שָׂמֵֽחַ
You SHALL rejoice in your festival!
You SHALL have nothing but happiness.
(Deut 16:12 and 16:14)
There’s a difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is an emotion; Joy is an act. Not an “act” that isn’t real – but an enactment.
There’s every reason to believe that this moment is finally, and thankfully, and fundamentally different than the days that have preceded it for the last two years. The Israel-Hamas war is coming to an end, the remining hostages are to be returned within a few short days, and the heartbreak of Israelis that began on October 7, 2023, may soon begin to mend. The scars are so very deep, and their hearts, our hearts, the hearts of so many, so devastatingly impacted by this two-year war, in Israel, in Gaza, and throughout the world, will never disappear. But today is a day of rejoicing, nonetheless. And I pray that those scars, soften into
crucial reminders to never return. As Isaiah teaches us (Isaiah 2:5):
לֹא־יִשָּׂ֨א ג֤וֹי אֶל־גּוֹי֙ חֶ֔רֶב וְלֹֽא־יִלְמְד֥וּ ע֖וֹד מִלְחָמָֽה
Nation shall not take up sword against nation; neither shall they never again know war.
Sukkot is Hechag – THE HOLIDAY because it is fundamentally about enacting gratitude. Let us be thankful. Let us enact joy! Let us let love flow more into the world than what we have allowed ourselves to feel before today. We are witnessing the fulfillment of the prayers we have prayed, the hopes we have shared, the overturning of doubt that I know that I have expressed with, at times, too much certainty.
Tonight, we celebrate Sukkot Shabbat! We SHALL rejoice!
