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Awakening on Succot
by Velvel "Wally" Spiegler

At Sukkot, we rejoice in the harvest that we reaped from what we first sowed at Pesach and we  fulfil the verse from the Psalm "he who sows in tears reaps in joy (hazorim b'dimah b'rina yik'tzaru). We have put in much work in seven months from Pesach to Sukkot - from our prayers and preparation for redemption to the work of T'shuvah, and now we can reap and enjoy the harvest.

But what did we really reap? Certainly in this day and age, the harvest comes to us from the supermarket, but Judaism has a deeper meaning. All of the sowing, the cultivating, the harvesting and the celebrating is merely symbolic of what you accomplish spiritually. Jewish tradition expects us to grow a little each year, to become a better person in the sense of awakening from the slumber of our everyday experience to the clarity of spiritual existence. We live in some sort of trance or illusion characterized by struggling for material wealth, for status, for recognition, for power, yet this is all contrary for what we as Jews were destined. Our dream is to reach the Land of Canaan, that dreamland where we can experience genuine peace, shalom, the purity of Shabbat, the Garden of Eden.

Awakening is the process of becoming conscious of the contents of our bodies, our emotions, and our thoughts. Prayer and meditation can attain this. The great adversary to awakening is our ego: the function of mind that keeps us focused on ourselves rather than on others and on what's real. The spiritual harvest for which we rejoice on Sukkot is the awakening from our everyday slumber to a realization of the God-like nature within us. The great Shofar has sounded; were you stirred into awakening? Or will the year 5764 be the same as before?

The Siddur (prayer book) refers to Sukkot as Zman Simchateinu, "the Time of Our Joy." Sukkot is designed as a one-week workshop on joy. For seven days, we move out of our carpeted, air-conditioned homes, into a little hut called a Sukkah. But how is this supposed to make us joyful? The key to joy is success in our relationship with God.

The Torah commands us to rejoice with the Four Species, a ritual  adapted by the Talmud, during the holiday week, by waving the Lulav (a bundled bouquet of willow, myrtle and date palm) and the Etrog (the citron) in the synagogue and in the Sukkah. The Four Species  represent the holy Names of God. Aravah (willow), Hadas (myrtle), Lulav (date palm) and Esrog represent the Yud and Heh and Vav and Heh of the four-letter Name of God.  The key here is unifying God's name, which is accomplished by the ritual of waving. As we say everyday in the Shema prayer: "God is One." Whether things may appear to us as good or evil, we must realize that it all comes from God. We deal with various pleasant or unpleasant circumstances -- ultimately for one's maximal growth, but at the root everything comes from God.

Being aware of this keeps our focus and helps us to deal with the issues of life. When we relate to God's unity, we come closer to achieving joy in the world. Sukkot is a one-week opportunity to build these relationships and incorporate them into our lives.Now is your chance to make the New Year different. With Simchat Torah upon us, we can utilize the beginning of the new Torah cycle to examine those areas that keep us numb to the realities of life. Consider not becoming lured by commercial advertising with its promises of glamour and status. Come to realize how shopping at malls as a pastime may not really gratify your needs. Find ways of spending more quality time with friends and family or engaging in good music or literature, particularly Jewish texts as an alternative. Consider the barriers that prevent you from behaving in an honest and loving way at all times. Is it fear of some kind that's holding you back. Are you participating enough in Jewish ritual activities-holidays, prayer, etc. Think about the time you spend in the synagogue. Is it meaningful or spiritually uplifting?


These are just a few suggestions; there are many more you'll think of. The question is always to ask yourself is what you do is  real or is it driven by ego. What's real is usually natural, supports life and is selflessness; what's egoistic is motivated by personal gain and selfishness.  The answers to these and many other issues that hinder you from awakening can be found right in Jewish tradition.