“There’s a stability, I think, that everyone can find in relation to the calendar.”
— Ganga Devi
As we exit the period of Rosh Hashanah and venture further into the month of Tishrei, we transition from a time of serious contemplation and teshuva into the time of our joy.
What should we be bringing with us into this period — and what should we be taking out of it?
This episode of Living Jewishly is an instalment of Sacred Time, a podcast dedicated to exploring the healing art of the Hebrew calendar. In this episode, Bluth and Ganga Devi explore the holiday of Sukkot, looking at the fragility, stability, and joy of this time in which we step out of our ordinary homes and find home and communion in relationship with the natural, living world.
Beginning on the evening of September 20th and ending on the evening of September 27th, 2021, Sukkot is a pilgrimage holiday that incorporates rest, remembrance, and celebration. It is a commemoration of not only the years that Jewish people spent in the desert while seeking the Promised Land, but also of their resilience and the protection granted them by G-d.
During Sukkot, we step out of our habitual lives and boxes of our identities, and find new revitalization in nature and in communion with those around us. Join us for a deep discussion of the nourishment that we can find during this precious time.
This episode discusses:
Highlights:
00:51 Intro
02:16 Rabbi Alan Lew’s words
03:56 Remembrance & celebration
06:15 From seriousness to the time of our joy
08:41 Fragility & stability
10:27 Teshuva
11:32 Nature & revitalization
13:57 Radical Amazement & joy
15:26 Stepping out of our personal lives
17:34 Party in Jerusalem
18:37 Find a sukkah
19:33 Expanding into the collective
21:17 Integration
25:58 The transition with water
28:37 How will you step into this?
31:26 The shape(s) of Sukkot
Links:
This is Real and You Are Completely Unprepared by Rabbi Alan Lew
https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/this-is-real-and-you/9780316830201-item.html
I and Thou by Martin Buber
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/I-and-Thou/Martin-Buber/9780743201339
Heschel’s concept of Radical Amazement
https://www.awakin.org/read/view.php?tid=1080
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Shalom!