The holiday of Sukkot is known in our tradition as “Z’man Simchateinu—the Season of Our Joy.” There are many reasons to rejoice at this time of the year. In the Land of Israel and here in California, it’s the time of the olive and grape harvest, a time—we hope—to celebrate our bounty; grapes are of course associated with joy and gladness for obvious reasons. It’s also the holiday that comes right after we literally survive Yom Kippur. Having made it through our fast, having (ideally) repented, forgiven, and experienced renewal, we celebrate the gift of another chance, another year, another opportunity to make a difference.
A story is told about Rabbi Chaim of Tzanz (1793-1876, Poland) that illustrates another aspect of the joy of these days. Rabbi Chaim was a scholar and a tzaddik (a righteous person). It was his custom on the eve of the holiday of Sukkot to distribute tzedakah generously. One year before the holiday, he told his congregation that he needed to collect several thousand rubles in order to support families that were going through financial difficulties. In no time at all, he collected the necessary funds and then went out immediately to distribute them to those in need. That evening, as the holiday of Sukkot began, he entered his sukkah and taught: “It is our custom to decorate our sukkot with all sorts of lovely items. The purpose of decorating the sukkah is to make it more pleasant to be in and to make our holiday more beautiful and more festive. For me, giving tzedakah is what makes the holiday pleasant and festive!”
Many of us build sukkot and enjoy spending time in them during the holiday. Others come to our temple campus to experience this beauty (our Shabbat morning Torah study and services tomorrow will be held in our temple sukkah, so please come and enjoy!). We can all benefit from the example of Rabbi Chaim of Tzanz. Any time is a good time to give tzedakah. This season of our joy, a time when we celebrate our bounty, is a particularly good time to donate to worthy causes including of course by supporting our own temple community, our local Jewish Federation, and other tzedakot (worthy charities) of our choosing. What could be more pleasant, what could be more festive and joyous, than being God’s partner in repairing the world?
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoshi
NOTE: The news of the past week witnessed painful—though not surprising—episodes of racism and antisemitism. Hatred and xenophobia—no matter where they originate on the political or ideological spectrum—must be vociferously condemned. There are many resources available that can help one learn more about how antisemitism expresses itself and can be confronted today. Your clergy will continue to speak out, advocate both publicly and behind the scenes, and offer ongoing programming that includes opportunities for dialogue so that our community can continuously learn and remain engaged.
