A Time For Torah It may not be Shavuot and the Time of the Giving of the Torah, but what would Sukkot be without the addition of Simchat Torah? We finish the yearly reading of the Torah, rewind the Holy Scrolls back to the beginning, and begin once again. A new cycle of life, a renewal of an eternal covenant, a new gift of Time.
A Time Out (Chol HaMoed) Chol HaMoed is a precious slice of time in G-d’s Land. Time for Torah, family, traveling and tiyulim; for hospitality, friends and relatives. For thanksgiving. A time to visit Yerushalayim and dream of the future Beit HaMikdash.
A Time For Peace A time when G-d will spread His Sukkat Shalom – a canopy of Peace – over His people Israel and over Yerushalayim. Yet, while we speak of peace, the world continues to speak of war. The prophecies of a universal, messianic peace have not yet been realized. We are again in the midst of another ceasefire. Is it a timely path to peace? It seems doubtful. Many believe it’s only another lull in the eternal conflict between Yaakov and Esav. But time in the Holy Land, filled as it is with endless miracles, has its own tempo. The time will come. Meanwhile, we wait and see. (The Israeli definition of “ceasefire” making the rounds is that we cease and they fire!)
Together Time So precious are the seven days of Sukkot that Hakadosh Baruch Hu added Shemini Atzeret, an eighth, additional day, after the chag. A day for the Father to delight in His children, and the children to remain in the embrace of their Father. Twenty-four additional hours to keep us by His side. Is this not pristine, hallowed, joyful time at its very best?
A Time For The Land Sukkot is the third of the Shalosh Regalim – the three times a year Bnei Yisrael went up to Yerushalayim and the Beit HaMikdash. With its harvest, arba’ah minim, seven fruits, s’chach, and aliyah la’regel, the holiday of Sukkot projects one clear, shimmering image that encompasses all else. Of all the chagim, Sukkot is bound up with the Land of Israel. The hot summer months of Tammuz and Av are over and the autumn season arrives just in time to make the trip to Yerushalayim and the mitzvah of sukkah a delight. Of course that’s no surprise. The seasons and the chagim are, after all, designed to blend and complement each other in the Holy Land. Sheltered and embraced by the s’chach and basking in the glow of the Shechinah, clasping the arba’ah minim in our hands in this, Hashem’s Holy Land, how can we not be filled with thanksgiving and joy?
Time’s Over…New Times And then, before you know it, it’s all over. The sukkah is down and packed away; the house is back in order; the linen and clothing are freshly laundered, ironed and folded. But you aren’t finished yet. Now it’s time to take down coats and comforters and prepare for shorter, colder days and longer, winter nights. Nights to fill with Torah. Nights to cuddle up in bed with a good book. Nights to dream of more wondrous times to come. And it won’t be long. Chanukah is on its way!
What a precious thing our time is. Although impossible to capture and hold for more than a fleeting moment, as we grow older, we understand that Now, this very minute, is all we have. What came before is gone; what the future will bring is as yet unknown. Our time is Now; let us make the most of it by filling it with the only lasting assets we can accrue – Torah and mitzvot, love, chesed and joy. May the days of our chag be joyous. And may Hashem give us an abundance of time – and the wisdom to use it well.