Rabbi Howard Morrison

The impermanent Sukkah - The impermanence of life

One of the overarching messages of the High Holy Days and Sukkot is the impermanence of life. The questions and prayers about mortality - who will live and die?; Who will we be inscribed and sealed in the book of life for this year? - continue into the messaging of Sukkot. The commandment to sit or dwell in a Sukkah surrounded by 2.5-4 walls but covered by flimsy schach which makes us vulnerable to a hot sun, cold rain, or other elements reminds us of how frail and impermanent human life is.

When I was a rabbinical student living in New York in the mid 1980's, I received a snail mail letter from my parents. There was no email or internet at the time. In the letter was a cut out from the local weekly Brookline magazine. The picture of a Sukkah which was pancaked to the ground by strong winds was the feature story. That was my childhood Sukkah which my family continued to build even when I lived elsewhere. Fortunately, the Sukkah collapsed late at night when nobody was inside of it at meal time.

The Sukkah is perhaps the ultimate symbol of life's impermanence. Human lives are like a Sukkah and can come and go at any time and are subject to larger forces they cannot control. Physical human made structures, like the Sukkah, are by definition impermanent.  In recent years, we have heard of building collapses ranging from the acts of evil on 9/11 to a large residential facility in Florida built on unsturdy foundations.

During Sukkot, we are commanded to celebrate more than any other Jewish holiday or occasion. Only Sukkot is called Zman Simchateinu - the season of our joy. The Torah contains the word for joy more so with Sukkot than with Pesach or Shavuot. The rituals of taking the four species, reciting a full Hallel every day, marching during Hoshanot all accentuate joy at this season of the year.

It seems to me that since the human condition is predicated on impermanence, we have to learn and be able to celebrate life in as full a way as possible. Easy? No! Necessary - Yes!

Chag Sameach!