Sukkot/Sh’mini Atzeret/Simhat Torah

The sages of the Mishnah taught that, for the seven days of Sukkot, we should see our homes as temporary, and our sukkot — our temporary dwellings — as permanent. In other words, we should acknowledge that the things that we imagine are rock solid are in fact transient, and that the only thing that really lasts is temporariness. Nothing stays the same but change.

Why, then, is Sukkot a time of joy? What is joyful about the recognition that nothing lasts forever?

That recognition motivates us to live more purposefully, with more intensity and focus, because it clarifies what matters most here and now. It brings with it the joy of having our priorities in order.

That is the joy of Sukkot, one that arises naturally out of the work that we have done on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is the joy of using our time well. May this z’man simhateinu, this time of celebration, be a time of renewed purpose for all of us.

• The New Shul’s Shabbat services are on Friday evenings from 6 to 7 pm, and on Saturday mornings from 9 am to 12 noon. The kiddush-lunch this Shabbat, October 19, will be hosted by the Kanter-Wasserman family in their sukkah.
• Childcare is available on Shabbat mornings from 10 am to noon.
• Our service for Sh’mini Atzeret, Monday October 21,will begin at 9 am. The service will include Yizkor, the memorial prayer.
• Join us for hakafot and dancing on the evening of Simhat Torah, Monday October 21, at 7 pm. Our service for the morning of Simhat Torah, Tuesday October 22, will begin at 9 am.