Erev Sukkot 5779

A Sukkah Havdalah

Rabbi Dr Andrew Goldstein 23 September 2018

Ican’tbe100%accurate,butthismustbemyhundredthSukkotsermon,takingintoaccounttheyearsIgavetwo…ErevandMorningeachtime…andifyouaddinafewShabbatinSukkotdiscourses,youcanseewhyIfeelabitTabernacleswornout.Regularswhohaveactuallylistenedtothesermonsandhaveagoodrecallwillknowthat,thoughIdon’tthinkIeverrepeatedoneverbatim,theyallsoundedmuchthesame.Afew,nodoubtdweltonthefactthatIwasoncetheworldexpertonthelulavandetrog,havingdonemyRabbinicthesisin1970onthesubject.NowadaysyoucandownloadallthefactsonGoogle…myonlysalvationisthethoughtthatMrGooglereadmythesisasthesourceofhisorherposting!Allsermonsarehashofharvest,thankfulness,pilgrimage,rain,beautyofnature,homelessness,hospitality,ecologyor,ifnochildrenpresenttheeroticimageofthelulavandetrog.PostYomKippurmythoughtsturnedagaintothesubject…isthereanythingnewtosay.ThenIrecalledanessaybyRabbiJonathanWittenberg(inhisEternalJourney)ThatintroducesSukkotasasortofHavdalahafterYomKippur.HavdalahtheceremonytocloseShabbatthatutilisesthefoursensestoprovokememoryoftheholydaywhilstitisstillfreshinyourmemory.Afterthelongfastandseriousprayersandmelodies,Sukkotcomesasajoyousfestival,asawelcomecontrast.OnYomKippurweeatnothing,wesmellperhapsonlythehalitosisofourfastingneighbour,eventheTorahscrollsarejustplaintooursightandwehearthesoundofmuchthesameprayersoverandagainandthesoundwewishtohearaboveallisthesinglesoundoftheshofarannouncingthedayisended.OnSukkotweeatfruitandothergoodies,wesmelltheetrog,wefeelthelulavandlistentoitsrustleasweshakeitandhopefullylookwithjoyatthevariegatedbeautyofthesukkah.AllthefoursensescombinedinoneChag.IsupposethatSukkothasalwayshadaboutitasenseofrelaxationandwellbeing,achangeintempoandmood.Fortheancientfarmer,indeedthemodernoneaswell,itwastruerejoicingespeciallyifagoodharvesthadbeengatheredin.Asenseofreliefandsafety,thatonewillsurviveintowinterandbeyond.Inourmodernworld,whereourfoodsupplyseemsguaranteed,maybelessreasonforanxiety.ButwhoknowswithBrexitcomingup.Andsafety…upinEdinburghwhereSharonIledYomKippurservices,wewereluckytobeclosetedindoorfortheday,becauseoutsideastormraged,treesweredown,electricitywiresbroken.ComeNeilahseveralpeopleinthecongregation,wholivedmilesfromtheEdinburghhadtomakeemergencyplansastherewasnotransporthome…someinfacthavingtolodgewithothermembersofhecongregation.Notrainsorbuses.OuronlyinconveniencewasnextmorningourtraintoLondonwascancelledbutwemanagedtogetonthenextonewiththeboonofactuallygettingaseat,thoughmanyhadtostand.Aslightinconvenienceforus,butalsowiththereliefthatweweredelayedonlybyhalfan

hour.Yetasimpleandbriefreminderoftheunpredictabilityoftheweatherandtheeffectitcanhaveonyourlife.ThisyearinEngland,IfearmorethanafewSukkahswillbeblownaway…atimelyremindermaybeofglobalwarmingand,yestheverysymbolofthefestival…impermanencenotsolidity.Backtohetrain…travellinghome…it’sagreatroutefromEdinburgh,especiallythefirsthourasthetrainskirtsthecoast,theseabelowthecliffs,thesunlightinguponthewaves,thefieldswiththeharvestsdone,afewfarmersbringinginthelastcorn,andthetreeswithfirstsignsofchangingcolour.Andevenfurthersouthintheflatlands,thefields,emptyyettidiedup,justwaitingforthenextplanting.ItwaslikeaHavdalah,awelcomerelief.Andareminderofhowbeautifulisthelandandhowtimeless.Thoughwewererushingbyat120milesandhour,theviewoutsidere-enforcedofthefactthatnaturetakesitscourseasithassincecreation,andthatautumnisreadytotakeoverfromglorioussummer.AndRabbiWittenbergquotedlinesfromapoembyShelley,sofitting,especiallythisyear:

Owildwestwind,thoubreathofautumn’sbeing,Thou,fromwhoseunseenpresencetheleavesdeadAredriven,likeghostsfromanenchanterfleeing,Yellowandblackandpaleandhecticred…

AndthoughitnowslipsbyunnoticedanditsimpactlessenedbecauseinourSiddurwesaythewordsthroughouttheyear:traditionally,weaddintheAmidahfromSukkottoPesach:Mashiveha-ruachoomoridha-geshem…whomakesthewindtoblowandtheraintofall.OurSukkotprayeris…Thattheblowingdoesnodamageandthattherainfallingisforthegoodoftheearthnotfordamage.Windandrainweneed…astheprayersays,mayitbeLivrachav’loliklallah…Mayitbeforgoodandnotharm.