WhatsApp is a brilliant way of communicating with family around the world. My extended family, which stretches from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, has a WhatsApp chat group where we share updates of our lives in real time.
One of the most special days happens this Sunday, Erev Sukkot. We each take a picture of our Sukkah, tell everyone where we are located, and describe the meaning behind it.
Growing up in Syracuse, NY, Sukkot was a time where you prayed that your sukkah withheld the wind, rain, and often, snow. Many sukkot had space heaters and could have used insulation. When I moved to Southern California, I experienced a very different Sukkot: 100 degrees, wide open doors, and air conditioners to cool us off.
Yet, with these vast differences in how the sukkot feel and look, the essence of what we do and why do it stays the same, zman simchateinu, a time of joy. Each one of us has a different definition of joy. For some, it is reading a book while for others, it is running a marathon. Yet, our tradition defines joy beyond the physical.
The Kotzker Rebbe maintained that joyfulness follows as a byproduct of holiness. It is therefore natural after Yom Kippur, when we are cleansed of sin and sanctified to celebrate Sukkot. This Yom Kippur at Sinai Temple was magical. To see young and old, come from near and far, with every service filled, hearing our voices sing, was the definition of what the Kotzker Rebbe taught. If we could create a day of holiness like we just experienced, imagine the joy we can create in the upcoming holy day of Sukkot.
Take a moment this week to seek out a sukkah. Bring that joy into your life. Remember that joy comes from the sacred, and the sacred comes from within each of us.
