Sukkot the Great Equalizer
The Patriarchs and
Matriarchs of Judaism were no welfare case that’s for sure. Especially Abraham
and Ya’akov (Jacob) acknowledged their wealth came from God and not man and by
honest hard work. They took no charity. And though we were once slaves in Egypt
Our founding
families were no Donald Trump, Bill Gates or Prince Charles, but they weren’t
trailer park or project material either. There was balance. Our Patriarchs and
Matriarchs knew the extremes of wealth and utter dependence upon God. We never
saw wealth get in their way of being humble, hospitable and obedient to God.
In the Diaspora we
may not be Bill Gates either but with technology and life in western society we
are not tribesmen in the bush either. I find the Festival of Sukkot like a
Basic Training, Military type exercise for us to rough it and be more dependent
upon God for at least one week out of the year and are subject to the elements.
Our people are not so hoity-toity to curl out upper lip at sleeping out in a
shack with a see through roof. Sukkot is also a type of annual societal
equalizer to where no matter how monetarily rich or poor you may be you are to
build a shack and rough it for a week and everyone is welcome in the Sukkah,
from Gentile neighbors to our wealthy Patriarchal ancestors.
It is tradition to
symbolically verbalize an invitation each day to our founding couples and other
Bible Greats into our Sukkah; Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Ya’akov (Jacob)
and Leah, Ya’akov (Jacob) and Rachel, Moses and Miriam his sister, Elijah, and
a few others.
During Sukkot we
are reminded that our wealth and health does not mean much in the eternal
scheme of things and that in the here and now they are gifts from God. We are
reminded that both health and wealth are fragile like our Sukkah and can be
blown over if a huge storm arose. We realize our true sustenance and dependence
is souly on God our Creator.
Kris Shoemaker –
Yehudah ben Shomeyr
