Happy Holiday! Happy Holiday?!?! Yom Kippur was just over, Sukkot begins in four days? What holiday?!?! In many Jewish communities (German and several East European) the day following Yom Kippur is a holiday known as Gods Name. Why? After almost 25 hours of fasting from food and drink, enduring other privations, praying, confessing; the next day is a totally different experience. Not only a new day, but hopefully a new life. That makes it a holiday! There are no special rules for this day, its only a different outlook! But that, itself, is special. We tend to see our lives in terms of special events; birthdays, anniversaries in our private lives, holidays in our communal lives. These days are important in order to reinforce our identity, our values. But the real challenge is to have these days transform the ordinary days into something special. The Bible criticizes those who close their shops for holy days, but open them up only to cheat their neighbors the following day. It is sometimes said that the true worth of a fast day can be measured in the way we eat afterwards. Do we throw the food down our throats, or contemplate the meaning of G-ds bounty, and how to help those who have no food? The value of a meaningful sacred observance cant be overestimated. I received this a few days ago, from a non-Jewish friend in the Deep South, who was our Shabbat guest several years ago: This reminds me of the time I spent with your family. I experienced love, companionship, and acceptance as I never knew it truly existed. And I learned so much about your wonderful traditions. Its really too bad we dont all take 24 hours out of our week to relax, reflect, and enjoy each other. Not to mention the incredible food, especially the bread! Holy days are wonderful, but if the following days are special as a result, that is a reason to have a holiday!
Posted on: Sun, 05 Oct 2014 01:07:36 +0000
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