Build the Joy!

There is nothing quite as refreshing as the crisp air and fall colors, especially after a particularly hot and humid summer. Autumn is the time for many of our most important holidays, including Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot.

Sukkot is the third in the cycle of three pilgrimage holidays (shalosh regalim), and it is the quintessential holiday of journey. Passover, the first pilgrimage holiday, is about departures, as it retells the Exodus from Egypt, and Shavuot is about arrivals, as it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Sukkot is about the journey, and it can serve as a reminder that wherever we are, we are on our own personal journey. Whether it is the way we get somewhere, what we do and learn along the way, whom we meet, or where we detour and find new paths, the journey is as important as arriving at the destination.

One especially interesting Sukkot tradition is to welcome ushpizin (Aramaic for guests) into one’s sukkah. First attributed to Abraham when he would welcome dusty wayfarers into the shade of his tent, the custom of hachnasat orchim, hospitality to guests, is extended to welcome seven exalted ushpizin into the sukkah: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Modern-day interpretations of this tradition have reached out to include important and influential women of Jewish history: Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Deborah, Ruth, and Esther. Each of these guests had embarked on a personal journey, whether physical or spiritual, at some point in his or her life and ultimately benefited the world around them in a meaningful way.

During Sukkot this year, think about the journeys in your life, those that are personal as well as those that are with your family. How do these experiences benefit the world around you? Discuss with your family which ushpizin you might invite to your holiday table this year. Perhaps it is a family member who has passed on, or maybe it is an important figure in world history. Hopefully in the discussion, your family will be able to share warm memories, hopes for the future, and learn more about each other in the process.