Recently in Jewish Holidays Category

This should be a no-brainer, right? Well for a significant number of Orthodox Jews, it's not so obvious and that fact speaks volumes to the thinking of many in that community. Interestingly, it is precisely those who think the answer should be 'no' that are more accurate about the historical origins of the holiday, and I actually have great respect for that even if I totally disagree with the conclusion at which they arrive. But what really makes this question interesting, is that how one answers it, is a kind of Rorschach test which reveals how one thinks about Jews living in a largely non-Jewish culture.

The arguments against observing Thanksgiving are all based on Leviticus 18:3, which reads, "You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or of the land of Canaan to which I am taking you; nor shall you follow their laws." Some halakhic (Jewish legal) authorities rule that observing Thanksgiving violates this rule while others do not. The issue which divides them is generally whether they see Thanksgiving as religious or not.

Those who embrace Thanksgiving, do so on the basis that it was "always a secular holiday", to which anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of history responds, "are you kidding?!"

Sukkot begins in just a few hours, and while you might not be able to build a sukkah as amazing as a group of architecture students as Wesleyan University, what they did is worth seeing because of the creativity, pride, and hope their project inspires. Just look at this:

Known as "WesSukkah", it was built by 15 students in a class called "Architecture II". While not entirely in accord with all traditional halakhic (Jewish legal) requirements, it reflects a level of awareness of that tradition and the spirit of the holiday in profound ways. That a group of contemporary architecture students, not all of whom are Jewish by the way, undertook this project with that kind of commitment to past tradition and an equally profound commitment to creatively interpret the tradition in ways that met the standards of post-modern architecture is something truly inspiring.

The builders of WesSukkah have bridged the gaps between old and new, Jewish and non-Jewish, private ritual and public space, and that's just to name a few of the often self-defeating division plaguing our culture. WesSukkah is a text for all of us to explore as we think about how our own spiritual journeys can not only deepen our inner lives, but connect us even to those taking different paths on their own journeys as well.

If you want some practical help on building a sukkah, I suggest the following:

Sukkot, the week-long Jewish holiday which begins at sundown this Friday, October 2, 2009, goes all the way back to the Hebrew Bible. Exodus 23:16 and Deuteronomy 16:13 describe it as an Israelite Thanksgiving (but without the turkey), while Leviticus 23:42-43 describes it as an exercise in collective memory - telling all future generations to spend a week living in Sukkot, huts, to remember how their ancestors lived in huts as they made the 40 year journey from slavery in Egypt to freedom in the Promised Land.

So Sukkot, singular Sukkah, is a holiday which celebrates the journey from hard times to better times, and the sukkah itself symbolizes how we make that journey and even how we understand what it means to make our journeys successful. In that way, Sukkot is for all of us, Jewish or not, and however we observe the holiday, it speaks to the journey all of us are on.

The sukkah itself is temporary structure, usually constructed with wooden or soft fiber walls, and is traditionally used for all meals during the week of the holiday. In warm climates, many people even sleep in their sukkot, making it their home as much as possible for the week.

But how does eating in a hut help us on our journey?

Yom Kippur is ultimately a joyous day, promising forgiveness, atonement and reconciliation for all who seek it. But in classically Jewish fashion, the attainment of such things hinges on genuinely confronting and addressing our deepest fears, angers and hurts. Yom Kippur, as one of my nephews remarked when I explained this to him, is not for "wusses."

That is true, I responded, but it does work. And by the end of the day, it builds to a crescendo of personal empowerment that really explains the profound joy felt at break-fasts throughout the world, a joy far deeper than that which can be explained by a glass of orange juice or a bagel, no matter how much one hates fasting.

On Yom Kippur we invoke a God who is prepared to look back on the very worst of what we have done and say, "I forgive you." That willingness creates the safety to address the messes in our lives, and even to be a little God-like ourselves, finding new reserves of understanding and forgiveness for those who have wronged us over the past year or longer.

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That's the invitation being offered by many individual synagogues and even by the Jewish Television Network, a pioneer in using many forms of communications technology to meet the needs of Jews, and anyone else interested in Jewish thought and practice. While some in the Jewish community object to the very notion of people tuning in online for their Yom Kippur experience, there is much about this that deserves to be celebrated. As I told the Steve Lipman of the New York Jewish Week, "The more opportunities there are for people to connect, the better it always is."

It's not that I don't appreciate the halakhic problems from a traditional perspective, because I do. And for those and many other reasons, attending a cyber-shul is not for me. But unless one insists that to be authentically and meaningfully Jewish, something must meet the measure of contemporary orthodoxy, and I certainly don't, that is not an issue. Neither is the fact that participating in a service online really is very different from being there in person.

While I wish that more people broadcasting their services better appreciated how new technology and new means of communication create genuinely new understandings of community and connection, the changes they are bringing are no more radical than the writing down of the oral torah, Maimonides popularization of a simplified law code over the more complex Talmud, or the institution of regular prayer that could be performed anywhere as a substitute for animal sacrifices offered exclusively in the Jerusalem Temple.