Happy as me

                        Of the seven major Jewish Holidays, Pesach continues to impress.  A vast majority of Jews attend a Seder even if the rest of the year there is scant a trace of obvious Jewish behavior.   Next, there are the two heavy weights, Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah.  Whether it is Jewish guilt at work, or a genuine desire to connect through prayer at least once a year, Jews participate in droves.  Then, we have some light fun with Purim and Channukah.  Drinking and fire, who wouldn’t want to be part of the fun; well, actually, many Jews miss out on these oldies but goodies.   And finally, there is Shavuot and Sukkot, two out of the three major pilgrimages to Jerusalem.   They lag far behind in participation and have been nearly blotted out of the secular Jewish psyche.  What has been lost?         

Pesach is the holiday that tells us there is a supreme being.  That works for most people.  The idea of a G-d gives the world meaning and order.  And how else can we explain a consciousness and our ‘soulful’ values, a G-d makes serious sense.  The problem starts around Shavuot.  There is an alleged transmission of a script from this force that has likely given us consciousness.   Aside from the innate disdain for having to live according to a script that is not our own, this script has lots of ‘chutzpa’ as well- it carries with it a plethora of demands.                         

After this comes Sukkot, the holiday of immense Joy.  What is it about Sukkot that makes us so happy?  We get to be our true self again.  The Jewish word for repentance is ‘teshuva’, to return, and that return is to ourselves.  Now, that we are back to being ourselves we can express it through Sukkos, and this is why it is called the time of our greatest Joy!   Each sukkah is decorated uniquely, and everyone finds that Esrog that is most beautiful to their eye’s and budget.  There is nothing more joyful than being your true self and expressing it creatively.