- Clergy
- Shabbat
Do you ever find yourself saying, “Wow, where did the time go?” or “I would love to, if I only had the time.” or “There are just not enough hours in the day!” I actually catch myself saying this from time to time as well. Unfortunately, it is not usually about needing more time for work, or for email, or for phone calls, or for school work. Rather, it is about time with family, time with friends, time with spouses, time with children.
The reality of our lives today is that we could fill each and every moment with something that “needs” to get done, something for work or for school. But the time with those whom we care about, those who care about us, will never happen if we do not make the time. If we do not make the time, we will never take the time. And that time must be sacred.
During Sukkot, we take a break from the normal Torah progression and read from Leviticus and Numbers. Leviticus 23:2 states, “Speak to the Israelite people and say to them: These are My fixed times, the fixed times of Adonai, which you shall proclaim as sacred occasions.” We read this now, just after the High Holy Days, just after the promises we make ourselves and here is a reading that helps us to remember those promises.
As Yom Kippur services come to a close the liturgy gets tense, filled with worry, “the gates are closing! The gates are closing!” But the truth is, the gates do not really close until after Sukkot! Sukkot gives us the opportunity to get to work on the promises we made to ourselves during the ten Days of Awe. So let's make the time to take the time to be with our families, our friends, our spouses, our children, and let’s make this time sacred. Make is so sacred, that no email, no phone call, no school work can break it. Let Sukkot be the catalyst to be with the ones we love.
Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach.
Rabbi David Eshel