The Sukkah's Link To Craft, Creation
New York
T
here are two ritual acts at
the end of Yom Kippur
that transform feelings of
guilt, loss and despair into
hope.
The first requires a ram's horn.
The final blast of the shofar, declar-
ing the unity and transcendent
power of God, is a moment of heav-
enly and earthly elation. The second
ritual act requires a hammer.
Hammering the first nail into the
frame of the sukkah (temporary hut),
according to the Kitzur Shulchan
Aruch, is a spiritual path to fulfill
the psalmist's words, "They go from
strength to strength" (Psalm 84:4).
In this act, we are reminded that
as deep in thought and repentance
as we were during Yom Kippur, we
should be in rejoicing and celebrat-
ing on Sukkot. As the full moon
comes around, our weeping turns to
laughter.
But there is more than an emotive
shift between Yom Kippur and
Sukkot — there is a shift of focus
from the mind to the body as well.
This shift can be seen most directly
Carl Alpert is a U.S. native who made
aliyah in 1952. He is the former head
of the Zionist Organization of America's
education department. E-mail•
alpert@techunix.technion.ac.il
in the way that we take hold of the
lulav (bundled palm, willow and
myrtle branches) and etrog (citron)
and shake, but I would like to sug-
gest that it is in taking hold of the
hammer that the true spiritual work
is completed.
I was raised, as are many other
Jewish men, to think of my mind as
the body part that would propel me
to success in this world.
While other kids on my quiet
block in Charlotte, N.C., were busy
helping Dad build shelves or do an
oil change, my dad and I played
chess, debated philosophy and had
an occasional game of pingpong.
We were not good with our hands,
or so said the neighbors.
One of the great tales that the
authentic Southerners told on my
block was about the day my grandfa-
ther came to visit from Brooklyn.
My father, eager to show off how he
had acclimated to country life,
brought out the family lawnmower
and cranked it up. My grandfather
was so amazed that he insisted on
having a turn with this wonder
machine. In a three-piece suit and
hat, he marched across the lawn.
I recall this tale to pose a question:
Can you imagine the shock when
our neighbors w a tched us intellectu-
al Jewish folk each fall, as my father
and I would drag plywood, two-by-
out of the Land of Egypt."
fours, old doors and burlap
(Leviticus 23:42-43)
out of the basement to build
When I read these words
a sukkah in our back yard?
concerning the sukkah, I
My father's secret was nail-
often think of another pas-
ing one side of the sukkah to
sage from Torah which
the porch. He'd drive nice
describe the mishkan, the
four-inch nails into the
sacred tent: "I have singled
porch posts each year to sup-
out Bezalel ... I have
CARL
port the frame, then we'd
endowed him with a divine
ALPERT
hammer on the sides, throw
spirit of skill, ability and
Special
some pine branches on top,
knowledge of every craft ...
hang gourds from the roof
Commentary
and I have also granted this
and carry down the kitchen
art to all who are skillful, so
table.
that they may make every-
It was our own makeshift
thing that I have instructed
harvest hut, a reminder of a
you." (Exodus 31:1-3, 6)
rest stop that our ancestors once
I may not have knowledge of every
took on their way out of Egypt. In a
craft, but my experience in helping
family that spent much more time
my father build a sukkah each year
sitting inside and reading books
taught me to value craft and to cele-
than being outside, Sukkot recon-
brate the work of my hands. Beyond
nected us to the natural world —
the functional aspect of building a
and to the joy of both craft and cre-
sukkah, the value of craft is spiritual
ation.
wisdom.
One time a neighbor asked,
The building of the sukkah is a
"When are y'all gonna finish that
metaphor
for creating a new world.
shed?" But more often than not, our
It is a world more in tune with natu-
little back yard sukkah was an
opportunity for our Christian neigh- ral rhythms and more open to the
heavens. It is a world where we
bors to see a biblical verse in action.
invite in ancestral spirits, neighbors
Each Sukkot, I read the words: "You
and friends. For one week, in a frag-
shall live in sukkot seven days; all citi-
ile world made by two-by-fours and
zens of Israel shall live in sukkot, in
branches, we envision a more secure
order that future generations may
world and pray, "Spread over us a
know that I made the Israelite people
sukkah of peace." 0
live in sukkot when I brought them
Unusual Guests In Our Sukkah
m
Haifa
any Israeli families lOok
forward to the holiday
when they can erect a
sukkah, as a reminder of
the humble and temporary dwellings
in which our ancestors lived in days
of yore.
Some of the shacks, with palm
fronds overhead, are built on flat
rooftops, some in narrow yards, and
some even encroach on public side-
walks. Where neighbors complain
about the.latter, the authorities
. sternly give the offenders up to 10
days in which to remove the offend-
ing structures.
We are fortunate to possess a large
outdoor terrace, overlooking Haifa
Bay and with a view of the moun-
Rabbi Daniel S. Brenner is a senior
tedching fellow at CLAL-The National
Jewish Center for Learning and
Leadership. E-mail: bdbrenner@clal.org
tains of Galilee beyond. As the time
approaches, we unpack our folding
sukkah. Planning for the week's pro-
gram requires thought. By tradition,.
we are to invite as guests a fixed list
of distinguished personalities from
ancient Jewish history — Abraham,
Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph
and David. The procedure is known
as ushpizin.
But realizing that these interesting
characters will be very much in
demand in countless sukkot all over
the world, we have made it a prac-
tice to invite other unusual and
important Figures who may be able
to spend more time with us in dis-
cussion of matters of interest.
"Enter, exalted, holy guest," we
proclaim, using the standard invita-
tion. And on our first night, we
hope to play host, even if only spiri-
tually, to Natan Sharansky's wife,
Avital.
For a long time, she traveled the
We want to ask him: Did
world, knocked on the doors
he
really believe that he
of political leaders and
could
defeat the mighty
sought out journalists in her
Roman Empire? Had he ever
efforts to bring about the
considered, in view of the
release of her husband from
odds against the Jews, the
Soviet prisons. Once her
possibility of adjusting to
mission achieved success, she
Roman rule and continuing
withdrew completely from
Jewish
life in peace in the
RA
BBI
public life and has all but
land
of
Israel?
DANI
EL
S.
disappeared. We want to ask
His uprising lasted for
BREN NER
her about this radical change
three years, but in the end,
Spe cial
in her lifestyle. Does she
the Jews were crushed and
miss the spotlight? How
Cam 711 entaly
Bar Kokhba was killed at the
closely does she follow her
last
stronghold, Betar. The
husband's political career?
result
was utter catastrophe.
Does he consult with her?
Did he ever have regrets? We shall
What an interesting story she could
urge him to speak frankly.
tell, if only she would break her self-
A change of pace. The Bible tells
imposed silence.
us the story of Noah in some detail,
For the next night, we shall have a
and reports on the birth of his three
character of a different sort — Bar
Kokhba. Sixty-five years after the fall sons. But Noah's wife merits only
brief mention, and without her
of Jerusalem, he organized and led a
revolt against the Romans (in 132.
BRENNER on page 28
C.E.).
9/20
2002
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