Spirituality
CHALLENGING CONVENTION:
SECULAR AND HUMANIST AND JEW
OCTOBER
23-25
TORAH PORT ON
Back To The Basics
Shabbat Sukkot: Leviticus 22:26-
23:44; Numbers 29:12-16; Zechariah
14:1-21.
0
WHO ARE SECULAR AMERICANS?
CAN YOU BE GOOD WITHOUT A GOD?
CAN YOU SEPARATE 'SYNAGOGUE AND STATE' IN ISRAEL?
WHEN IS CONFORMITY GOOD?
Secular Humanistic Judaism challenges convention in
many directions. We challenge conventional wisdom,
looking for meaning and community in this world, not
beyond. We challenge universalist secular conventions,
insisting on our particular Jewishness. And we challenge
Jewish convention in Israel and North America, asking
questions and celebrating realities that others fear.
FEATURED PRESENTERS .
C C
RON ARONSON • CARYN AVIV
JACQUES BERLINERBLAU
LORI LIPMAN BROWN
ADAM CHALOM GREG EPSTEIN
SIVAN MALKIN MAAS
The International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism
Pivnick Center for Humanistic Judaism at The Birmingham Temple
28611 West Twelve Mile Road, Farmington Hills, MI 48334
Registration Information: 847-777-6907
www.iishj.org
iishj@iishj.org
COLLOQUIUM 2009
1536830
26
October I 2009
ne of our most creative
festivals is that of Sukkot,
when the entire family is
involved in building and decorating
a special "home" to be lived in for a
week.
One symbol of the suk-
kah is that of our desert
wanderings, the tempo-
rary but which was con-
structed as the children
of Israel wandered from
place to place after leaving
Egypt. As such, it serves
as a reminder of all the
exiles throughout the his-
tory of the Jewish people.
We, therefore, give thanks
to God for helping us to
survive despite the many
persecutions that threaten
to overcome us.
A second symbol may be found as
represented by the "clouds of glory"
which- surrounded us in the desert
— God's splendor and a sanctuary,
which was the precursor of the Holy
Temple.
In the Torah portion, the descrip-
tion of Sukkot is broken into two
parts. In the first (Leviticus 23:33-
38) we are told: "On the 15th day of
this seventh month shall be the fes-
tival of Sukkot, seven days for God
... these are the festivals of the Lord
which you shall call holy congrega-
tions."
And again in Leviticus 23:39-44:
... on the 15th day of the seventh
month when you gather in the crop
of the land, you shall celebrate God's
festival for a seven-day period ... you
shall take the fruit of the citron tree,
the branches of date palms, twigs of
a plaited tree (myrtle) and willows
of brooks, and you shall rejoice. You
shall dwell in booths for a seven-day
period so that your generations will
know that I caused the people of
Israel to dwell in booths when I took
them from the Land of Egypt."
The festival, therefore, expressed
the transition from the arid desert
to a place of trees and rivers, fruits
and vegetables (symbolized by the
four species). It is a desert festival
celebrating our wanderings and sur-
vival (living in huts) and a redemp-
tion festival, representing the begin-
ning of our lives in our homeland
(the four species).
The holiday is structured to take
us out of our homes to surround
ourselves with the fruits
of the land as we live
beneath a roof of vegeta-
tion and look up at the
stars. We are asked to
return to the basics: home
and family.
Living in the sukkah
is a way for us to joyfully
express our gratitude for
food, water and roofs
over our heads that we
are able to enjoy due to
God's sheltering us in the
wilderness all those many
years ago; we try to live
life in connection with both God
and nature.
For the week, we are asked to leave
our "fancy" surroundings and spend
time in a simple hut: strengthen-
ing familial love, communing with
our ancestors, singing and speaking
and sharing together. The emphasis
is not on the venue but on content,
not on external appearances but on
inner feelings.
No matter our title or position, no
matter the level of material comfort
we experience daily, this week pro-
vides us with a reminder that the
source of all our blessings is God.
This is a time to rejoice, to enjoy
time with guests, to sing and study
and really appreciate the life we live
as we emulate the ultimate Host,
who feeds, clothes and houses all
His creatures.
Sukkot — a time to live life to
the fullest by reducing life to its
basic importances and celebrate the
bonding with God.
Conversations
Suggest some ways that we
can continue to return to basic
existence in our everyday lives
beyond this festival; going
"green" is a start.