Spirituality
TORAH PORTION
Let's Stay Together!
Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot:
Exodus 33:12-34:26, Numbers 29:17-
22, Ezekiel 38:18-39:16.
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32
September 23 • 2010
remember the dialogue
session well, although
it took place more than
40 years ago. Two respected,
learned Jewish scholars
who had been study part-
ners at a yeshivah in New
York came together in a
sukkah in Cleveland (where
I grew up) for a Shabbat
afternoon presentation dur-
ing Sukkot.
One of them had become
a leading Orthodox rabbi
and day school principal;
the other was my Reform congrega-
tion's rabbi. The old friends' conversa-
tion moved from stories of Chasidim,
to biblical criticism, to the credibility
of cultural versus political Zionism,
to how the Jewish community should
respond regarding American civil
rights issues and to our responsibili-
ties concerning Soviet Jewry.
The hour grew late and people pre-
pared to leave. But one voice pleaded,
"Can't we continue this a while longer?
For me, this is a real sukkat shalom —
a shelter of peace and friendship!"
Then, another voice began to sing a
supporting lyric from a then-popular
song: "Why don't you stay, just a little
bit longer?"
Smiling broadly, one of the two
rabbis restarted the dialogue by para-
phrasing Rashi: "What is the basis
for Shemini Atzeret at the end of the
Sukkot festival? It's almost as if God is
politely requesting the Jewish people to
`stay, just a little bit longer' after Rosh
Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot."
But on that Shabbat Chol HaMoed
Sukkot in Cleveland, the second rabbi
gave a further explanation of this
thought, which has remained with me
ever since. In a midrash, God admits,
"It's hard for Me to see you leave." But
the phrase could also be translated as
"It is so hard for Me to see you sepa-
rated from each other!"
This festival of Sukkot and its extra
day should combat the divisiveness
and conflict that is all-too-character-
istic of our Jewish communities. The
last and greatest act of Sukkot must
be a gesture towards solidarity and
mutual respect.
•
It is in this spirit that
Temple Kol Ami has opened
its doors to members of
the B'nai Israel Synagogue.
Their customs and inter-
pretations of Conservative
Jewish life and worship
may be somewhat different
than ours in the Reform
community, but together
we can be a symbol of suk-
kat shlomechah, the shelter
of God's presence for both
congregations. The Holy
One is pleading with us,
"your separation is so hard for Me."
This lesson of cooperation can also
be derived from the following story
in the Talmud's discussion-of each
person "owning" his own lulav for
Sukkot: Four of the most famous sages
from the second century were aboard
a ship on the first day of Sukkot. But
only one of them had a lulay. So after
shaking his lulav, that rabbi shared it
with the others, who then performed
the mitzvah.
If one of us is in the position to pro-
vide the means for another to partici-
pate more fully in Jewish life, whether
with a lulav, with a sukkah or with a
synagogue building, we must do so!
In this New Year of 5771, let us
recognize how hard it is for God to
"see" us leaving the Divine Presence
and our assemblies of holiness as this
Season of Joy draws to a close. Let us
be reminded that it is just as painful
for God to "see" our separation from
one another.
Let us work respectfully towards the
establishment of a true sukkat shalom
for all Jews.
❑
Norman T. Roman is a rabbi at Temple Kol
Ami in West Bloomfield.
Conversations
How can you and your family
bring Jews closer together?
How can your celebration of
Sukkot help maintain the strong
feeling of community and holi-
ness that we all experienced on
the High Holidays?