Too Much Yuntif

Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot, 5785

I had a rough week. I don’t know about you, but I had a really rough week. Sunday I was still recovering from praying all day on Yom Kippur. Monday I began to prep for Sukkot, meal plan, try to get everything ready, go grocery shopping. I figured we would just make two nice main dishes and two nice sides, and some salad, and mix and match. Tuesday after finishing work I decided to bake challah. I ran to the grocery store to get yeast, and my car battery died. After getting a boost from Adam (thanks Adam),I took my care over to the AutoZone, where they said everything looked fine. Wednesday my car refused to start again. I needed to cook everything. I needed to write my sermon. Naima and I were trying to deal with a baby who needs ever more attention. And as I was desperately trying to cook three dishes at once, stressing over the fact that I hadn’t written a single line of my Shabbat sermon yet, I thought, “why do we even need this holiday? Why bother trying to make a nice Sukkot? I’m tired!”

I was tired. Hell, I am tired. But Wednesday night I sat down in my Sukkah, having put my daughter to sleep, watched the dog run around outside, had a lovely holiday meal, and thought, this was worth it.

Being “too holidayed out” is a common Jewish complaint this time of year. And look, I really do get. I am also exhausted. I have seen people ask “why are there so many holidays back to back?” Or, seen Sukkot relegated to unobserved or minor holiday status by people who feel like they did enough during the High Holidays. And trust me, I really do get it. There was a large part of my mind that wanted to throw my hands up and say “I give up on Sukkot this year!” But I didn’t. And I’m very glad that I didn’t.

I’m kind of lied when I said earlier that I had a wonderful Wednesday night. Truth is, I did have a wonderful night. But I didn’t know that when I was writing this sermon. I don’t write on holidays, so I had to guess what that first night of Sukkot would be. As of the time of writing this sermon, I was sitting down with one hour to go before candlelighting. We had barely finished everything on time. The schach had fallen down and had to be zip-tied. Our car probably needs a new battery. But as of writing this, I was so looking forward to sitting down and enjoying the holiday.

Why do we have all of these holidays in a row? I could tell you the theological answer: that Rosh Hashanah, through Yom Kippur, through Sukkot, is all one holiday. It begins with announcing the new year, then the cleansing of the altar and the Temple 10 days later in preparation for the first real holiday of the year, Sukkot, our harvest holiday. That is why there is a tradition that God does not really finish sealing the Book of Life until the end of Sukkot, that the holiday gives you one last chance to make teshuva before the new year. That is why cantors wear their high holiday kittel on Hoshana Rabba, the last day of Sukkot, and sing many of the prayers to the tune of High Holiday services. From the first of Tishrei to the 21st of Tishrei (and potentially the 23rd, if you count Shiminei Atzeret and Simchat Torah) we have one long holiday dedicated to atonement and remembering to be humble. That is why we eat and sleep in our Sukkah on Sukkot: to remind us that our lives are fragile, and to do the work in making them worthwhile.

I believe in that theological answer. But I think there is another answer as well. Our modern lives are so busy spent rushing rushing rushing. Work and work and more work. The idea of so many holidays (7 in 23 days!) that need time off from work, assuming none overlap with weekends, is crazy to many an office manager, or most people. But Judaism has a counter-cultural edge to it. Life is about more than work. It requires us to take days to rest. We have that reminder every week with Shabbat. Tishrei comes to remind us that sometimes we need more than a day. Sometimes we need multiple days to be with family, to eat delicious food, to sing songs, to celebrate, to rest from work. There is nothing wrong with taking all of these holidays. They are not meant as punishment, but as a gift.

So I put in the effort for the holidays. I bake challah and make nice dishes I rarely do otherwise, even for those meals where it is just Naima and myself. Because the holiday is worth it. Because the time I put in beforehand, all the tzures it causes me, I reap in joy throughout the holiday. Because I want to be able to take a day, or two, or even this year three in a row to not work, but to enjoy life.

I know that Sukkot is not the most popular holiday in this congregation. I know that it seems hard. I know this holiday season is overstuffed. But my challenge for you this year is to take the time to breathe, and enjoy Sukkot. It’s not over yet. We have four more days of Sukkot, plus two more holiday days in the form of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Use those days to slow down. Come to services. Come to our Simchat Torah dinner. Have a nice meal. Celebrate. Sing. Life is about more than work. Tishrei urges us to take some time for ourselves. Lets try listening to her this year. Lets celebrate our holidays, and our time to rest.

Shabbat Shalom, and Moadim L”Simcha!