SUKKOT AND STABILITY - THE NEW NORMAL

Dear Friends,

I was still up last night when the news that President Trump tested positive for Covid-19 broke. My heart felt like it jumped up into my throat – the type of feeling that you get on a roller coaster. And, I suppose that is fitting. Our national life feels like a roller coaster right now.

Yet with a roller coaster, you know the end point – the safe, stable platform at the end of ride. It is the promise in a safe conclusion, that makes a roller coaster ride exhilarating rather than frightening. Without knowing how the he upheaval in our national life will end, it is natural to feel unsettled.

One of the purposes of building a sukkah, a temporary hut for the holiday of sukkot, is to experience its instability. The concept: by living in a sukkah, we come to appreciate the stability of our permanent homes. It is easy to take “normal” for granted. The sukkah reminds us to appreciate normalcy.

The phrase the “new normal” has become part of our lexicon. Unfortunately, we don’t know yet where this “new normal” will land. Hopefully, we look back at the time period in our national life like a period of “living in a sukkah.” And, we will truly appreciate the stability, knowing we can’t take it for granted.

L'Shalom,

Rabbi Debbie Cohen