Judaism is an Experiential Religion
Coming off of the holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah, I got to thinking.
Sukkot is the holiday where we Jews sit in huts, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and how our ancestors camped out in the desert on the way to the Promised Land. We place our trust in G-d and live in temporary shelters for about 8 days. We shake a Lulav and Etrog, to remind ourselves that all these pieces to the Lulav (palm branches, myrtle branches, willow branches) and Etrog symbolize the different Jews in the world - and that we need ALL Jews to be a complete People.
Simchat Torah immediately follows Sukkot. A special holiday where we dance and celebrate the completion and re-starting of the reading of the Torah. We don't dance with the Torahs open to see the writing, rather the scrolls are closed. Why? To understand that the Torah belongs to ALL Jews whether they understand what is written inside that scroll or not... it belongs to ALL of us, not just the learned.
Sukkot and Simchat Torah strike me as holidays that focus on the experience - living in a sukkah... shaking a Lulav and Etrog... dancing with the Torah. A physical experience is something that ALL Jews can appreciate and be a part of.
Wishing everyone a Shana Tova! and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
Sukkot is the holiday where we Jews sit in huts, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt and how our ancestors camped out in the desert on the way to the Promised Land. We place our trust in G-d and live in temporary shelters for about 8 days. We shake a Lulav and Etrog, to remind ourselves that all these pieces to the Lulav (palm branches, myrtle branches, willow branches) and Etrog symbolize the different Jews in the world - and that we need ALL Jews to be a complete People.
Simchat Torah immediately follows Sukkot. A special holiday where we dance and celebrate the completion and re-starting of the reading of the Torah. We don't dance with the Torahs open to see the writing, rather the scrolls are closed. Why? To understand that the Torah belongs to ALL Jews whether they understand what is written inside that scroll or not... it belongs to ALL of us, not just the learned.
Sukkot and Simchat Torah strike me as holidays that focus on the experience - living in a sukkah... shaking a Lulav and Etrog... dancing with the Torah. A physical experience is something that ALL Jews can appreciate and be a part of.
Wishing everyone a Shana Tova! and a Happy and Healthy New Year!
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