Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Thank you for joining me. I'm Rabbi David Lyon from
Congregation Both Israel in Houston. As many of you know
or you should know, the Jewish community around the world
just concluded celebrating Yomkeepur, the holiest day of the year,
and though there was crisis in England on the holiday,
(00:22):
it doesn't dispel or affect our hopes and dreams that
despite it all, the new year will be filled with
opportunities for greater cohesiveness, greater calm, and greater peace for
all people. And that is why after Yom Kipur, one
of the first deeds that Jews do is go to
(00:44):
build the suka. The sukah is the fragile booth described
in the Book of Leviticus. There it tells us that
while the Israelites traveled through the wilderness on their way
to the Promised Land, they lived in booze fragile huts.
And these who coat Hebrew in plural, are built by
(01:04):
Jews around the world, sometimes in their backyards or in
the local synagogue where they gather. The reason that one
of the first d's that Jews do after Yomkipur ends
is to go and hammer the first nail into the soka.
To put it up is to demonstrate that the day
of Yomkipoor, while important and filled with fasting, contemplation, and introspection,
(01:30):
is not where Jewish life dwells, is not where we
sit every day. Jewish life is filled with joy, commitments, deeds, study, learning,
and contributions to the world around us. And so that
first act is a demonstration that we're back at it.
(01:51):
We're entering a time, and we are on our way somewhere,
just as the suka reflected and reminds us about our
Israelite ANSWER's own journeys we call sukote zman simcraatenu. It
enters us into a season called the season of our joy,
because joy is at the root and the heart of
(02:14):
Jewish life. I've often taught and probably told you before,
that when we raise a cup of wine and we
say lachaiam like other people say cheers or salud la
chaia means to life. It doesn't mean to frustration or
pain or anger. It means that we lift a cup
full of wine, sometimes even pouring over the rim, to
(02:38):
demonstrate that the wine a symbol of joy and Judaism
is potentially overflowing. But that's Suka, that fragile booth where
Jews are commanded by Tor to spend seven days, sometimes inside,
of course, but at least maybe choosing a meal, inviting guests,
(02:58):
and having time in the soka to attend to daily
business studies. Reading, relaxing is a way of reminding ourselves
that while we might live in homes with doors and
locks and codes and gates and alarms, really the world
we live in is one that is also guarded by
(03:20):
and surrounded by God's presence. And Aska is built in
such a way that the walls are flimsy and the
roof has to show some amount of space open to
the sky above, so that when we enter the soka
we are constantly reminded that we are not sitting in
(03:41):
or sleeping in a permanent dwelling space. It is fragile
and reminds us about the relationship to the world around us,
and especially the world in which we spend time contemplating
God's presence, doing God's deeds, and helping the world to
be a bed a sturdier place for others too. There
(04:04):
are certain functions that we perform when we enter the soka,
and when the holiday begins. The Book of Leviticus also
teaches us to take up four species and to celebrate
before God with them. What are they? They are the
willows of the brook, the boughs of the leafy trees,
the palm branch, and a fruit called a citron or
(04:28):
an etrogue. When these four are taken together, we hold
them in our hands and we shake them in all
the directions up and down, north, south, east, and west,
to demonstrate that God's presence is everywhere now. The rabbis
and the Rhembitic interpretations called midrash also had something more
(04:49):
to say about the lulav branches the four species. They
said that the palm branch is like the human spine.
We sometimes are bent, but we don't break. And it
is a particularly important quality of the Jewish people and
of those who have faced trauma and crisis, to know
(05:12):
that as a people, we can be bent by oppression persecution,
but we do not break. Likewise, the willow leaves are
long and slender. The rabbis attributed them to the human lips,
so that when we open our mouths, we should find
the words that need to be said, and not only
the words we want to say, choosing our words wisely
(05:35):
helps to build connections, to bridge gaps between people, ideas,
and understanding. Using our words wise it contributes to the
other features that are also symbolized in the lulav. The
myrtle leaf is round like our eyes, and so when
we open our eyes and we see the world around us,
(05:57):
we should more often see beauty than ugliness, opportunity then despair.
And because it's a world that God created, it's really
our duty to see in all of those acts of
creation something filled with potential, even if we don't understand it,
even if we might come to the conclusion that it
is ugly, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have a purpose.
(06:21):
It doesn't mean that it isn't pretty or meaningful to
somebody else. And finally, the yellow fruit that looks like
a lemon, but it's called an etrogue is a symbol
the rabbis equated with the human heart. And while we
often say that the human heart is filled with love emotions,
I often say that that's really a hallmark invention because
(06:44):
the Rabbi said that the heart is the seat of wisdom, sincerity,
and understanding. Like when we say do it with all
your heart or know it by heart. It means that
it's really ours. We really do it with meaning under standing,
and we won't forget it. And so if we use
all of these symbols that are associated with the human body,
(07:07):
then we use all of them in concert with God's
commandments and expectations. When we use them together, we really
are a whole human being, doing all that we can
and potentially even better each day. But what the Rabbis
also taught is that each of these elements, each of
(07:27):
these four species, represents a different kind of person in
the community. It is too much to share with you
in one short program today, but I want you to understand,
as I know you can, that we see people all
around us. Some are the very same people like we are.
Some are very different, Some are a little different. Some
(07:51):
are short or tall, smart or simple, young or old,
learning or unlearned. And as all of these people participate
and come through our community, we have an opportunity and
a duty to appreciate that they too are not only
created in God's image, but they are also containing holiness,
(08:14):
a light which God created in them. We bow to
their holiness. We come to understand them through conversation and
discussion so that we can bridge the gaps that sometimes
keep us too far apart from each other. But what's more,
by holding the Lulave branches together in one we also
(08:34):
demonstrate that we are not only individuals who take care
of ourselves. We are a community that does better that
when we are bound together. Just as Alulave demonstrates, so
when we hold it and we shake it in all
the directions to find and demonstrate that God is all
around us, it isn't only for our understanding and benefit.
(08:56):
We see that all of us are found in God's word,
and there we have the ability to avail ourselves of
God's blessing, God's hopefulness, and to learn from God's teachings
and God's ways. The children who learn about these traditions,
I sometimes have to help them understand that while the
(09:18):
tour says to take these four branches and celebrate with them,
you know kids today they celebrate and they play with
toys and games and electronics that some of us could
only imagine and dream about when we were children. To
take four branches and a piece of fruit and tell
them to hold them together and have fun. I think
some of the kids want to know, where is the
(09:40):
version two point zero, how do you turn it on?
And where do you charge it? Well, these branches really
do bring us back to the fundamental things that grow
on earth, all the things that God created, And if
we can help our children understand some of the basics,
perhaps then they'll also appreciate that the electronics that they
play within their hands are also the product of human development,
(10:03):
human ingenuity, and a lot of that is created by
God in us too. We just live in extraordinary times,
but even in extraordinary times, it doesn't change the fact
that some things never change. Our need to connect as
a community, our need to find meaning in our respective
religious traditions mean that Jews today are preparing for Sukkot
(10:28):
to begin in a few days on the fifteenth day
of the Hebrew month of Tishre, and to spend seven
or eight days celebrating in Asuka, inviting guests to join
them there shaking a lulah, to participate in the Mitzvah
and the commandment, and to appreciate that while we've accomplished
(10:49):
all that the ten days of repentance meant to be
from Russia Shuna to Yomkipur Sukkot as we celebrate brings
us into a year filled with every opportunity to know
greater joy and life and peace. And some of you
might know that the very last day after Soukkote is
(11:10):
called Simpka Torah. Simp Katura means the joy of Torah,
and it is the very day when we roll back
the Torah from the very last words of Deuteronomy to
begin the reading cycle all over again with the very
first words of beret sheet or Genesis in chapter one one,
when God began to create and imagine the world around us.
(11:36):
And then, as children often ask, why are we reading
it again, it's really been true for thousands of years
that we've been reading the Torah year after year. But
the other truth is that while the Torah hasn't changed,
we have changed, and so we're commanded to turn it
(11:56):
and turn it and to study it again and again
because all is contained within it. And while we have changed,
we look for new meaning and understanding that perhaps a
long time ago could not have been revealed because the
times weren't ready. But now the times are new, and
we have an obligation to pull out of and interpret
(12:17):
the Torah for the same reasons our ancestors did to
find wisdom, to find the words, and most importantly, the
ways to contribute to the world in a way that
will bring God's honor and glory to all of us.
For greater peace, for greater sustenance, and greater joy for all.
(12:38):
I'm Rabbi David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel and Houston.
To listen again or share this message with others, please
find it at my podcast called Heart to Heart with
Rabbi David Lyon at Sunny ninety nine dot com and
on the iHeartRadio app. I know that as the fall
continues to unfold, now that October is here, curation signal
(13:01):
that Halloween is coming. Well, it is, but it's certainly
just a cultural and fun holiday for everybody in America.
But let's not forget what is unique to each of
us in our respective faith traditions. They too, help us
to become the people that we need to be, even
(13:21):
as we link hands and arms with our neighbors who
are different from us, Because it's in the diversity of
our country that we find the richness of what is
possible to understand about a world of God's creation, and
not just our very own So if you see a
Jewish neighbor or friend, especially as Sukote begins, you might
(13:42):
say hag samayach it means happy holiday, or enjoy Sukote.
Even better, ask for an invitation to join them in
asuka or in a celebration of the holiday, because it
is filled with sweetness and hopefulness. And one of the Mitzvah's,
one of the commandments and good deeds to do, is
(14:04):
for someone who has asuka to invite a stranger, a
guest to join them there, because then we share, we participate,
We fulfill the greatest mitzvah to welcome the stranger, to
welcome visitors, and to grow our community, not to get
over enmity, but we grow our community through the very
(14:25):
expectation that we can find humanity in each other and
no joy and friendship and love between us. So as
holidays continue, let's be aware of all that each of
us is doing, not only in the Jewish community or
the Christian community, or the Muslim community, but everywhere around us.
(14:46):
Let's be sure that we avail of ourselves of information,
to be sure that we are not afraid of anything
we don't understand. We're coming closer to understanding so much more.
Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to
being with you again and next time
Thank you for joining me. I'm Rabbi David Lyon from
Congregation Both Israel in Houston. As many of you know
or you should know, the Jewish community around the world
just concluded celebrating Yomkeepur, the holiest day of the year,
and though there was crisis in England on the holiday,
(00:22):
it doesn't dispel or affect our hopes and dreams that
despite it all, the new year will be filled with
opportunities for greater cohesiveness, greater calm, and greater peace for
all people. And that is why after Yom Kipur, one
of the first deeds that Jews do is go to
(00:44):
build the suka. The sukah is the fragile booth described
in the Book of Leviticus. There it tells us that
while the Israelites traveled through the wilderness on their way
to the Promised Land, they lived in booze fragile huts.
And these who coat Hebrew in plural, are built by
(01:04):
Jews around the world, sometimes in their backyards or in
the local synagogue where they gather. The reason that one
of the first d's that Jews do after Yomkipur ends
is to go and hammer the first nail into the soka.
To put it up is to demonstrate that the day
of Yomkipoor, while important and filled with fasting, contemplation, and introspection,
(01:30):
is not where Jewish life dwells, is not where we
sit every day. Jewish life is filled with joy, commitments, deeds, study, learning,
and contributions to the world around us. And so that
first act is a demonstration that we're back at it.
(01:51):
We're entering a time, and we are on our way somewhere,
just as the suka reflected and reminds us about our
Israelite ANSWER's own journeys we call sukote zman simcraatenu. It
enters us into a season called the season of our joy,
because joy is at the root and the heart of
(02:14):
Jewish life. I've often taught and probably told you before,
that when we raise a cup of wine and we
say lachaiam like other people say cheers or salud la
chaia means to life. It doesn't mean to frustration or
pain or anger. It means that we lift a cup
full of wine, sometimes even pouring over the rim, to
(02:38):
demonstrate that the wine a symbol of joy and Judaism
is potentially overflowing. But that's Suka, that fragile booth where
Jews are commanded by Tor to spend seven days, sometimes inside,
of course, but at least maybe choosing a meal, inviting guests,
(02:58):
and having time in the soka to attend to daily
business studies. Reading, relaxing is a way of reminding ourselves
that while we might live in homes with doors and
locks and codes and gates and alarms, really the world
we live in is one that is also guarded by
(03:20):
and surrounded by God's presence. And Aska is built in
such a way that the walls are flimsy and the
roof has to show some amount of space open to
the sky above, so that when we enter the soka
we are constantly reminded that we are not sitting in
(03:41):
or sleeping in a permanent dwelling space. It is fragile
and reminds us about the relationship to the world around us,
and especially the world in which we spend time contemplating
God's presence, doing God's deeds, and helping the world to
be a bed a sturdier place for others too. There
(04:04):
are certain functions that we perform when we enter the soka,
and when the holiday begins. The Book of Leviticus also
teaches us to take up four species and to celebrate
before God with them. What are they? They are the
willows of the brook, the boughs of the leafy trees,
the palm branch, and a fruit called a citron or
(04:28):
an etrogue. When these four are taken together, we hold
them in our hands and we shake them in all
the directions up and down, north, south, east, and west,
to demonstrate that God's presence is everywhere now. The rabbis
and the Rhembitic interpretations called midrash also had something more
(04:49):
to say about the lulav branches the four species. They
said that the palm branch is like the human spine.
We sometimes are bent, but we don't break. And it
is a particularly important quality of the Jewish people and
of those who have faced trauma and crisis, to know
(05:12):
that as a people, we can be bent by oppression persecution,
but we do not break. Likewise, the willow leaves are
long and slender. The rabbis attributed them to the human lips,
so that when we open our mouths, we should find
the words that need to be said, and not only
the words we want to say, choosing our words wisely
(05:35):
helps to build connections, to bridge gaps between people, ideas,
and understanding. Using our words wise it contributes to the
other features that are also symbolized in the lulav. The
myrtle leaf is round like our eyes, and so when
we open our eyes and we see the world around us,
(05:57):
we should more often see beauty than ugliness, opportunity then despair.
And because it's a world that God created, it's really
our duty to see in all of those acts of
creation something filled with potential, even if we don't understand it,
even if we might come to the conclusion that it
is ugly, it doesn't mean that it doesn't have a purpose.
(06:21):
It doesn't mean that it isn't pretty or meaningful to
somebody else. And finally, the yellow fruit that looks like
a lemon, but it's called an etrogue is a symbol
the rabbis equated with the human heart. And while we
often say that the human heart is filled with love emotions,
I often say that that's really a hallmark invention because
(06:44):
the Rabbi said that the heart is the seat of wisdom, sincerity,
and understanding. Like when we say do it with all
your heart or know it by heart. It means that
it's really ours. We really do it with meaning under standing,
and we won't forget it. And so if we use
all of these symbols that are associated with the human body,
(07:07):
then we use all of them in concert with God's
commandments and expectations. When we use them together, we really
are a whole human being, doing all that we can
and potentially even better each day. But what the Rabbis
also taught is that each of these elements, each of
(07:27):
these four species, represents a different kind of person in
the community. It is too much to share with you
in one short program today, but I want you to understand,
as I know you can, that we see people all
around us. Some are the very same people like we are.
Some are very different, Some are a little different. Some
(07:51):
are short or tall, smart or simple, young or old,
learning or unlearned. And as all of these people participate
and come through our community, we have an opportunity and
a duty to appreciate that they too are not only
created in God's image, but they are also containing holiness,
(08:14):
a light which God created in them. We bow to
their holiness. We come to understand them through conversation and
discussion so that we can bridge the gaps that sometimes
keep us too far apart from each other. But what's more,
by holding the Lulave branches together in one we also
(08:34):
demonstrate that we are not only individuals who take care
of ourselves. We are a community that does better that
when we are bound together. Just as Alulave demonstrates, so
when we hold it and we shake it in all
the directions to find and demonstrate that God is all
around us, it isn't only for our understanding and benefit.
(08:56):
We see that all of us are found in God's word,
and there we have the ability to avail ourselves of
God's blessing, God's hopefulness, and to learn from God's teachings
and God's ways. The children who learn about these traditions,
I sometimes have to help them understand that while the
(09:18):
tour says to take these four branches and celebrate with them,
you know kids today they celebrate and they play with
toys and games and electronics that some of us could
only imagine and dream about when we were children. To
take four branches and a piece of fruit and tell
them to hold them together and have fun. I think
some of the kids want to know, where is the
(09:40):
version two point zero, how do you turn it on?
And where do you charge it? Well, these branches really
do bring us back to the fundamental things that grow
on earth, all the things that God created, And if
we can help our children understand some of the basics,
perhaps then they'll also appreciate that the electronics that they
play within their hands are also the product of human development,
(10:03):
human ingenuity, and a lot of that is created by
God in us too. We just live in extraordinary times,
but even in extraordinary times, it doesn't change the fact
that some things never change. Our need to connect as
a community, our need to find meaning in our respective
religious traditions mean that Jews today are preparing for Sukkot
(10:28):
to begin in a few days on the fifteenth day
of the Hebrew month of Tishre, and to spend seven
or eight days celebrating in Asuka, inviting guests to join
them there shaking a lulah, to participate in the Mitzvah
and the commandment, and to appreciate that while we've accomplished
(10:49):
all that the ten days of repentance meant to be
from Russia Shuna to Yomkipur Sukkot as we celebrate brings
us into a year filled with every opportunity to know
greater joy and life and peace. And some of you
might know that the very last day after Soukkote is
(11:10):
called Simpka Torah. Simp Katura means the joy of Torah,
and it is the very day when we roll back
the Torah from the very last words of Deuteronomy to
begin the reading cycle all over again with the very
first words of beret sheet or Genesis in chapter one one,
when God began to create and imagine the world around us.
(11:36):
And then, as children often ask, why are we reading
it again, it's really been true for thousands of years
that we've been reading the Torah year after year. But
the other truth is that while the Torah hasn't changed,
we have changed, and so we're commanded to turn it
(11:56):
and turn it and to study it again and again
because all is contained within it. And while we have changed,
we look for new meaning and understanding that perhaps a
long time ago could not have been revealed because the
times weren't ready. But now the times are new, and
we have an obligation to pull out of and interpret
(12:17):
the Torah for the same reasons our ancestors did to
find wisdom, to find the words, and most importantly, the
ways to contribute to the world in a way that
will bring God's honor and glory to all of us.
For greater peace, for greater sustenance, and greater joy for all.
(12:38):
I'm Rabbi David Lyon from Congregation Beth Israel and Houston.
To listen again or share this message with others, please
find it at my podcast called Heart to Heart with
Rabbi David Lyon at Sunny ninety nine dot com and
on the iHeartRadio app. I know that as the fall
continues to unfold, now that October is here, curation signal
(13:01):
that Halloween is coming. Well, it is, but it's certainly
just a cultural and fun holiday for everybody in America.
But let's not forget what is unique to each of
us in our respective faith traditions. They too, help us
to become the people that we need to be, even
(13:21):
as we link hands and arms with our neighbors who
are different from us, Because it's in the diversity of
our country that we find the richness of what is
possible to understand about a world of God's creation, and
not just our very own So if you see a
Jewish neighbor or friend, especially as Sukote begins, you might
(13:42):
say hag samayach it means happy holiday, or enjoy Sukote.
Even better, ask for an invitation to join them in
asuka or in a celebration of the holiday, because it
is filled with sweetness and hopefulness. And one of the Mitzvah's,
one of the commandments and good deeds to do, is
(14:04):
for someone who has asuka to invite a stranger, a
guest to join them there, because then we share, we participate,
We fulfill the greatest mitzvah to welcome the stranger, to
welcome visitors, and to grow our community, not to get
over enmity, but we grow our community through the very
(14:25):
expectation that we can find humanity in each other and
no joy and friendship and love between us. So as
holidays continue, let's be aware of all that each of
us is doing, not only in the Jewish community or
the Christian community, or the Muslim community, but everywhere around us.
(14:46):
Let's be sure that we avail of ourselves of information,
to be sure that we are not afraid of anything
we don't understand. We're coming closer to understanding so much more.
Thank you for joining me today. I look forward to
being with you again and next time
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