Rethinking Sukkot: Balance
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Are we and those we love able to face life’s losses, setbacks, and hardships, secure in the rhythms of life – in the knowledge that there is a “time to every purpose”?
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Are we and those we love able to face life’s losses, setbacks, and hardships, secure in the rhythms of life – in the knowledge that there is a “time to every purpose”?
קהלת ג׳:א׳-ח׳

(א) לַכֹּ֖ל זְמָ֑ן וְעֵ֥ת לְכׇל־חֵ֖פֶץ תַּ֥חַת הַשָּׁמָֽיִם׃ {ס}(ב) עֵ֥ת לָלֶ֖דֶת וְעֵ֣ת לָמ֑וּת עֵ֣ת לָטַ֔עַת וְעֵ֖ת לַעֲק֥וֹר נָטֽוּעַ׃ (ג) עֵ֤ת לַהֲרוֹג֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִרְפּ֔וֹא עֵ֥ת לִפְר֖וֹץ וְעֵ֥ת לִבְנֽוֹת׃ (ד) עֵ֤ת לִבְכּוֹת֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂח֔וֹק עֵ֥ת סְפ֖וֹד וְעֵ֥ת רְקֽוֹד׃ (ה) עֵ֚ת לְהַשְׁלִ֣יךְ אֲבָנִ֔ים וְעֵ֖ת כְּנ֣וֹס אֲבָנִ֑ים עֵ֣ת לַחֲב֔וֹק וְעֵ֖ת לִרְחֹ֥ק מֵחַבֵּֽק׃ (ו) עֵ֤ת לְבַקֵּשׁ֙ וְעֵ֣ת לְאַבֵּ֔ד עֵ֥ת לִשְׁמ֖וֹר וְעֵ֥ת לְהַשְׁלִֽיךְ׃ (ז) עֵ֤ת לִקְר֙וֹעַ֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִתְפּ֔וֹר עֵ֥ת לַחֲשׁ֖וֹת וְעֵ֥ת לְדַבֵּֽר׃ (ח) עֵ֤ת לֶֽאֱהֹב֙ וְעֵ֣ת לִשְׂנֹ֔א עֵ֥ת מִלְחָמָ֖ה וְעֵ֥ת שָׁלֽוֹם׃ {ס}

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

(1)A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven: (2)A time for birthing and a time for dying,A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;(3)A time for slaying and a time for healing, A time for tearing down and a time for building up;(4)A time for weeping and a time for laughing,A time for wailing and a time for dancing;(5)A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;(6)A time for seeking and a time for losing,A time for keeping and a time for discarding;(7)A time for ripping and a time for sewing,A time for silence and a time for speaking;(8)A time for loving and a time for hating;A time for war and a time for peace.

Commentary: Rabbi Marla Hornsten
"This famous passage from Kohelet [Ecclesiastes] finds its way into many funeral services thanks to its ability to capture the whole of the life experience—times to embrace and laugh and dance and times to weep and lose and discard. It captures life’s imperfection and the need to create balance between the good and the bad, life’s trials and triumphs, pain and joy. As Kohelet reminds us, we may experience either pole of experience at any point in our lives. Perhaps the measure of a full life is appreciating each of these moments for what they are – a natural part of life well-lived."
  • Rabbi Hornsten is a rabbi at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where she has been since 2000. She is the co-chair of JWI’s Clergy Task Force and is also involved with domestic violence prevention work in her local community.
  • Conversations
  1. What are the markers of a successful life? A life well lived?
  2. Is it whether we have been able to create a network of people whom we can count on, and who can count on us, to be there in tough times, not to mention to celebrate with in good times?
  3. Is it whether we have allowed ourselves to get out of our comfort zone - be vulnerable in relationships, challenged ourselves professionally, and committed ourselves to take new risks?
  4. Are you motivated to live a fuller life this year? How will you go about that? What stands in your way?
Commentary by Deborah Rosenbloom
"King Solomon got it right. Indeed, life includes all these different emotions and behaviors, particularly when we’re in a relationship. But he emphasizes that there is a set time for all of these experiences. My question is: how do we know what time it is? How do we know whether it’s time to hold on or to let go? What if we’re wrong and we choose ‘to keep when we should discard,’ or ‘to uproot,’ rather than ‘to plant?’ What are the consequences of not knowing the time? What happens to our self, our partner, our relationship when we choose to be silent when it is time to speak, or when we fail to acknowledge that it is time to cry? How can we know what time it is? By listening to the quiet voice inside each of us, the voice we’d sometimes prefer to ignore, the one that we hear in the hush of the night, in the quiet of the dawn, the voice that may be saying something different than what our friends advise, what our favorite columnist might say, or what we want to hear, but the voice that is often truest. Trusting ourselves to know what time it is can be hard when there’s so much competing wisdom. But if we trust that like Kohelet says, there is a time for all experiences, it may make it easier to acknowledge what time it is."
  • Deborah Rosenbloom is the co-editor of the “Rethinking” guide series. She is the vice president of programs and new initiatives at JWI, working closely with the Clergy Task Force.
  • Conversations
  1. Think back to a time when you ‘listened’ to your inner voice – did it help you make the right decision? How do you know?
  2. Think back to a time when you ignored your inner voice – or didn’t even hear it. Were there any consequences that could have been avoided?
קהלת א׳:ב׳

(ב) הֲבֵ֤ל הֲבָלִים֙ אָמַ֣ר קֹהֶ֔לֶת הֲבֵ֥ל הֲבָלִ֖ים הַכֹּ֥ל הָֽבֶל׃

Ecclesiastes 1:2

(2)Utter futility!—said Koheleth—Utter futility! All is futile!

קהלת ה׳:י״ז-י״ח

(יז) הִנֵּ֞ה אֲשֶׁר־רָאִ֣יתִי אָ֗נִי ט֣וֹב אֲשֶׁר־יָפֶ֣ה לֶֽאֱכוֹל־וְ֠לִשְׁתּ֠וֹת וְלִרְא֨וֹת טוֹבָ֜ה בְּכׇל־עֲמָל֣וֹ ׀ שֶׁיַּעֲמֹ֣ל תַּֽחַת־הַשֶּׁ֗מֶשׁ מִסְפַּ֧ר יְמֵי־חַיָּ֛ו אֲשֶׁר־נָֽתַן־ל֥וֹ הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים כִּי־ה֥וּא חֶלְקֽוֹ׃ (יח) גַּ֣ם כׇּֽל־הָאָדָ֡ם אֲשֶׁ֣ר נָֽתַן־ל֣וֹ הָאֱלֹהִים֩ עֹ֨שֶׁר וּנְכָסִ֜ים וְהִשְׁלִיט֨וֹ לֶאֱכֹ֤ל מִמֶּ֙נּוּ֙ וְלָשֵׂ֣את אֶת־חֶלְק֔וֹ וְלִשְׂמֹ֖חַ בַּעֲמָל֑וֹ זֹ֕ה מַתַּ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים הִֽיא׃

Ecclesiastes 5:17-18

(17) Only this, I have found, is a real good: to eat and drink and get pleasure with all the gains you make under the sun, during the numbered days of life that God has given you; for that is your portion. (18) Also, whenever people are given riches and property by God, and they are also permitted to enjoy them and to take their portion and get pleasure for their gains—that is a gift of God.

Commentary by Rabbis Marla Hornsten and Amy Bolton
"How do we find the balance between the Book of Ecclesiastes and the Festival of Sukkot? Reading the book of Ecclesiastes can be discouraging, leaving us with the overall feelings of disenchantment and depression. Better to go to a funeral than a party. There is, indeed, a time for every experience under heaven, including doom and war and death. Over and over again, the text begs the question, where is the meaning in life? For Kohelet says, “I have observed all the happenings beneath the sun, and I found that all is futile and the pursuit of wind.” Mirth—futile. Revelry—madness. Wealth—useless. So, where is the potential for hope?
We can in fact find hope in the sukkah itself, when we remind ourselves that the book of Ecclesiastes and the festival of Sukkot go hand in hand. Despite the cool autumn weather that sometimes accompanies this holiday, it is a festival filled with warmth, abundance and prosperity. Sukkot is even called by our Rabbis z’man simchateinu, the season of our overflowing joy. Simply being in the sukkah reminds us to take advantage of the moments we have, however fleeting, with those we love; to treasure the legacy of those who have come before us and made us who we are today. This, to quote Kohelet, “is a real good.”
Although the sukkah is a fragile structure, it nevertheless protects us, shelters us, and provides refuge. It can serve as the antidote to the hopelessness of Kohelet. The sukkah doubles as our home, or the way a home should be—a place of safety and a place where we feel cared for and loved. When we dwell in the sukkah, we can open ourselves up to the experience of God’s warm embrace, reminding ourselves that in fact, there is time for every experience under heaven: including a time for healing, a time for laughing, a time for dancing, and a time for peace."
  • Rabbi Bolton is the spiritual care counselor for Visiting Nurse Services of New York and a former member of JWI’s Clergy Task Force.
  • Rabbi Hornsten is a rabbi at Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Michigan, where she has been since 2000. She is the co-chair of JWI’s Clergy Task Force and is also involved with domestic violence prevention work in her local community.
  • Conversations
  1. When you are feeling hopeless or in despair (as the writer of Kohelet often seems to feel), from what or whom do you take the strength to go on? Can you share an experience of how your heart was healed after a period of hopelessness?
  2. In his commentary on Ecclesiastes 5:17, the medieval scholar Rashi challenges us to be “happy with our portion.” How can we do that when we face difficult, seemingly unbearable, challenges?
  3. Are there possible new avenues for help and protection this year that you feel ready or almost ready to investigate? What is most likely to help you take the first step toward them?
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