21 Tishrei | Week 6 – Sukkot: Honoring the In-Gathering, Praying for Rain
Why is Sukkot one of the most important holidays?
After Yom Kippur, when we’ve completed our spiritual cleansing, we now head outside to build our harvest hut (sukkah) with a roof open to the sky, vulnerable to creation. Sukkot is the festival of the in-gathering, when we gather in the people to celebrate and honor the food on our table. We step into our relationship with creation one layer deeper. On Sukkot, we pray for rain. In ancient times Sukkot was the festival of the water drawing, the biggest and most joyous gathering of the year to celebrate the waters of creation. Let’s dance for the rains together!
Weekly Teshuvah Exercise
Go outside in a sukkah, one you build or someone else’s. Wave a lulav with the intent to connect with the waters of the world. Make a lulav of species from your own land to connect to your own environment. Create a water alter, as simple as a bowl of water, and give gratitude to the water throughout the seven days of Sukkot.
