My Weekly Drash (a mini D'var Torah) -- Sukkot 5770
Posted by Daniel M. Kimmel on October 1, 2009 | Tags: Sukkot
This week's Torah reading is related to the festival of Sukkot which commences with Shabbat. We won't be shaking the lulav and etrog until the second day this year, just as we had to wait for the second day of Rosh Hashonah to hear the shofar. Instead we'll be reading about the Jewish calendar which is very much on our minds now. When the reading gets to Sukkot we are told, "The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations." (Lev. 23:35) That seems to be fairly unambiguous in referring to the first day of the festival, but leave it to the rabbis to find ambiguity if there's a lesson to be taught. They ask why the verse refers to "the first day" when it actually means the fifteenth of Tishrei. Well, after the atonement and forgiveness of Yom Kippur, we get a new start on life. So like the hoary cliché that "today is the first day of the rest of your life," the start of Sukkot is your new first day. Students wondering what happened to the five days between Yom Kippur and Sukkot can start atoning for next year for disrespecting the sages.
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Daniel M. KimmelJoined: October 2, 2007 Daniel M. Kimmel is a Boston area film critic, lecturer and author. He does these weekly mini-lessons for the Mishkan Tefila Brotherhood's newsletter. You are free to use them for similar purposes. Divrei Torah (117) |
