This week we end the (seemingly endless!) cycle of Jewish fall holidays – starting with Rosh HaShanah, the head of the year, on the first of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, and going through Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, the seven days of Sukkot, the Feast of Booths, and coming up tonight, Shmini Atzeret, the mysterious Eighth Day of Assembly. All of these are literally commanded in the Torah, with no explanation. During medieval times, with the development of the custom of concluding the annual Torah reading cycle after the Eighth Day, communities began celebrating Simchat Torah, rejoicing with the Torah, as we start again from the Beginning.

If this sounds exhausting, it is. I like to tell my Christian friends to imagine a month of Christmas, and they generally shudder. So it is particularly interesting that Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah are known in our liturgy as “zman simchatenu”, the time of our joy. This is based on the Biblical description of the fall harvest holiday, which the prophets and rabbis said would be the only holiday still celebrated after the coming of the Messiah. But I like to think about it as a reminder that it is especially when we are exhausted and sorrowful, as all of us are this year, that we must find joy.

So how do we do that?

For me, just because of the kind of person I am, I find that taking action, however small, helps me shake off the gloom and find some joy. Getting moving to do that action can be the hardest part, but it is worth it.

This action could take different forms. It might be shaking the lulav and etrog (palm fronds and citron) in an ancient water/fertility ritual that harks back to a subsistence economy, a reminder that we must be partners with the Divine in creating life and stewarding the gifts we have been given.

Or it might be bonding together with comrades to make the world a better place, as best we can. I’m excited to say that registration for our first event for the Manitoba Friends of Standing Together is now live. Check it out here! 

Let’s find ways to be joyful together. What is your favourite?