Happy Sukkot (and Shemini Atzeres)
Havel Havelim
On Sukkot, G-d commanded us to be happy. We are also commanded to eat in temporary dwelllings with roofs that we can see through, shake lulav and esrog, refrain from work, etc. Primarily, we are commanded to be happy. Then we spend Shemini Atzeres celebrating more. We dance with the Torah scrolls. Either way, we celebrate.
Havel Havelim.
Last year, Hamas murdered hundreds of Israeli peace activists, teenagers and children. They raped teenagers. They dragged families out of their houses. They kidnapped civilians. The mass murders weren't the worst part. As diaspora Jews, we saw our friends and allies celebrate the rapes and the murders. We always knew that our leftist friends had no love for Israel – holding it to a higher standard than any nation, throwing around terms like “ethnostate” and “Apartheid” and “colonization” without shame. We did not know how much they'd celebrate shooting teenagers as “the resistance.” They were always so good at calling out Republicans for their antisemitism. We didn't see how enthusiastically they'd broadcast Hamas antisemitism.
On Sukkoth, we read Koheleth (Ecclesiastes) which repeats the phrase “havel havelim.” It can be translated as “vanity of vanities”, “futility of futility”, “everything passes” or “shit happens.” In the story of Cain and Abel, Abel's Hebrew name is Havel. Some find Koheleth depressing. Repeatedly, Koheleth tells us that we lose everything, everyone dies and that the wicked prosper while the righteous suffer. They ask why its read on the happiest holiday. The rabbis were so disturbed that they added verses to give a fake happy ending.
We had been friends for years when I realized that I was in love with her. Mutual friends thought that we were already a couple. She was weird and funny and a great artist. We spent many Shabbos nights walking around Manhattan talking about everything and nothing and never wanting to stop. She moved away and we talked every day. She came back to NYC. I visited her. After years of acting like a couple, I asked if she wanted to make it official. She claimed to have a boyfriend. We stopped talking I tried to rationalize it. So often in the past I had mistaken an obsessive infatuation for love, only to realize much later that I was in love with the feeling.
When she started talking to me again, we fell back into old patterns – talking every day, sharing funny memes, etc. Only we couldn't pretend that we were just friends and she didn't want a serious relationship. She stopped responding to my texts and I finally asked to be left alone. We haven't talked since. I still love her. I hope she's happy. I hope her life is going well. If she never talks to me again, I will still remember those walks. I guess I really was in love with her.
Havel Havelim.
Koheleth began my conversion to Judaism. I read it in an academic Bible class and realized that the Bible is much more entertaining than advertised. Koheleth hit me with its honesty. People think about religion in terms of zealots justifying atrocities and pie-in-the-sky promises. How many ancient religious books sound like Albert Camus? My final paper compared Koheleth to Tao Teh Ching. I got a C. I kept studying.
On Sukkoth, we live in a virtual Sinai. We make temporary dwellings. We eat in the Sukkaah. We might even sleep in the Sukkah. Even if our apartments are messy, we can host in the communal sukkos. Shemini Atzeres is technically a new holiday. We take one day (two days in diaspora) to keep the party going. On Simchat Torah (the second day), we dance with the Torah and celebrate finishing Devarim (Deuteronomy) and start all over again with Bereishit (Genesis). Moses says his last words and dies. Then G-d creates the universe again.
Havel Havelim.
The first time I celebrated Simchat Torah, we took the scrolls out and walked around Dinkytown. One of the scrolls had been rescued from Nazis. I still remember an evangelist shouting at us to abandon the Torah for Jesus. We sang and ignored him. When we returned to Hillel, he was still there, shaking his head, not believing that Jews could reject Jesus in favor of the Torah. Christians don't understand our relationship to the Torah. They think it's a burden. They imagine that we suffer under Shabbos laws and desperately crave ham.
Hamas committed mass murder on Simchat Torah. I wish I had not cheated and checked my phone that day. I could have enjoyed the holiday more without that knowledge. Since that day, Jews have lost friends and allies. People who never cared about Syria, Kurdistan, Sudan, the Uyghurs, etc accuse us of genocide. Genocide accusations are the modern blood libel. Again we learn that the goyim hate us. Again, we learn how much our fellow Jews have internalized the antisemitism. They assume that their psychotic obsession with a small country in the Middle East is a coincidence, similar to their ignorance of Russia, China, Iran, etc. Because of antisemitic Jews, every leftist Nazi can scream “How DARE you call me antisemitic. Some of my best friends are Jews.”
Havel Havelim.
Happiness is easier this year. Sinwar is dead. His Nazi fans, like Caitlin Johnstone, try to frame his last moments as heroic. He threw a stick at a drone. One can only hope that Caitline Johnstone (as well as her Russian and CCP donors) has a similarly brave ending, sooner than later. How much more joy could we have experienced had Haniyeh accepted the money to build up Gaza and turn it into a paradise? Instead, he chose to keep the intifada going and pay for his luxury condo. He's also dead.
Sukkot is a time of temporary dwellings, temporary produce shaking, temporary joy. Our lives are short. We have the Torah. We have false friends. On Yom Kippur we repent out of fear. On Sukkot we repent out of love. All of our sins become mitzvos. For a week out of the year, we take joy from havel havelim. Drink and eat and love while your can. It all goes away too fast.
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