Joy Through Fragility

Newsletter October 21st, 2024 Together, we're #keepingitsacred...

People often ask why I smile a lot. The answer was simple: I survived a major tumor when I was 9 and ever since that time, I’ve exuded joy and appreciation for being alive. That gratitude is written all over my face.  

At that young age I learned that life is fragile. One minute I was rollerskating around my apartment complex with the wind through my hair. The next I was laid up in a hospital bed with a 5” incision across my belly. And just to emphasize how uncontrollable life is, while I was in the hospital, a 5.0 earthquake hit.

Certainties, even the certainty that the earth will stay still, are not guaranteed in life. 

The holiday Jews round the world celebrate this week is called Sukkot, named for the sukkah huts we erect and dwell within, drive home this point- all is fragile. Sukkahs are not supposed to be attached to any permanent structure, are only to have a maximum of 3 walls, and the thatch roof is supposed to be so bare it is supposed to let in more sunlight than shade during the day. Nothing is permanent, and we are subjected to the elements. At any moment we might be endure blazing heat (temperatures have been in the high 80s this week) or, shiver through miserable sleet (ask me about the Sukkot holidays I didn’t enjoy in Boston). It is a mitzvah to dwell in them but they have none of the comforts of home! 

And yet, we survive. And we are encouraged not only to survive. It is customary to warm our sukkah by inviting guests to meals in our sukkah. They may be friends or neighbors or our guests might be imaginary- like incanting the names of our deceased loved ones, historical figures, or ancestors of the Jewish people. Through shared meals and moments of connection, the Sukkah becomes a space of warmth and joy no matter what the weather brings. Perhaps this is why Sukkot is also known as z’man simchateinu- the season of our joy. When you realize that all the material possessions are secondary to the great relationships you’re building, you can’t help but smile. 

Happy Sukkot! Appreciating life here and now, in all of its fragility, is how we’re keeping it sacred…Together, we're #keepingitsacred…

Rabbi Heather Miller

Founder, Keeping It Sacred

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