Tonight begins the holiday of Sukkot, our Festival of Booths. My favorite story about the holiday is one I’ve shared with you before: It’s about the Tzanzer Rebbe (Rabbi Chaim of Tzanz, 1793-1876).
It was Rabbi Chaim’s custom on the eve of Sukkot to distribute tzedakah generously. He would go about town from house to house making sure the needs of the most vulnerable were met—a basket of food for this family, new clothes for another.
One year before the holiday, he told his congregation that he wanted to collect several thousand rubles in order to support families that were experiencing financial difficulties. In no time at all, his generous community donated the necessary funds and then Rabbi Chaim went out immediately to distribute them to those in need. That evening, as the festive holiday began, he entered his sukkah and taught: “It is our custom to decorate our sukkot with all sorts of lovely items. The purpose of decorating the sukkah is to make it more pleasant to be in and to make our holiday more beautiful and joyous. For me, nothing makes the holiday more pleasant and festive than giving tzedakah to those in need!”
What a powerful, inspirational, and beautiful lesson. We bring beauty and joy into the world, into our lives, and into our Holy Days by living the core values of our tradition. This is what makes the holiday of Sukkot much more than a celebration of the fall harvest, much more than an opportunity to share a delicious meal with friends and family on a cool, lovely fall evening.
During this time of celebration, may our sukkot be filled with good food, laughter, friendship, and above all else, acts of kindness and generosity.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi Yoshi
