Parshat Sukkot: The Ups and Downs of Life
On the Shabbat during Sukkot we read the book of Kohelet, Ecclesiastes. Kohelet was a nickname for King Solomon and literally means “gathering’. It refers either to the many people who would gather to hear his words of wisdom, or to the fact that he gathered and compiled many proverbs about life. Indeed Solomon authored three of the 24 books of the Bible and is famous for his wisdom.
Kohelet was written near the end of his life. In it he shares his musings about his accomplishments and their worth, or lack thereof, as the case may be. הבל הבלים “Vanities of vanities…” is the desperate cry that appears on numerous occasions throughout the work. The Hebrew word hevel literally meaning vapor – something that appears to have substance but, as you get closer to it, doesn’t really. A cloud looks big and ominous until you get up close and your hand passes right through it. This becomes his apt symbol of life throughout the work. Are things that we strive for really substantial or, as we get closer and obtain them, not so much?
King Solomon lived at the pinnacle of Jewish history, a golden age of peace and prosperity. He was well-suited to talk about all the good things in life as he had most of them. His conflicted feelings of accomplishment are made early on when he describes how he amassed much wealth and power – building houses, vineyards, gardens and orchards. He writes of how he had gold, silver, workers and every possible pleasure available to him. He even boasts that he had more than all of his predecessors but “still my wisdom stood by me”, claiming that he didn’t allow himself to become the idiotic fool and buffoon that great wealth turns many a man into.
Of his vast achievements, on the one hand Solomon declares, “For my heart was very happy in all of my accomplishments.” But he immediately follows up with, “And I turned to look at all that I have done and the energy I had expended in doing them, and behold – it was all empty and a pain in my soul!” And just like that, he turns on a dime and does a 180. He goes from feeling great about all that he has and all that he has done, to feeling completely empty and wondering if it means anything really?
We might not have the power and wealth of Solomon but on some level we can relate. All of us go through periods where we spend gobs and gobs of time, effort, blood, sweat and tears on various endeavors in our lives. We strive to build a home or a business or family or relationships and then step back to access our accomplishments and feel wonderful and satisfied. But then we might look at those self-same achievements at other times – years later perhaps – and wonder whether it was really worth it. We can feel torn as we ponder whether or not it was a waste of time, a waste of a good chunk of our lives, or perhaps it did have an ultimate meaning and good to it.
Perhaps a solution to this dilemma may be found in one of the main symbols of Sukkot – the Lulav and Etrog that we wave on this holiday. Jewish tradition speaks of the four species and relates them to four different types of Jewish people in our community. The symbolism of each is connected to whether or not each of the four species, or their fruits, has taste and/or smell, corresponding to Torah and good deeds respectively. The idea being Torah wisdom gives one “taste” i.e. substance and depth, and that doing mitzvot gives one a nice “smell”, because those who perform mitzvot are pleasant to be around.
The Etrog has both a good taste and a good smell, symbolizing those who have both Torah and do good deeds/mitzvot.
The Lulav is from a date palm, and hence has taste (dates) but no smell, symbolizing those who study Torah but may be weak in the area of doing mitzvot.
The Hadassim/Myrtle Branch has a good smell but no taste, symbolizing those Jews who do mitzvot but are not so involved in Torah study.
The Aravah/Willow Branch has neither taste nor smell, symbolizing those Jews who have neither Torah nor do many mitzvot.
So it turns out that the Etrog has everything going on, the Lulav and Hadassim/Myrtle are partially successful while the Aravah/Willow has nothing going on.
And this may indeed be a metaphor for our lives. Don’t we at times feel that everything is going our way? That it is all clicking and working well – we got our health, we are financially comfortable and feeling accomplished. Life tastes and smells as delicious as an Etrog.
But at the other end of the spectrum, there are times when nothing seems to be going right and life seems fragile and ready to wither like the delicate leaves of a willow branch. And just as the willow has nothing pleasant about it – neither taste nor smell – and seems boring and stale, we might feel the same about our lives. Let’s just stay in bed, give up and not face the day or the world.
But the truth of the matter is that most of the time, life is a mixed bag like the Lulav or Myrtle/Hadassim. They each have one or the other of taste and smell. And maybe that’s why we get more of this category – two of the four – than the others. Because for most of us we are doing pretty good in one area, but need some work in another. Business is great, but I am working too hard and don’t have enough family time. I get along great with most of my family, but there is one child or sibling whom I am having trouble with. I like most of the people I work with, but there is one twit who is a complete incompetent and bringing things down. I love my house, but we really need to redo the kitchen. Miami weather is perfect in December but unbearable in August. London weather is perfect in August but horrible the rest of the year.
And so it goes, it’s seldom all perfect or all bad. It’s usually somewhere in between.
King Solomon seems to focus on the extremes and he vacillated between one and the other. It was either all so amazing or all so meaningless. But if you want to have real happiness in life, you have to realize that most of it is not lived in the extremes and at the edges. Life isn’t all so perfect like the Etrog or not so terrible like the Willow. It’s usually somewhere in the middle, like the Lulav and Hadas – a bit of this and a bit of that.
If you want a steady supply of Happiness in life, you have to live in the middle. Go ahead and have a great time when it all goes well, but don’t expect it will remain that way forever. And when things seem lousy, roll with the bad knowing that this too shall pass and will not remain that way forever. Enjoy the good days, soldier through the bad and realize that most of life in somewhere in the middle. And if we do that, life won’t ever feel empty and meaningless, like hevel/vapor, but full and rewarding – both the good and the not so good.
As my life goes on I believe
Somehow something’s changed
Something deep inside
Oh a part of me
There’s a strange new light in my eyes
Things I’ve never known
Changin’ my life
Changin’ me
I’ve been searchin’ so long
To find an answer
Now I know my life has meaning
-Chicago
