Israel-Gaza War 5785: Sukkot – A Time To Mourn, A Time To Dance
The Torah readings for the Sukkot holiday begin in a strange way. They do not describe Sukkot, but other festivals and appointed times. The readings begin with Pesach, followed by the omer offerings leading to Shavuot; then the awesome days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, just past; and finally, at the end of the reading, Sukkot. It is as if the entire year of holy times has been just a buildup to this one.
And, indeed, only on Sukkot are we commanded to rejoice. “…you shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d.”
But how can we? Sukkot this year falls between the secular and Jewish anniversaries of October 7th, 2023, and Simchat Torah 5784, respectively. And one year on, hostages languish in captivity and tens of thousands, from the ruins of the kibbutzim and the abandoned towns of the north, are in temporary dwellings that seemingly have become permanent. It is one thing to sleep in huts for seven days and then return to one’s home. But Gaza tunnels deep underground are not huts under the stars and open sky, and a year is 52 weeks. “BaSukkot teshvu shivat yamim, we read, “In booths you shall dwell seven days,” but the days and weeks stretch on, endlessly.
And not only Sukkot is coming to challenge us to find joy. Hard on its heels is Simchat Torah, literally “Rejoicing of the Torah,” when we sing and dance with our sacred scrolls. Dance? On the anniversary of that dark day of horror?
Yet even in the midst of dark, we must find light. In the depths of anguish, we must find joy. And we must, somehow, find space to hold them both within our hearts.
This Shabbat we will read Kohelet, and the words will ring true.
To everything there is a season and a time for every desire under heaven
A time to give birth and a time to die
A time to plant and a time to uproot the planting
A time to kill and a time to heal
A time to breach and a time to build
A time to weep and a time to laugh
A time for mourning and a time for dancing…
“Mourning” is a wholly inadequate word to describe our anguish over the dancers cut down on October 7th. But the motto of the Tribe of Nova, founded after that horrible day by the Super Nova festival organizers to create a space of healing for survivors, is: “We will dance again.” To everything there is a season. And mark this: in Kohelet, dancing follows mourning.
Kohelet speaks to the truth, so hard for us to grasp, that everything, both good and evil, dark and light, is part of G-d’s creation. For us, they are polar opposites; for Him, they are integral parts of the whole.
The haftarah for the first day of Sukkot speaks of war. It describes pillaged houses and violated women and people going into exile, all of which happened on October 7th. It says that nations will be gathered for war, and Israel is fighting on multiple fronts, with missiles coming from Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, and Iran, and terrorists from Gaza and the West Bank.
But the haftarah also tells us that Hashem will go out and war against these nations. V’herem lo yihyeh od, “and there will not be devastation any longer,” promises Zechariah, “settled will Jerusalem be in security…Hashem will smite all the nations that assembled for war against Jerusalem.” (Zechariah 14:11, 12)
And more: a unique day will come, both bright and dim, darkness and light together, no longer in opposition but in unity. Anguish will turn to joy.
When the war is over, people from all the nations will come to observe the joyous festival of Sukkot. On that day, Zechariah tells us, v’haya Hashem ha-melekh al kol ha’aretz, bayom hahu Hashem echad u’shmo echad. “And Hashem will be King over all the world; on that day Hashem will be one and His name one.”
May it be so. May this war end and peace and security come at last. May the displaced return to their homes. May we experience the light that is present even in great darkness and know that both are from Hashem, though we cannot now comprehend how this can be. May all the hagim we observe be just a buildup to an ultimate hag of pure joy, darkness transformed. May all the world observe a joyous and thankful Sukkot. May we know a Simchat Torah when we dance with abandon. When, as the psalmist says, He transforms our lament into dancing. Then, the time to mourn will be over.