Wherever we are,
Whatever we're doing,
Whatever stage of life we're in,
This wonderful festival sukkot has the most powerful lesson to teach us about security,
Comfort and about joy.
So join me on a short meditation.
If you can get into a sukkah to sit for this meditation,
That would be the best.
Even if you can't get into a sukkah,
Wherever you're sitting,
We can be transported into a sukkah in our minds.
You see a sukkah is a space,
An embrace,
The embrace of the Creator.
The word we use for a sukkah is tzela dememnusa,
Which means the shadow or the shade of Hashem.
When one goes into a sukkah,
We're told that one should be mindful,
Knowing where they are sitting.
You have to know that you are in a sukkah.
So like I said,
If you're sitting in a sukkah,
Get yourself comfortable.
And if you're not in a sukkah,
Then still get yourself comfortable and be transported now.
This short but joyful meditation.
Take a big deep breath in through your nose.
Hold for a few seconds and then breathe out,
Allowing your body just to relax completely.
All the stresses and strains,
Just leave them at the door as you come into the sukkah with me.
Take another big deep breath in through your nose.
Hold and then breathe out again.
Lightening the load as you sit here in your sukkah,
In your island of sanity,
Of calm,
Of reflection.
Like I said,
Leaving all negativity,
Leaving all echoes of problems,
Difficulties at the door of this sukkah.
Another big deep breath in and then breathing out again.
Present in the moment.
Notice your feet against the floor,
Your body against the chair,
Slowly becoming more comfortable.
Last small big deep breath in,
Hold for a few seconds and now breathing out again.
Remembering as we always do,
The Hebrew word for breath is nishimah and the Hebrew word for soul is nishama.
We breathe and control our breathing.
We're able to quieten down the sounds and the noise of the body,
Thus uncovering the sweet deep sounds of the soul that are always inherently there.
One last big deep breath in,
Hold for a few seconds and then breathe out again.
As I keep speaking now,
Just keep your breathing into your nose and out through your mouth.
As I go on visualization,
So join me,
Just notice the four walls around you from the front.
Be aware of the wall in front of you.
Be aware of the wall behind you,
The wall to the right of you and finally the wall to the left of you.
Become aware of the floor under your feet,
The floor supporting you.
Now without actually opening your eyes or moving your head,
In your own minds I want you to look up.
Look up at the roof on top of you.
The roof is not a roof of slate or brick or wood.
The roof is not closed on all sides,
Weatherproof,
Waterproof.
I want you to look up and see that the roof is made of flimsy leaves and branches,
Bamboo.
I want you to see a roof that's very much a temporary roof.
A roof where throughout you can see poking through little holes.
You can see up to the blue sky or a starry night,
Whatever time of day it is where you are right now.
It's a roof that seemingly won't protect you against rain,
Drizzle,
Snow or even hot sun.
Look up at the roof and notice how it's a protection that on first glance seems inadequate.
Now take a big deep breath in again and breathe out.
The man,
The man who is the most powerful in Israel,
We have to know and realize and be mindful that as much as we build walls of brick and mortar and we build roofs of slate and tile,
Of wood,
Of permanency,
We need to always be mindful that the protection doesn't come from our alarm systems or from our weather systems or from our political systems.
Our protection doesn't come from the money we've invested,
From the friendships we've made.
On Sukkot we look up and realize that our protection comes from the one,
The one and only,
The space,
The embrace,
The ribonosh,
The ralam,
The creator of the world who created us and created the world and created you.
He is the only protection that we have and the only protection that we need.
And on Sukkot you look up now and instead of seeing flimsy branches you'll feel the warm embrace of a creator that's protecting you the whole year round,
Even when you're inside that house,
Even when you're inside that building,
Even when you're inside that permanent structure,
You're always mindful that all your protection comes from the Holy One.
To feel that embrace,
That closeness of being protected and understand for these seven days of Sukkot,
For these seven days of Sukkot we're invited out of our homes to experience first hand fully immersed in the feeling of closeness and protection with our Creator.
So now as you breathe,
Feel that closeness and connection looking up at this roof,
Feel that protection that's there always,
That never goes away.
Feel protected,
Feel defended,
Feel enclosed,
Feel the strength of that warmth,
Feel the strength of that connection because it's there always.
No matter what,
This is the message of Sukkot.
Take another big deep breath in,
Hold and breathe out feeling light,
Feeling full of light and love.
Whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes,
Stay in this space,
You can move back into your house but this knowledge,
This mindful knowledge will stay with you forever.
