At the end of each month's interfaith environmental conference call, we close our time together with a prayer. Often, I'll ask a clergy-person to lead us. Today, though, the theme of this month's call--"greening" the holidays--had me thinking about the current Jewish holiday of Sukkot, which ends today at sundown. What follows are the words I offered at the close of today's call.
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Today is the last day of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, during which we are commanded to go outside and sit in temporary dwellings, open to the elements. This act of moving outside for seven days is a reminder of our impermanence and fragility, our connection to the natural world, and our responsibility to be engaged with and active in the larger world, outside our comfort zone. All of that might sound pretty heavy.
But during this festival of Sukkot, we are also commanded to be happy and joyful!
So today, as we go our separate ways, in all our impermanence and fragility, engaging in our communities and trying--as I know we all are--to make this world a better place, let us do so not with an overwhelming sense of burden, but with an abundance of joy and gratitude for the gift of life.
Peace and blessings to you all.