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Sukkot Reflection – Part 2 – Joy as a spiritual practice

We’re actually commanded to be happy during Sukkot. Commanded? While joy is an emotion, it’s also a spiritual practice. So practice. For a week, the choice is joy … the practice of joy. — tobendlight.com

In 2022, Sukkot begins at sundown on Sunday, Oct. 9 and ends at sundown on Sunday, Oct. 16. — myjewishlearning.com

A careful reading of the Torah portion reveals that what is asked for is not to constantly feel joy, but to regularly do joy. To do what brings joy to us and others – gathering with family and friends; celebrating with community, and sharing with those who are vulnerable or in need – will bring feelings of joy as a result. While we can’t reasonably be commanded to feel joyous under all circumstances, we can be commanded to do what brings joy, just as we are commanded to do what brings on holiness, honesty, justice, mercy, or any other quality of being that our Judaism values. — Rabbi Jack A. Luxemburg,

SONGS about ‘DOING’ JOY & ‘FEELING’ JOY:

SUKKOT 101 by Legos (info video): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRHkgWGyn4Y

Recipes for Sukkot: Traditional Ashkenazic Sukkot Recipes / Celebrate the Jewish fall harvest

— Giora Shimoni

Sukkot Dinner…

  • Gefilte Fish — This classic recipe for homemade gefilte fish is an Ashkenazi menu fixture not just for Sukkot, but also for Shabbat and other holidays like Passover. Whitefish, along with vegetables, herbs, eggs, and seasonings are ground and blended together and formed into small loaves or balls. The gefilte fish is then boiled in a flavorful broth and chilled.
  • Chicken Matzo Ball Soup — Since Sukkot is celebrated in the fall, there’s often a nip in the air. Soups like this one are the perfect way to keep guests comfortable while dining al fresco in the sukkah. This soup begins with a whole chicken and includes lots of vegetables. The matzo balls are made from scratch, but you can use a mix if you like.
  • Meat Stuffed Peppers — Stuffed foods are a traditional addition to Sukkot menus, so these peppers are a natural fit. You can use ground beef or turkey according to your preference, or if you’ll be hosting vegetarian guests, consider replacing the meat with a ground beef substitute, cheese, or beans. 
  • Roast Chicken With Vegetables — This traditional Shabbat entree is perfect for Sukkot since you can surround the chicken with vegetables that are at their peak. Use a whole chicken or chicken parts to eliminate the need for carving. 
  • Sweet Potato Kugel — Sweet potatoes are prevalent fall produce and make for family-friendly side dishes. This potato kugel combines sweet and Yukon Gold potatoes in a dairy-free recipe filled with apples and carrots with a hint of lemon and cinnamon.
  • Fruit Compote — This simple dessert features stewed apricots, plums, and raisins and makes a nice alternative (or complement) to heavier sweets. The dried fruit is simmered and then combined with sugar, lemon rind, cloves, and allspice and cooked until a thick syrup develops.
  • Classic Kosher Apple Cake — Apples seem only fitting at the Sukkot table, and not just because fall is apple season but also since Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is roughly two weeks before Sukkot. A symbol of a “sweet new year” is the apple, and one of the most traditional desserts is the Jewish Apple Cake. This recipe features layers of cinnamon apples in the batter that bakes into a beautiful tube or Bundt cake.

Sukkot Lunch Meal…

  • Pomegranate Apple Salad With Poppy Seed Dressing — Fall fruits shine in this simple but beautiful seasonal salad of apples and pomegranates. The tangy homemade poppy seed dressing featuring mustard and onion is the ideal foil for the sweet fruits.
  • Butternut Squash and Leek Lasagna  — This vegetarian lasagna calls for roasting the butternut squash, which brings out its nutty flavor. When layered with a leek bechamel (white sauce) in between noodles, you’ve got a delicious lasagna the whole family will enjoy.
  • Oven-Fried Breaded Chicken — This kid-friendly recipe is quick and easy, and delicious eaten warm, room temp, or even cold, making it a great make-ahead dish. These breaded chicken strips are also egg-free, perfect for anyone with an allergy.
  • Tzimmes With Honey — Tzimmes is a mixture of fruits and vegetables that is cooked slowly until soft and tender. In this recipe, roasted carrots, sweet potatoes, and prunes combine with the flavors of orange, honey, and cinnamon, perfectly showcasing the flavors of fall.
  • Classic Potato Kugel — Sometimes called potato pudding, this Eastern European Jewish dish is a staple at Shabbat and holiday tables, and a great warm side to serve in the sukkah. Grated potatoes and onions are mixed with eggs, oil, flour, and seasonings and baked in a casserole until golden brown and crispy on top. Delicious served with a dollop of sour cream.
  • Apple and Dried Cherry Crisp — Whether you went apple picking or grabbed some at the farmers market, this fruit crisp is a great way to showcase the quintessential fall fruit. And when combined with dried tart cherries, oats, cinnamon, ginger, maple syrup, and pecans, you have a dessert that is sweet and tart with warm spices and a wonderful crunch.

REJOICE
— 2017 CCAR Press from This Grateful Heart: Psalms and Prayers for a New Day

Dance one-thousand steps toward heaven.
Sing one-thousand hymns of praise.
Breathe one-thousand breaths of glory.
Rejoice!

Climb one-thousand steps of courage.
Chant one-thousand hymns of hope.
Laugh one-thousand breaths of healing.
Rejoice!

Walk one-thousand steps of power.
Hum one-thousand hymns of life.
Share one-thousand breaths of wonder.
Rejoice!

Leap one-thousand steps toward beauty.
Cry one-thousand hymns of joy.
Feel one-thousand breaths of mystery.
Rejoice! Rejoice!

PERMEABLE —  Velveteen Rabbi
link: https://velveteenrabbi.blogs.com/blog/2009/10/permeable-a-poem-for-sukkot.html

Today I’ll finish our sukkah
stacking old wildflowers
to hint at roof, twining tinsel
around the slats

all year we imagine
our houses are our houses
stable and comfortable
waterproof and familiar

but these seven days
remind us that permanence
is overrated, that our true home
is under the stars

change is always underway
nine short weeks remain
until you’ll leave the home
you probably think is forever

and enter our world
airy and unpredictable
where we won’t know what you need
even sometimes when you tell us

your first big leap of faith, kid:
into nothing you’ve ever known
into the fragile sukkah
we’ve decorated just for you

LET JOY — Alden Solovy

Let joy spread across your face,
Flash from your eyes,
Beam from your lips.

Let joy quiet your heart,
Sooth your lungs,
Relieve your chest.

Let joy flow through your bones,
Awaken your nerves,
Caress your flesh.

For joy is in the dawn and the dusk,
The silence and the great expanse,
The flow of light from G-d’s grace,
Divine wonder and awe,
Calling out to you dear sisters and brothers:
‘Awake you slumberers!
Awake you who sleepwalk through hours and days,
Blind to hope and love.
Have you forgotten Sarah’s laugh and Miriam’s song?
Have you forsaken Jacob’s dreams and Ezekiel’s visions?’
Have you succumbed to fear and shame?

This, then, is G-d’s command:
Let joy hold you,
Carry you,
Burst forth from your words and deeds.
Let joy take you from season to season.
Dance and sing,
Celebrate and rejoice,
Lifting your life with exultation.
Let joy be your light and your lamp.

Blessed are You, G-d of joy.

FOR JOY (when grieving)
— Alden Solovy

Listen with your eyes
And hear with your heart:
In every grief, there is blessing…
In every joy, there is hope…
In every love, thanksgiving…
In every thought, wisdom…
In every breath, renewal…
In every moment, a choice,
To stay bent in sorrow,
Or to lift ourselves in songs of praise
To G-d Most High.
To dance with Miriam.
To dream with Jacob.
To laugh with Sarah.
To greet angels with Abraham.
To argue with heaven on behalf of earth.

G-d of the seen and unseen,
Creator of light and darkness
Author of justice and mercy,
Give us the courage and strength to choose a life of service,
Guided by Your loving hand.
A life of song and dance,
Gentleness and peace,
Honor and grace,
Kindness and understanding.

Blessed are You, Adonai our G-d, You love joy and service.
.בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ה’ אֱלֹקֵינוּ, אוֹהֵב שִׂמְחָה וְשָׂמֵחַ בְּתִקּוּן הָעוֹלָם
Baruch atah Adonai Eloheinu, oheiv simchah v’samei’ach b’tikun ha’olam.

Sukkot Reflection – Part 2 – Joy as a spiritual practice
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