Sukoth

What a strange holiday! So many physical objects, so much symbolism! 

What do these symbolic objects do for me? The plants are a connection to the natural, biological world. The trees, whose language was known to a few brilliants(like King  Solomon) communicate to us through their branches and fruit, countenance and aromas.  Their message is the essence of the Hebrew idea of bracha, usually translated as  blessing. 

  Its final product of the tree - the fruit- is the most praiseworthy.  The palm produces dates - the sweetest fruit, a source of nourishment for humans , and the pits can be fed to beasts. The citron ( ethrog) is an ancient citrus fruit - beautiful to behold but with a very thick rind.  We, who are accustomed to thin-skinned citrus, leave the ethrog out of our diets ( for the most part).  The myrtle is fragrant and has a beautiful flower, but its fruit is acrid, not a food by itself.  The willow is not fragrant, does not produce an edible fruit.  It is a greedy tree that searches out water. The willow provides shade, a place to hide. I spent my adolescence cloaked in willow trees. 

The life of a tree is long- centuries.

As the year draws to a close, pregnant with the new year, the Torah cycle is completed with  Zoth Habracha: This is the bracha. Trees demonstrate the physical manifestation of bracha.  A bracha is when a tree branch is embedded in the earth, and another tree grows from that branch  The essence of bracha is continuity. Grandchildren are a bracha, the replanting of our generations.  All that is left to the old, passing generation are wishes for the future.  These are expressed as the bracha, the replanting of the dreams 

The succah is a rustic shelter.  Using a more effective structure violates the commandment. The frailty of the human is emphasized.  There are few circumstances (outside of a crowded city, where the land is too precious) that preclude the construction of something that passes as a succah.  This is what  homeless feels like.  This is certainly a situation  in which I prefer symbol over reality.