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"These
are the appointed holidays of G-d, holy convocations,
which you are to proclaim in their appointed times."
- Lev. 23.4
Henny
Youngman, the comedian, once said, "I tried being
an atheist, but I gave it up. There were no holidays."
What
is a holiday really about? Is it the same as a vacation?
A
vacation is a time to vacate, but a holiday is a time
to celebrate .
To
vacate means to take off, get away from the everyday
and clear yourself out from the tensions and challenges
of the daily grind. Perhaps you'll suntan on a beach,
play golf or catch a good concert.
A
holiday, however, is a holy day. It is not an escape
from everyday life to paradise. Rather, it is a time
to infuse paradise into the everyday. This is the
power of celebration.
My
guess is that the word celebrate connects
to the word celestial. And from a Jewish perspective
that would make sense, because a Jewish holiday is
a time to see the celestial within the terrestrial.
It is a time to acknowledge how the Divine enters
our world and meets us in time.
A
Jewish holiday is referred to in Hebrew as a Moed
. This actually means a date or a meeting. In
other words, a holiday is a date with G-d. Why would
you need to date G-d?
Even
though my wife and I have been married for over twenty
years now, we regularly go out on dates. Although
we see each other daily, our profound connection often
gets overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of life.
Life sometimes gets in the way of love. And you forget
how deep is your love.
When
was the last time you noticed your breath or your
heartbeat? Unless you lose your breath or miss a beat,
these miracles of life often go unnoticed and unappreciated.
It is precisely because they are constant and consistent
that we forget them and lose the wonder they should
inspire.
G-d
is with us every moment of our life. Therefore, it
is easy for us to forget that His presence fills the
present. The holidays, however, mark special times
in Jewish history where G-d's loving presence becomes
dramatically obvious.
In
fact, all the Jewish holidays plug us back into the
drama of Jewish life. The sharp turns and striking
contrasts in Jewish history inspire powerful clarity.
Remembering what was in the past awakens us to see
what is in the present and what can be in
the future. The holidays empower us to recognize how
G-d's love is with us all the time.
Each
holiday celebrates a critical ingredient in the recipe
for a loving relationship with G-d and our fellow
man - freedom, responsibility, fallibility, accountability,
forgiveness, spontaneity, integrity, wholeness, intimacy,
anticipation, hope and trust.
Each
holiday in the Jewish calendar is a date with G-d.
They are opportunities to relive the dramatic events
that occurred on those days and revitalize our love
today.
Each
holiday is a time to remember and celebrate G-d's
timeless love for us.
Rabbi
David Aaron
Author of Endless Light, Seeing G-d, The Secret Life
of G-d, Inviting G-d In and Living a Joyous
Life |
