A Time of Joy 

The holiday of Sukkot (Festival of Booths) is known as Z'man Simchateinu, the time of our joy. How might we interpret this for ourselves and our own lives? 

There is no mitzvah in Judaism to "Be Happy", yet we relish and savor each new joyful moment with a blessing (Shechecheyanu).  We serve God's purpose not with intellectual ruminations, but with joy (Psalm 100:2). Our traditions are life oriented and life-sustaining. Someone, deep in the throes of grief and mourning, must halt when a holiday (Yom Tov) begins. We mark the distinctiveness of joy by including its opposite in Jewish weddings, when we break the glass at its conclusion, an emotional release of intense joy while also reflecting more somber times. Jewish rituals encourage us to capture joyful moments while recognizing the true nature of life.    

We live in the realm of ups and downs, hills and valleys. Times of spiritual soul-searching and gut-wrenching experiences bookended by a baby naming, a b'nai mitzvah, a wedding. All marked in our book of Life. 

A distinctive passage in the High Holiday Machzor stuck with me...that we alone are the authors of our Books of Life. It is we who inscribe every moment and every day with our own actions and intentions. We are the ones deciding if our actions move us closer toward a full life or not. 

Let us, with intention for each moment, live it with joy. 

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B'vrachot (with blessings), 

Ruth 

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