Alive & Moving with Joy

B"H

Tonight begins the unique holiday of Sukkot. While we must be joyful during ALL holidays, Sukkot is known most as
a festival of joy.
I heard an interesting class today, which discussed the fact that everything in the world is moving. To be alive means to be constantly moving.
Our heartbeat must constantly move, our breath as well. One can marvel at the remarkable consistency of the waves of the ocean. EVEN minerals
show a life force in action (extraction of fission energy). This movement occurs because all of creation is connected to its source, A G-dly life force perpetually
infusing everything with life. And life=movement. We see this by the fact that everything that's alive-moves. The only being that stops moving at times is us human beings.
(An animal stops bc it's his built in nature; you won't find a tiger though, staying in for the day b/c he wants to sleep in :) We humans at times, Decidedly stop. We lie on the
couch or stay glued to a TV, or worse yet one can fall into a depressive state. How come humans can stop moving, can stop appearing alive?
B/C we are able to forget that we are connected to our life force.
When one realizes that at every moment (even when things are apparently going bad in your life) you are directly connected to your life force, G-d,
one becomes joyous, happy. This is even many times expressed in movement; dancing or actively sharing this feeling with another-because knowing you are connected to your life force
brings life & therefore movement.
Therefore, being happy isn't becoming something new, rather it's going to the natural state a creation in this physical world is supposed to be. Alive, moving. You are connected-therefore happy and alive.

As we approach Sukkot tonight, let's truly feel this "simchah"-joy, through recognizing that our life force is constantly being revitalized by our G-d, b/c He Is Willing us into creation at every moment.
Shake the lulav and etrog, dine with family & friends under a Sukkah-all in joy, for joy is the way Judaism is meant to be lived.

-daniel

P.S. 3074 Renault St., SD, CA 92122---anyone is invited to come eat under our sukkah Wed., Thurs., or Fri. night. Chag Sameach!

Hide & Go-Seek

Dear Friends and family

As we head for our local synagogues for the great high holidays of Rosh Hashana & Yom Kippur,

we can approach the day(s) in 1 of 2 ways: As a boring/tiresome day, or a unique and special time to think and connect with something Greater than ourselves..

Once, there was a great Rabbi who was sitting in his home learning. Suddenly, his young son burst into the room sobbing loudly. His father asked what had happened. "I was playing hide & go seek with my friends, and I was chosen to hide. I hid & hid & hid... and no one came to look for me!"

The boy's father then burst into tears. Seeing the confusion on his son's face, the great Rabbi said: "G-d Does the same thing. He Hides and no one searches..."

G-d, no doubt about it, isn't openly seen or revealed. Especially these days, in the final days of exile. But from the vast Pacific Ocean waves to the most minute ladybug, from a peacock to your beating heart, from the divine providence seen in our own lives, G-d Reveals Himself. We just have to search. When we pray during these high holidays (in English or Hebrew) we can try maybe, to think where WE see G-d in our own lives. His guiding of MY own path-and also of nature and the world at large.

I was thinking something: Doesn't it happen often, when watching a good movie; as it nears its end, and the movie has just hit its peak (i.e. Gladiator after he kills the emperor :) one feels that he doesn't want the movie to end. Why is that? Because we enjoy going beyond ourselves for a little while. Into a deeper reality, a deeper existence.

Judaism is the movie that never ends... :)

P.S. please come over to my house for any holidays like sukkot! Ill be home in 2 weeks 858-452-6205