Before my parents sent me off to college, I warned them that I would call only once a week at most. Foolishly, I thought I would be too busy to feel homesick. And yet, only a week in, the unexpected feeling crept up on me. My bed, with its sheets, pillows, and blankets taken straight from my bed at home, somehow felt unfamiliar. New friends did not share my sense of humor like my friends at home. The smallest things would trigger this feeling: When I ate at the dining halls, I struggled not to compare it to the meals my Mom cooked at home. And, as I walked to classes and around campus, I realized that even the landscape’s unfamiliarity was incredibly daunting. Walks to class were adventures into the unknown, and I quickly tired of it.
The first time I did laundry on campus, I nearly cried at the familiar smell of my dryer sheets brought from home. I called my mom four times that first week.
My recent transition to college is extremely relevant to the upcoming celebration of Sukkot. In the beginning of the Jewish year, we spend the holiday remembering the fragile state of the Israelites as they traveled through the desert to Israel. We build a sukkah, a temporary shelter, to reenact a historical experience of vulnerability and instability. Most importantly, we acknowledge that our greatest moments of growth and transformation come when we leave behind the well-known structures of our lives.
The Israelites did not receive the Torah in Jerusalem, but in the wilderness. In celebrating Sukkot, we remind ourselves of the importance of leaving behind a stable routine to embrace newness as a space to grow.
The global Jewish community enters the year 5786 with a deep sense of uncertainty. We see chaos in our homeland and on the global stage, we see instability in politics and government, and many of us on campus feel extremely vulnerable regarding antisemitism. Although it is difficult, Sukkot teaches us to embrace our ever-changing environments and view these situations as opportunities for growth.
Like loving parents reminding a freshman struggling to adapt to her new life, God reminds the Jewish nation, through the holiday of Sukkot, that your greatest moments of self-improvement and growth come when you leave behind security and embrace the unknown.
