This article on the portion of the week was originally published in 2018.
Monday night brings this month’s peak of positive energy known as the holiday of Sukkot. Sukkot, like all holidays, is a cosmic event that the Creator has gifted to humanity to aid in our process of spiritual development. Sukkot gives its abundance to the world throughout this week, and it is our opportunity to feast on and be joyful in this energy as it renews and fulfills us for the entire year. Sukkot literally means “booths.” The holiday is a yearly opportunity to connect to the same precious and powerful energy the Israelites benefited from during their spiritual journey and elevation with the Creator towards the Promised Land. During that time, the Israelites were held closely to the Creator, affording them with immediate protection from any obstacle and an authentic Divine guidance system. It was a level of connection that we today would only dream of obtaining, yet it occurs again for us all this week! This is an exciting week of blessing and tremendous Light from which we all can benefit. For this week, heaven shines on earth, elevating all of existence. We are nourished with a unique and priceless divine energy that lasts for the entire year ahead.
"This is an exciting week of blessing and tremendous Light from which we all can benefit. For this week, heaven shines on earth, elevating all of existence. We are nourished with a unique and priceless divine energy that lasts for the entire year ahead."
Sukkot is known to be a time when we feast on abundance and harvest. But what exactly does that mean? Is it a time simply when we have lavish dinners utilizing our summer crops? What if we are not farmers? How is Sukkot the universal cosmic event for all people? The answer is that at precisely this time of year, our spirits have been renewed and reborn from the previous cosmic events of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur. Because of changes afforded to us by these previous cosmic events, we are now able to receive this week’s rare and unique energy. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur rebuilt our spiritual structures and allowed us to renew our connection to the Creator and His energy. We have been left “changed” and our new nature is now more aligned with that of the Creator. What is the nature of the Creator? The nature of the Creator is that of imparting energy. It is the energy of True Love, sharing, and giving. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur allowed us to elevate and achieve this higher consciousness. We have become more sharing, loving, and giving human beings. Having left our old ways and old behaviors in the past, we are now in a new year with a new way of living and thinking. At this exact moment in time, we have prepared and built our vessel and because the nature of the Creator is to give and share, the Light of Sukkot now appears immediately for us in the cosmos. This is the true meaning behind it being our time to “feast.”
This gift of invaluable energy for seven days of Sukkot is the same energy the Israelites received during their time in the desert with the Creator, Himself. This energy recharges our batteries, providing us with positive energy for the entire year ahead. The Light we receive this week is called “Surrounding Light”. It is our main source of Light that we need to function and live. This is why this week is so incredibly special and important. This Surrounding Light is the Light of our potential in what we achieve spiritually and physically in the coming year. It is our all-encompassing energy for every aspect of our being. Not only is this Light our potential of all we can become and do in the coming year, but it is also the Light that guides us and protects us from any harm, as it did with the Israelites. In this way, all the inhabitants of the world need this Light and thankfully, we all receive it.
"We become a channel which can receive and feast on this abundance of energy. "
So what does all of this mean for us? What is our spiritual work this week? This week, we need only to be aware of and appreciate this magnificent gift from the Creator, and to be willing to commit to the path of our new transformation. We commit in these days to becoming a being of greater sharing and giving, and by doing so, we become a channel which can receive and feast on this abundance of energy. The more we awaken and utilize our ability to love and care for one another, the more we will partake in the greatness of Sukkot.
One more story I’d like to leave you with this week. When King Solomon built the Holy Temple, he chose to inaugurate it on Sukkot. After King Solomon completed the construction of the Temple, he said, “But will God in very truth dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heavens of heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have built!” King Solomon was in a state of awe and gratitude to what was occurring in the world and in his lifetime. We share this same awe and amazement at the magnitude of this precious week’s energy. The Holy Temple was the physical manifestation of our ability at the time to “house” the Creator’s energy. Sukkot is our yearly opportunity to replicate the power of the Holy Temple, once again restoring our lives and mapping a future of only joy, blessings, and devoid of any chaos. Sukkot is Divinity manifested on earth. We, all together, as one soul all around the globe, celebrate and draw into our lives, and the lives of our families, this divine force this week. It is a precious gift that is only born from, sustained with, and utilized by our desire to love and share with others. The more we keep love, human dignity, and care in our hearts, the more this energy will abound and the more we will be able to truly create heaven on earth. I wish you all the happiest of times this week in celebration, joy, connection, and love.
