D'var Torah by Rabbi Kornsgold

During the holiday of Sukkot we eat in the Sukkah with our family and friends as we are mindful of the blessings that we enjoy. Sukkot gives us pause to think about those homeless in our midst who live in temporary dwellings throughout the year. Sukkot asks us to make a commitment to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

On Sukkot, we take the Etrog (citron), Lulav (palm), Hadasim (myrtle) and Aravot (willow) each day and bind them together. Our tradition teaches us that the Etrog represents our heart; the Lulav, our spine; the Hadasim, our eyes and the Aravot, our lips. Just like the four species are bound together so must our whole bodies be bound to God. This is a powerful statement and gives us an opportunity to once again examine our relationship to God.

As the four species come together so must the members of our community commit to working with one another to strengthen the bonds between us. When we work together we have the power to make wonderful things happen.  As we recite the blessing over the four species during Sukkot may it inspire our actions during the upcoming year to bring us closer to one another and work for the greater good so that we can insure that our community will remain vital, strong and vibrant.   

Rabbi Jay M. Kornsgold

Beth El Synagogue

East Windsor