“These are the appointed holidays of G-d, holy convocations, which you are to proclaim in their appointed times.”
— Lev. 23.4
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Henny Youngman, the comedian, once said, "I tried being an atheist, but I gave it up. There were no holidays."
What is a holiday really about? Is it the same as a vacation?
A vacation is a time to vacate, but a holiday is a time to celebrate.
To vacate means to take off, get away from the everyday and clear yourself out from the tensions and challenges of the daily grind. Perhaps you'll suntan on a beach, play golf or catch a good concert.
A holiday, however, is a holy day. It is not an escape from everyday life to paradise. Rather, it is a time to infuse paradise into the everyday. This is the power of celebration. My guess is that the word celebrate connects to the word celestial. And from a Jewish perspective that would make sense, because a Jewish holiday is a time to see the celestial within the terrestrial. It is a time to acknowledge how the Divine enters our world and meets us in time.
A Jewish holiday is referred to in Hebrew as a Moed. This actually means a date or a meeting. In other words, a holiday is a date with G-d. Why would you need to date G-d?
Even though my wife and I have been married for over twenty years now, we regularly go out on dates. Although we see each other daily, our profound connection often gets overshadowed by the hustle and bustle of life. Life sometimes gets in the way of love. And you forget how deep is your love.
When was the last time you noticed your breath or your heartbeat? Unless you lose your breath or miss a beat, these miracles of life often go unnoticed and unappreciated. It is precisely because they are constant and consistent that we forget them and lose the wonder they should inspire.
G-d is with us every moment of our life. Therefore, it is easy for us to forget that His presence fills the present. The holidays, however, mark special times in Jewish history where G-d's loving presence becomes dramatically obvious.
THE JEWISH DRAMA OF LIFE
I was once sitting and learning Torah with the Hollywood Actor, Kirk Douglas, when suddenly he turned to me and said, "You know, Rabbi, I love being Jewish."
"Oh, yeah? Why?" I asked.
"Because being Jewish is dramatic!"
I was surprised by his unusual answer and thought to myself, I guess for these big time actors, everything is showbiz.
"Dramatic? I am sorry but I don't get the connection," I told him.
"Rabbi, I know drama, and let me tell you, Jewish life and Jewish history is dramatic. In fact, there are several archetypical themes to all films, and they are all from the Bible. Here, let me show you what's drama."
Kirk then jumped out of his chair and began to improvise a drama.
"Now, watch this. Let's say we are shooting a scene and it's about a guy named Jerry who is going to get some challenging news about his mother. How do we make it dramatic? We would not have Jerry sitting relaxed at home reading a paper, when suddenly the phone rings and someone breaks the news to him that his mother is fatally ill. No, that's not interesting, not dramatic. Rather, this is how it's done. First, Jerry is at a party. No, better yet, we'll put him in a big company event where he's the guest of honor and about to receive an award. Now imagine he is wearing a tuxedo, he has a martini is his hand and is socializing at the preliminary reception, surrounded by his friends. Just after he cracks a joke, amidst the laughter someone hands him a note."
At this point, Kirk becomes Jerry, masterfully acting out the entire scene. I'm on the edge of my seat.
"Jerry is smiling and casually reads the note, but suddenly a pained look appears upon his face. His friends quickly inquire, 'Jerry is everything okay?' "
Kirk intones with a deep and drawn out, painful voice, "It's my mother." His head drops into his hands. After a few theatrical moments of silence, Kirk perks up and says with a big smile, "Now that's drama! Get it Rabbi?"
"Huh?"
"You see, drama happens in the sharp contrasts of life — between happiness and sadness, failure and success, defeat and victory, darkness and light. And that is the story of the Jewish people. It's dramatic."
Kirk is right. In fact, all the Jewish holidays plug us back into the drama of Jewish life. The sharp turns and striking contrasts in Jewish history inspire powerful clarity. Remembering what was in the past awakens us to see what is in the present and what can be in the future. The holidays empower us to recognize how G-d's love is with us all the time.
Each holiday celebrates a critical ingredient in the recipe for a loving relationship with G-d and our fellow man — freedom, responsibility, fallibility, accountability, forgiveness, spontaneity, integrity, wholeness, intimacy, anticipation, hope and trust.
Each holiday in the Jewish calendar is a date with G-d. They are opportunities to relive the dramatic events that occurred on those days and revitalize our love today.
Each holiday is a time to remember and celebrate G-d's timeless love for us.
