Having raised four kids, I can
confidently report that better than all the fancy, electronic toys manufactured
these days, the best gift to give a kids is a cardboard box large enough to
crawl inside. The all-time, best-ever present is an appliance box. My kids
logged in many happy and creative hours with cardboard boxes. For one birthday
party, each 4-year-old was given a box to decorate as a dinosaur. Then they sat
in them, riding their dinosaurs. For another birthday party, I opened several
large boxes and reshaped them into a crude cardboard rocket ship. My son and
his 5-year-old friends happily decorated and played in the rocket ship all
afternoon — and for many months afterward. What
children know, and sometimes adults forget, is how to be playful and joyful
with very little. Sukkot to the rescue. A sukkah is even better than a
refrigerator box. The whole family, along with friends, can share meals in it.
You can play and sleep in it. Simplicity is one of the virtues of the festival
of Sukkot.
Beginning with
the fifteenth day of the seventh month, after you have gathered the crops of
the land, celebrate the festival to the Lord for seven days: a complete rest on
the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. On the first day you are
to take the produce of hadar trees, branches of
palm trees, boughs of leafy and willows of the brook, and rejoice
before the Lord your God seven days. You shall observe it as a festival of the
Lord for seven days; you shall observe it in the seventh month a a law for all
time, throughout the ages. You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens of
Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I
made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of
Egypt, I the Lord your God. (Leviticus 23:39-43)
It is often pointed out that living
in the sukkah is an experience of vulnerability, especially to the elements
(that is, nature). We live in snug, tight, insulated homes. We travel in cars
fully equipped with heating and air-conditioning to workplaces, stores, and
entertainment venues similarly climate-controlled. When we are outside in the cold
or rain, we don clothing made of modern miracle fabrics that keep out the chill
and the wet. Our experience of vulnerability makes us more aware of, and deeply
grateful for, the luxuries we enjoy year-round. True enough.
But it’s not just the experience of
vulnerability that makes Sukkot so valuable. It is that the very simplicity of
living in a sukkah that allows us to focus joyful attention on the wonder of
the outdoors, which we are so often shut off from in our daily life.
And perhaps even greater than the
lesson of simplicity, is the fact that living in a sukkah gets us outside.
Scores of psychologists, physicians, and experts on well-being have touted the
importance of our connection to the natural world. Being outdoors raises our
oxytocin levels and helps us feel connected with the world beyond our computer
screens and personal concerns. In a paper published in 1984, Roger S. Ulrich
investigated “the
restorative effect of natural views on surgical patients” in a hospital recovering from gall
bladder surgery. Those who could see trees outside their window recovered more
quickly and required less pain medication than those whose windows opened to an
urban view of a wall. Ulrich wrote: “Views of vegetation, and especially
water, appear to sustain interest and attention more effectively than urban
views of equivalent information rate. Because most natural views apparently
elicit positive feelings, reduce fear in stressed subjects, hold interest, and
may block or reduce stressful thoughts, they might also foster restoration from
anxiety or stress.”[1] It is not
surprising, therefore, that hospital gardens not only provide an aesthetic
atmosphere but promote medical healing.[2]
The Harvard Health Letter[3] (July
2010) informed readers of five reasons to spend time outdoors: (1) raise
vitamin D levels; (2) get more exercise; (3) be happier; (4) improve
concentration; and (5) heal faster. An article tellingly entitled, “Take Two
Hours of Pine Forest and Call Me in the Morning,” Florence
Williams is summarized: “These
days, screen-addicted Americans are more stressed out and distracted than ever.
And nope, there’s no app for that. But there is a
radically simple remedy: get outside. Florence Williams travels to the deep
woods of Japan, where researchers are backing up the surprising theory that
nature can lower your blood pressure, fight off depression, beat back stress—and even
prevent cancer.”[4] In Your
Brain on Nature, authors Eva Selhub and Alan Logan highlight research that
links the Japanese practice of shinrin-yoku (“forest bathing,” a leisurely visit to a forest in
which one breathes in phytoncide, which is
wood essential oils) to increased cerebral blood flow, immune defense, and
improved mental health. Here are additional articles you might enjoy reading:
•
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2793341/
The NY State Department of
Environmental Conservation endorses “forest bathing.” They tell us:
Spending time around trees
and looking at trees reduces stress, lowers blood pressure and improves mood.
Numerous studies show that both exercising in forests and simply sitting
looking at the trees reduce blood pressure as well as the stress-related
hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Looking at pictures of trees has a similar,
but less dramatic, effect. Studies examining the same activities in urban,
unplanted areas showed no reduction of stress-related effects. Using the
Profile of Mood States test, researchers found that forest bathing trips significantly
decreased the scores for anxiety, depression, anger, confusion and fatigue. And
because stress inhibits the immune system, the stress-reduction benefits of
forests are further magnified.[5]
The psalmist understood this well.
Psalm 23, attributed to King David, expresses the sense of peace, satisfaction,
and healing one can experience outdoors. This translation of Psalm 23, by
Pamela Greenberg, reflects it beautifully:
A psalm of
David.
God is my
shepherd; there is nothing I lack.
You lay me down
in lush meadows.
You guide me
toward tranquil waters, reviving my soul.
You lead me
down paths of righteousness, for that is your way.
And when i walk
through the valley, overshadowed by death,
I will fear no
harm, for you are with me.
Your rod and staff—they
comfort me.
You spread a
table before me in the face of my greatest fears.
You drench my
head with oil; my cup overflows the brim.
Surely goodness
and kindness will accompany me all the days of my life
and I will
dwell in the house of the Holy for the length of my days.[6]
The sukkah draws us outdoors and
keeps us there for hours. Celebrating Sukkot is a unique opportunity to combine
mindful living (and mindful eating) with a keen appreciation of the world
beyond our homes, offices, schools, and especially screens and devices. Living
is mindful when we experience novelty, and the sukkah provides that
beautifully. It’s
been a full year since we dwelled in a sukkah—it is again new. (Dogs are masters of
novelty. If you’re
away from them for only a few hours, they greet you with enthusiastic love and
affection as if it’s
been a year since they saw you. Perhaps we could learn a thing or two from
them.)
In his wonderful book, The Mayo
Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living, Dr. Amit Sood, professor of medicine at
the Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, offers us guidance on how to mindfully
soak in nature and benefit from its stress-relieving and healing properties:
In the
yard, attend to the green carpet of grass, the blue sky and floating clouds.
Savor the color, the variety of plants, and the squiggly tracks in the grass.
Look at the plants and trees as selfless sages standing quietly, emblems of
peace, purifying the air, holding the soil together and giving us flowers and
fruit while asking nothing in return. Send them your silent gratitude for
adorning your environs.
Notice the
tree’s physical
form—its
height, branching pattern and the moss on its bark. Appreciate leaves’ shape, size and color, and
the patterns of their veins. Look at the flowers and the squirrels and the
birds finding shelter on its branches.[7]
One of the blessings of Sukkot is
that it sends us outdoors into the natural world, a place of healing. At a time
of year when many of us are resigned to spending far more time inside as autumn
rain and chill move in, and those who live in very hot climates find it is
finally cool enough to get outdoors, this is a valuable reminder. Dr. Sood
assures us:
With practice, nature will
move to the forefront of your life, no longer part of the unattended background.
You’ll notice
more trees, flowers, even insects. Nature will give your mind a flourishing
break from [non-constructive and often negative] ruminations.[8]
This year, in addition to the
blessings for dwelling in the sukkah and waving the lulav, you’d like to
add this, the last line of the Hashkiveinu prayer of shabbat ma’ariv, the
evening service:
ברוך אתה יי הפורש סכת
שלום עלינו ועל כל עמו ישראל ועל ירושלים
Blessed
are You, Adonai, Who spreads a shelter of peace over us,
over
all God’s people Israel, and over Jerusalem.
Chag sameach — may your time in the sukkah be filled
with joy and may your senses be awakened and stimulated by the wonder of the
outdoors throughout the coming year.
© Rabbi
Amy Scheinerman
[1] The following link will download the paper for you: http://tinyurl.com/qavfsnl.
[3] “A Prescription for better health: go
alfresco,”
Harvard Health
Letter (July, 2010) can be viewed at http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsletters/Harvard_Health_Letter/2010/July/a-prescription-for-better-health-go-alfresco?utm_source=mental&utm_medium=pressrelease&utm_campaign=health0710.
[6] Pamela Greenberg, The Complete Psalms: The Book of
Prayer Songs in a New Translation, pp. 43-44.
[7] Amit Sood, The Mayo Clinic Guide to Stress-Free Living,
p. 69.
[8] Ibid., p. 70.
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