Wonders of The Universe
by Maureen Kendler z”l:
Teaching Fellow and Lead Tutor LSJS
Below is a short transcript for the Radio 2 programme Pause for Thought.
This week is the Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is a harvest festival which is weather-dependent, as we build a little hut- a Sukkah- outside in which to celebrate the festival -if the rain stops long enough to do so. It’s one of the drawbacks of belonging to a desert religion and not living in the desert. – Ideally, we spend the week in the Sukkah eating and sleeping there – but in this country it is a risky business. Meanwhile my daughter who lives in in Florida told me that it was too humid to sit in her Sukkah because the sun was unbearably hot.
The wonders of the universe? Context is everything!
It depends where you’re standing and what you want to see. It is all too easy to become utterly exasperated by the weather when it disrupts our schedule, and also indifferent to or annoyed with animals and insects that may disturb us or get in our way… We can see these natural wonders as spiteful, out to get us, to spoil our cherished plans.
When my daughter was small, our ten-minute walk to the nearest station was anything but. I learned to set aside as long as it took. Firstly there were the leaves and the flowers and a local cat. One garden on our route had a special tree that needed a good look, and if it had been raining, the snail and slug population offered untold entertainment. Woodlice held a special fascination. There was a funny dog, and there were fragrant lilac branches.
None of the above made any impact on me I when I was walking alone, as the only thing I looked at was the traffic, and my watch, to check how late I was. The lilac branches had to be brushed impatiently out of the way and the slugs avoided. . Watching a snail making its excruciating way across the wet pavement was beautiful to share through my child’s eyes, but when I was hurrying along by myself it was merely to be nuisance to be avoided and a sickening crunch under my shoe if I missed my step. Yes, context is everything.
I suppose we see ourselves as the ultimate wonders of the world and that everything should fit round us!
Sukkot, the harvest festival provides a good old-fashioned dose of humility – the harvest has come in, -, and we can take a moment to enjoy Nature around us. There is food on the table – and that is all thanks to the rain that we have been complaining about!