The Feast of Booths

One of my favorite films of all time is titled Ushpizin which is Hebrew for "Sukkot Guests." Here is the synopsis from Wiki:

"Moshe and Mali Bellanga are an impoverished, childless, Hasidic baalei teshuva ("returnees to Judaism") couple in the Breslov community in Jerusalem. After Moshe is passed over for a stipend he expected, they cannot pay their bills, much less prepare for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Moshe admires a particularly beautiful etrog, or citron, one of the four species required for the holiday observance. They console themselves by recalling a saying of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov that difficult times are a test of faith. After some anguished prayer, they receive an unexpected monetary gift on the eve of the holiday[2] and Moshe buys the etrog for 1000 shekels (approx. $300), a large sum of money that is much more than he can afford.

The couple is visited by a pair of escaped convicts, one of whom knew Moshe in his earlier, non-religious life. The convicts become their guests (ushpizin) in the sukkah, creating many conflicts and straining Moshe and Mali's relationship."

I really liked this film for a few reasons. One, because of the themes: trust in God, prayer, hospitality, conversion, and tradition. Two, because Moshe and Mali are three-dimensional, human characters, not caricatures (Rand wrote the screenplay, and his wife, who plays Mali, never acted before). I can relate to Moshe--he smokes cigarettes, has a past, and is doing his best to be a faithful Jew and husband in difficult personal circumstances. And three, because it portrays the healthy robustness of faith, religion, and community, rather than denigrating it. Here's a trailer, and a great clip scene as well.

What's neat in Ushpizin is that "the sukkot guests" who arrive are not what the couple expects. They are ex-cons from the world and from Moshe's past, and challenge the couple in hospitality. Do the poor not do the same for us? The monastic admonition in the words of St. Benedict, the first in his Rule, "Let all guests be welcomed as Christ" is a challenge, because he does not say "like" Christ, but "AS" Christ. Christ often comes in distressing guise.

One thing that just occurred to me is the Jewish holiday of Sukkot (The Feast of Booths) takes place next week. What is the significance of this Feast?

"The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, "booth" or "tabernacle", which is a walled structure covered with s'chach (plant material, such as overgrowth or palm leaves). A sukkah is the name of the temporary dwelling in which farmers would live during harvesting, a fact connecting to the agricultural significance of the holiday stressed by the Book of Exodus. As stated in Leviticus, it is also intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. Throughout the holiday, meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many people sleep there as well."

What's funny is beginning last year, I have been making my own type of pilgrimage retreat in a 'temporary dwelling' around the same time as this Jewish Feast of Booths, at a Franciscan (FFI) hermitage in New York state. There is significance there that I previously overlooked--I first encountered the Lord in the wilderness when I was sixteen, solo backpacking upstate; this was the beginning of my conversion and realization of my need for a Savior. 

And so I have made efforts to "go back" in remembrance to the wilderness, just as the Jews were commanded to remember their own exodus and ransoming. While Sukkot is a Jewish communal feast, I am taking the opportunity to fast and be alone--leaving my phone in the car, and bringing three loaves of bread and three gallons of water for the three days I am there. I will have electricity, a bed, and a desk, but no plumbing (outhouse), and will be gifted the time alone (apart from 3x/day communal prayer and Holy Mass with the Friars), to pray and read.

I would ask you prayers for me for this coming Friday to Sunday, as this is a concentrated time for me once a year in which spiritual battle takes place that feels more acute, because all the external distractions are set aside and there is nothing but me, the Lord, and the Devil in my "booth." Solitude is not necessarily sweet for me, but more a stinging balm good for the wounds that need dressing. 

There is a saying from Abba Moses in the stories of the Desert Fathers: "Sit in your cell and your cell will teach you everything." Our cells have a way of teaching us under cruel tutelage, in which we are "naked and alone" without excuse, without recourse to distraction, and without the degree of comfort we are used to. All we have is our selves, and the Lord. It should be good training and good penance, with that recognition that this earth is not our permanent home. We are simply dwelling here, in temporary glitz and glam, for a time in preparation for eternity.

Pray for me, and I will pray for you as well!