It’s kind of ironic to be celebrating UAlbany’s Homecoming weekend out here in the Sukkah…
On second thought, it’s quite meaningful. Sukkot is a homecoming of sorts. It helps us refocus and reorient our priorities, to rethink what home is really all about. By stripping away all the comforts and modern conveniences we’ve come to expect in a home, a Sukkah helps us get to the essence of what home is really all about. Is a home defined by the thickness of the carpet or TV screen diameter, or is it about quality time and space with family? The Sukkah experience helps us focus on what really matters most, so yes, it is indeed a homecoming!
——-
We shop a lot at BJs, so I got my glasses there and the staff are very kind about the free adjustments. This is a valuable service for me because we have little kids who like to play with my glasses and I enjoy falling asleep with a book, so my glasses often get squeezed or crushed a bit.
Just before Sukkos, we were doing a big shopping at BJs, and my glasses got out of wack the night before, so we stopped over at BJs Optical for an adjustment. Raizy mentioned that the lenses are scratched, and perhaps they were still under warranty. The lady at Optical looked it up and told us that the glassed we brought in for adjustment are already a warranty replacement and therefore not eligible for warranty. But the records show that I have a newer pair of glasses, higher quality and more recent, than I may have at home.
Hmm.. I knew I had a backup pair tucked away in my drawer. But I thought I was wearing a newer pair all this time. As it turns out, I accidentally stashed away the newer pair and have been wearing the old backup for months!
This takes us right back to the Sukkah message: We tend to think of home as normal and default, and Sukkah as the temporary and rare use. But in truth, the Sukkah perspective ought to be our real lenses, our default mode. The Sukkah message of what’s really essential and at the core of what makes a home, that’s the homecoming! That’s the real message!