For Jews, fall always arrives with the High Holidays—sometimes early in September, like this year, sometimes as late as mid October. For most other people it comes with the autumn equinox. This year, they came at the same time.
Interestingly enough, this year’s autumn equinox corresponded with the beginning of Sukkot, the fall harvest festival. This holiday began on September 22 at sundown. The equinox occurred at 03:09 (or 3:09 a.m.) Coordinated Universal Time on September 23, 2010, marking the official beginning of autumn season.
To add to the auspicious occasion, the harvest moon rose at sunset on the 22nd in the United States. A harvest moon occurs when a full moon appears on the last day of summer. This phenomenon hasn’t occurred since 1991.
Typically the lunar glow has an orange color, and the moon appears much larger in the sky. The name comes from the ability of farmers to use the moon as a source of light while they continue their fall harvests.
I admired the moon from my car as I drove along the 280 highway from San Francisco to the Santa Cruz Mountains where I live. Here, the moon hung huge and white and low in the sky long before the sun set. I could have driven without my headlights much of the way. In the sukkah, it felt as if God had provided a Divine light for the small booth. The moon beams came in through the gaps in the roof.
Do you ever wonder about those times when the sun is up at the same time as the sun, as if day and night have overlapped? It’s an odd time of day. It makes me wonder about the times when heaven and earth, the Divine and the human realm overlap. It’s said that just a thin film lies between us and the “other” realm and that sometimes that film, that veil can be pierced…or becomes thinner, almost nonexistent. Maybe it’s at times like last night when so many different events come together: a holiday, an equinox, a lunar event.
When an auspicious event occurs, you should stop and take note and wonder if God’s hand isn’t in that event, and if God’s hand isn’t a bit nearer, a bit easier to reach. And then reach out.
Happy Sukkot. To learn more about Sukkot, click here.
For other interesting Sukkot posts, try these:
The Symbolism of the Lulav and Why Anyone Should Consider Shaking One
Why Anyone Can and Should Participate in Sukkot’s Rituals
Photo: Wikimedia
