On Erev Sukkot, my landlord invited me to ride with him to cut fresh branches from a "willow" tree, which is one of the four species. So, I rode with him out to the Syrian border with Israel, in the Golan Heights. There is a long, deep trench that has been cut into the ground, which serves as an anti-tank barricade. The trench is partially filled with water, so it is much like a moat around a castle. Along this modern day "moat" grows the exact species of "willow" tree we needed for our fourth species. We cut a few small, leafy twigs off the tree and turned around to drive back to our Kibbutz. I was fascinated by the imagery of the nearby U.N. military base, the Israeli and Syrian flags flying along the border fences, miles of apple orchards on the Israel side of the fence, and two, middle aged Jews cutting twigs off a tree for Sukkot! It is no small wonder that the "willow" tree species needed for Sukkot grows in such a precarious place. As my landlord pointed out, our Lulav sets were very unique. To say the least.
To add to the surreal nature of life here, let me say that Israel is composed of a very diverse population, at least here in the Golan. Our neighbors are from: Ethiopia, Yemen, Ireland, Russia, England, France, Argentina, and the USA. We also have Ulpan classmates from Australia and Columbia. The village we live in is small, so everyone knows one another, and so far, everyone seems to get along very well. I would suppose that the underlying Jewish belief system, has a great deal to do with the harmony of life here. Doubtless, that many folks would disagree with that assumption, but human harmony in a close knit group is a very hard place to reach, normally. Take it from a student of humanity at it's worst; as I worked in Law Enforcement for a few decades.
During Sukkot, we invite our neighbors, friends, and occasionally strangers, into our little outdoor living areas that we usually construct next to our homes. We were privileged to host a wonderful young friend, who was instrumental in helping us with our Aliyah. We were so blessed to have her as our first guest on our Sukkah, here in the Golan. We had a wonderful time and also visited some of the local historical sites.
Chag Sameach!
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