Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - An Evening in the Sukkah

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey friends, for the best Get Sleepy experience, be sure to check out our supporters feed Get Sleepy Premium for our free listening weekly bonus episodes and access to our entire catalogue. Now, a quick word from our sponsors who make the free version of this show possible. Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax and we get sleepy. My name is Tom and I'm your host. Tonight's story was written by Akala. and by a Kayla, we'll be celebrating Sukkot, a Jewish Harvest Festival. During Sukkot, some people sleep outside in their suckers, the small huts where the Harvest celebrations take place. So as we get settled into bed this evening. Perhaps you can imagine a fresh autumn breeze, brushing against your skin, and the light of twinkling stars, seeping through a roof made of palm

Starting point is 00:01:15 and dole of branches. Before our story though, I just wanted to mention that it's been lovely reading all of your feedback on our recent episodes. I'm so pleased you're enjoying the show, and that's hopefully it's helping you to regularly achieve a good night's rest. If you have any ideas, suggestions, questions, or just want to say hi. You can email us via the contact page on our website. Go to GetSleepy.com to find it. When you're there, you may also want to sign up to our three weekly newsletter, which

Starting point is 00:01:59 I send out every Monday, previewing the upcoming episodes, and occasionally sharing updates or behind the scenes stuff that our current newsletters absolutely love. So to receive that too, just enter your email address in the box that says join our mailing list on the GetSleepap.com homepage. So let's get settled in now, ready for our story. Tonight, I feel drawn to remind you all, just how deeply grateful I am to have your company here. You all give the team and me such a special opportunity to be your sleep custodians and it's a real honor for all of us. With that in mind, I'd like you to have the opportunity to think about somebody that has helped you, supported

Starting point is 00:03:08 you, or had a positive impact on your life. So take some calming, deep breaths, luxuriating in the feeling of your muscles gradually relaxing. And just allow your mind to focus solely on one person you are grateful to know and to have or have had in your life. I'm really fortunate to have many wonderful special people in my life that I'm so grateful for. But in these moments, I often think of my Nan. She was truly the most kind, gentle, and inspiring lady I've ever known. And though she's not around anymore, whenever I spend a moment thinking of her, I feel so blessed to have been her grandson.

Starting point is 00:04:28 Whoever comes to mind for you, I'll just give you a bit of space to picture them in your mind and to share in that moment of gratitude with me. I hope it was enriching for your mind, heart and soul. yourself to let go and rest, as we begin our celebration of the beautiful holiday of Sukkot. Once they lived a family who had an abundance of love, but very little in the way of material goods. They lived in a small town with their aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and friends, and they loved nothing more than celebrating the holidays together. they loved nothing more than celebrating the holidays together. The father Mordekai's favorite holiday was Hanaka, the beautiful festival of lights. The mother Rivka enjoyed the long pass over Saedas. Yehuda, their son, loved dressing up for the Purim.

Starting point is 00:06:54 But their daughter Hadasa spent all year looking forward to the holiday of Sukkot. In the cool winter months, they'd walk down the street to their grandparent's house to light the Hanuk visit their cousins for the Passover Seder. When summer ended, they'd dip apples in honey to celebrate the New Year at a friends. But because their home was so small, they could never host the holiday celebrations. They loved celebrating in the homes of their loved ones, but they wished they could host a celebration one year. Adasa especially wanted to host Sukkot, the seven day holiday where you spent your time outside decorating the Sukkha, spending time with friends and family and eating fresh

Starting point is 00:08:19 fruits and vegetables. The holiday of Sukkot is one of the oldest in the Jewish tradition. Everyone builds small suckers or huts in their backyard, made of wood and branches. One day, her Dasa was playing outside behind her house, running amongst the wildflowers, and taking in the sweet scent of fig trees. Other than not being able to host the celebrations, she didn't mind that their house was small because she had so much wild space to play in. Just then, Herdasa had an idea. She skipped back home and burst into the kitchen, where her mother and father were having tea.

Starting point is 00:09:34 Our house may be too small to have friends over for Hanukkah or Passover, her Dasa said, but Sukkot isn't celebrated indoors. It's outside, and we have more space outside than anyone in the town. It was true, while their house looked small next to their neighbors who had big dining rooms and lounges, their backyard was the largest in the area. Rifka and Mordekai rejoiced at their daughter's idea. Why hadn't they thought of it before? This year they would host Sukkot and they'd build the biggest sukkha the town had ever seen.

Starting point is 00:10:38 Hadasa and Yehuda drew invitations and delivered the notes to all of their friends and family in town. As they walked up and down the quiet roads, the scents of ripened fruit and freshly plowed fields surrounded them. Their smiling neighbors and family members accepted their invitations with delight. Everybody was going to celebrate in their Now, they just had to build it. The family wandered through their yard and the forests behind the town, bringing back fallen branches and leaves to build their sukkah with. A sukkah needs to be made with natural materials, and the roof is the most important part. It has to consist only of growing things, like leaves, branches and cornstorks. It should provide shade but still be open enough to let in the

Starting point is 00:12:10 light of the sun and the moon and the stars. Adasa wanted to make sure the roof was perfect, because if the weather was nice, she planned on bringing out her sleeping bag and staying in the sukkha, falling asleep beneath the moon and stars. Walking in nature during the harvest season was a marvelous thing to behold. The sense of ripened stalks and fruits hung heavy in the air as the family gathered the materials they needed. They watched farmers culling wheat and barley, picking figs and olives, and taking down bright red pomegranates from sprawling trees. Each person they passed gave them something for the sukkah. One olive farmer chopped some golden olive branches for the family to use for the roof.

Starting point is 00:13:37 Another gave them fix and honey to serve as dessert. A third gave them cornstalks to help create shade during the sunny days. The family carried their goods home, excited to build the hut where they'd eat, drink and sleep over the next seven days. When they returned home, the family got to work building the walls of the sukkah. Let's make it as big as our house, Yehuda said. Let's make it bigger, said Hadassa. The small house means a big sukkha. Rifkha and Mordekai smiled. The possibilities were endless. As they worked, more of the neighbours came to watch the massive

Starting point is 00:14:52 structure go up. They brought more wood and decorative branches, plants and leaves. The children drew pictures and made paper chain links to hang from the roof. The adults brought yellow, orange and red gauze to decorate the tables. One of their neighbours, the talented Gardiner, brought Mertle and other fresh-smelling flowers and herbs to hang in the Sookah. Thanks to the help of the whole community, the giant surca was beautifully decorated and full of sweet sense. The last part to be built was the roof. This was going to be the trickiest part of all, because the walls of the sukkah were higher than the walls of their house.

Starting point is 00:16:13 Mordekai and Rifka carried a ladder up the roof and leaned it against the wall of the suokha. The children handed them cornstorks, olive branches, and flat date palm leaves, which they carefully placed over the top of the walls of the Sookha. Yehuda and Hadassa stood inside and told their parents when there was the perfect balance of light and shade. Rifka and Mordekai climbed back down from the roof and the whole family stood inside the new hut. The drawings, paper chains and gords, shimmed under the light, peeping through the branches and leaves above. The space felt like it was big and beautiful enough to throw a grand ball. Everything was perfect and ready for their celebrations. The next task was to gather enough food to make the Sukkot meal.

Starting point is 00:17:48 there enough food to make the Sukkot meal. The family didn't have enough money to feed everyone they needed to, but the community would help them out. During the harvest season, all of the farmers leave a portion of their crops unpicked, so those who can't afford enough food might gather them for sustenance. The farmers also set aside some grains, olive oil and wine, so that everyone who wants to can celebrate the holiday. Rifka, Mordekai, Adasa and Yehuda passed through farmers' fields, looking for crops they could pick. They found wheat stalks so they could make fresh bread and shook palm trees until their fruits fell down. In woven baskets they carried their food back home. They were glad for the kindness of their neighbours,

Starting point is 00:19:09 and knew exactly how they'd repay them. Before Sukkot, they would go to the market and buy the sweetest a troug, a lemon-like citrus fruit, for all their guests to smell and shake. Each morning of Sukkot, every member of the household is meant to hold the atro in one hand and a lulaf a branch from a palm tree three boughs of myrtle and two branches from a willow tree in the other and shake them up down and side to side. While the plants needed to make the lulav are available to many people, and a troke was harder to find, and it could be expensive to get a nice, bright, farm fruit. Often, the community shared several among them.

Starting point is 00:20:27 Since the family was hosting so many for the holiday, they wanted to make sure they had the sweetest of troke they could find. The family all went to the market the day before Sukkot. They waved to their friends and family, some of whom joined them on their trip. The market was a social place in a town full of farmers. Smells of harvest greeted them as they walked down the bustling streets. Vendors sold figs, olives, dates, pomegranates, barley, and more delectable offerings. But thanks to the kindness of their neighbours, there was only one store they had to visit today. The atrogestore, where yellow oval fruits were piled on top of a wooden table.

Starting point is 00:21:50 The fruit looked like a big lemon with a thicker, more rigid peel. Her Dasa ran her hand over the waxy skins and took in the citrusy sweet scent. One a troke in the back corner of the stall glittered under the light and looked particularly beautiful. When her Dasa picked it up, it was the sweetest smelling fruit she'd ever held. She told her family this was the one. They passed it between them, enjoying the fowness of the fruit, and the way their hands still smell like citrus, even after passing it on. Rifka paid the shopkeeper and thanked him for helping enrich their Sukkot celebration.

Starting point is 00:23:05 Adasa held the atro kai as they walked through the market. When they passed a friend who would be coming to their celebration tomorrow, she stopped to praise the atroque. Everyone will be so excited to shake this tomorrow," she said. The family wandered the familiar streets back home, appreciating the bright sun overhead. Sukkot always signaled the transition of the seasons. The warm summer months had come to a close, and colder, darker winter was on its way. One could appreciate each sunny day and evening ray of light, knowing the sun would soon go into its slumber. A dassa liked knowing that the holidays helped celebrate the passing seasons. Soot for autumn, hannaker for winter and Passover for spring. The autumn time was especially beautiful for all the leaves were were changing colour and fruits were ready to eat. But part of the beauty was in the change

Starting point is 00:24:52 and knowing that each season for the holiday the next day. Hadassah and Yehuda made sure all of the decorations in the Sukha were hung just right. Rifka and Mordekai chopped fruit and vegetables and roasted yams and potatoes in the oven. They also mixed wheat for honey cakes so there'd be no preparation needed in the morning. preparation needed in the morning, only enjoyment. The last thing to do before going to bed was putting together the Lulav. They picked through their foraging pile. Your huda chose a long palm branch. Hadassa plucked three fragrant sprigs of metal. Rivka picked up strong willow branches. Mordekai took a stalk of green grass and tied them all together. No one knows for certain why these different plants are brought together to make the Lou love, but Rivka and Mordekai had a theory that the different plants represent all the parts of the community.

Starting point is 00:26:49 The atroke which is shaken with the lulav is sweet smelling and tasty. The dates from the palm branch are sweet but have no smell. Mertle has a lovely floral scent but no taste. Willow has no taste or smell. Three different branches are brought together in the same way that all the different people in the community come together to celebrate in the sugar. Sometimes not everyone has space to build their own sugar, or there aren't enough for trokes to go around. But when people join one another, differences and all, it creates something beautiful.

Starting point is 00:27:58 When everything was prepared, they laid the lulav under troke by the door, so they would be there to greet their guests the next day. Each member of the family, caled into bed, dreaming of the celebrations they'd have tomorrow. morrow. As her Dasa drifted off to sleep, she imagined the next night when she'd be sleeping under the stars. The next morning, the family woke early. They poured each other cups of tea and ate apples with honey for breakfast. They didn't want to eat too much because soon they'd be feasting with with their guests. A Dasa and Yehuda set honey, water, grape juice and wine on the table and swept the floor for the leaves that had fallen overnight.

Starting point is 00:29:21 They watched the morning sun glitter through the branches above and dance on the gauds lining the table. Finally, the guests and directed them to their seats. Each aunt, uncle, cousin or friend who entered held the plants of the Lulav in one hand and the golden troke in the other. They brought both hands together in front of them and moved the bundle up, down, left and right, shaking the leaves and branches as they went. Waving those celebratory objects in each direction symbolized that everyone in all corners of the earth was connected.

Starting point is 00:30:47 A rhythm was found as the bundle was passed from guest to guest. The sound of the branches swishing through the air mingled with the laughing friends and singing birds. After shaking the bundle, the guests sat at one of the long tables in the sukkha. They chatted about how big and beautiful the hut was, as Rivifka, Mordekai, Hadassa and Yehuda started bringing out the food. First came soft, sweet bread, baked fresh in the oven, accompanied by wine for the adults and grape juice for their children. They dipped the steaming bread in honey to appreciate the sweetness of their time together.

Starting point is 00:32:01 Next came soup made from squash, drizzled with fresh figs and honey. Spoon's happily clinked against bowls, and the slurping of soup added to the chorus of voices. Rifco and Mordekai went inside to get the main course. Roasted chicken sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, olives, honeycakes, and a freshly chopped salad of tomato, cucumber and onion were all brought out to the table. The guests heaped servings of the delicious food onto their plates. Knowing this was what they'd spent all spring and summer working hard to grow. Above a family of birds landed on an olive branch on the roof of the sukkah and looked down at the feasting people below. For this one week of the year, the people lived outside, just like the birds and animals,ouriness of the meats, satisfied the taste buds of everyone

Starting point is 00:33:51 at the table. The smells and flavours mix together in a way that made it feel distinctly like autumn. When the plates were empty and stomachs were full, Rivkher and Mordeky cleared the table for dessert. They carried out bowls of fresh fruit, figs, dates, pomegranates, apples and grapes were passed around the table and drizzled in honey. The children poured a little extra honey on theirs. There's a lot of stress. Outside the sun was turning golden, sinking in the sky, but nobody was ready to end the

Starting point is 00:34:54 celebrations. The sweet tasting food and drink helped the conversation flow even as the sky was changing colours. Some of the guests brought out instruments, loops and tambourines and began to play songs. The adults sang a cherry tune and the children ran outside to dance in the streets, bringing joy to all around on this holiday. Cool autumn breezes brushed the hair of the dancers as they took in the reds, oranges, and yellows of the leaves on the trees. The colours always looked most beautiful at this time of day, when the sun was getting ready for her slumber. Soon limbs were getting tired, and the dancing slowed down. The singing grew quieter, and one by one the guests started to leave. They left behind jars of honey and olive oil as gifts and thanked the family for building such a wonderful for their celebrations.

Starting point is 00:36:47 The family hugged their guests goodbye, thanking them for spending a marvelous evening together, for celebrating alone in such a big sugar would not have been much fun. Finally, it was only the family remaining. They cleared the table and swept the floor. The core breeze whispered in through the wooden walls, and it felt like the perfect temperature to be snuggled under some blankets outside. Rivka and Mordekai brought out sleeping mats and pillows, and the children carried blankets and sleeping bags. They each found a spot in the sukkah to lay out their bed for the night.

Starting point is 00:38:00 One of the reasons given for dwelling in the Sookha during this festival is to serve as a reminder that everything is impermanent. One can gather all of the comforts one wants in a home, but these changeable dwellings remind one that even as things change, there is still joy and rest. Sukkot is a festival of wandering and a festival of rest. It reminds us of the Israelites who wandered through the desert and slapped in hearts, said Rifka. Yet, it also urges us to find joy and rest in the wandering, turning the sukkha into a place of festivity. And a four day and night of festivity certainly made the children ready to rest. A Dasa chose the place in the Suka closest to the door, so the fresh autumn breezes would

Starting point is 00:39:31 keep her cool in the night. Yehuda set up right in the middle of the Suka, moving some of the chairs and tables to the side. Rivka and Mordekai made a nest near the wall of their house, to remember that it was their modest home that helped them have such a grand celebration. Together, the family looked up at the half moon and silver stars, shining through the branches of the roof. The wind rustled the wide palm leaves, making the stars look like they were blinking in the night sky. Birds hooted in the distance, singing a midnight song. The walls of the Sookha gently creaked with the soft

Starting point is 00:40:52 wind, but leaning against the wall of the small house, they found their strength. The family felt protected in the sukkha and all drifted off to sleep. Her Dasa was the last to give in to her weariness, wanting to stay awake and drinking every moment of the holiday. The stars reflected in her eyes as she gazed up through a small window to the vastness of the night sky. Soon, restorative slumber. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room.

Starting point is 00:45:34 I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. I'm going to go to the next room. ... ... you ... ... ... ... you you

Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - An Evening in the Sukkah

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