iTorah

Hey you guys, So one of the rabbis at my camp emailed me to ask me to write this thing called an iTorah - its basically a drash that gets emailed to everyone on the list every friday. Mine is supposed to be about how judaism and nature connect with a tie in to sukkot, and my experience at Kutz. I'd love to hear your opinions and critiques - Shira - not too scathing ok? Here it is and keep in mind its only a rough draft:

Are Judaism and nature related? How does this connect to Sukkot?

Unless you have spent much time at The URJ Kutz Campus for Reform Jewish Teen Life, or specialize in the subject, it seems to me that Judaism and nature don’t seem to cross paths a whole lot. Services are usually inside of a building, and apart from the whole ‘living in the wilderness for 40 years’ part, Nature, in my view, takes a backseat in our lives.
I’d like to tell a story that my Teva teacher, at Kutz told me: There was once a boy and his grandfather, and every day they would go to pray at their local synagogue. And every day, right before the Amidah, the boy would, silently, sneak out the back door of the synagogue and walk into the woods surrounding. Now, the boy had gotten very good at sneaking off so as not to disturb those praying, but after a while, his grandfather noticed. So one day the grandfather decided to find out where the boy was going, and right on mark, just before the amidah, the boy crept out the back door of the synagogue, but this time, the grandfather followed him. He followed the boy deep into the woods, until the boy stopped, and started davvining, praying the amidah. After waiting for the boy to finish praying, the grandfather confronts him, asking, “child, why do you go out into the woods for the amidah? Don’t you know that God and see and hear you no mater where you are”? to which the boy responds, “yes, grandfather, but out here is where I can see and hear God”.
Although God can supposedly see and hear us anywhere, it was in nature that the boy felt most connected, and it was in nature that the boy was really able to see holiness in everything. 
A great aspect about the holiday of Sukkot is that we are commanded to live in booths, temporary and flimsy shelters outside of the normal comforts of our concrete and metal houses, outside of our normal routine. A sukkah is more of a tent than a house, considering that tents are also just flimsy shelters in the wilderness. Sukkot is a harvest holiday, in which we celebrate the produce that we have been able to reap, and we thank God for this.
I had the privilege to go to Camp Kutz this summer, to make friends from all across the country, to learn and grow as a reform Jew and as a person. One of the aspects of Kutz is that we have a major for 2 hours a day, and this major can be one of many things, for my second session, I chose the new and unique Teva Experience – Teva meaning nature in Hebrew. In my major I was able to connect to Judaism through the wonder of being outside. Despite the obvious bonuses of being able to go river rafting and rock climbing, I had the opportunity to learn how Judaism connects to the natural world around it. Every day we learned something new, and every day we slowly became more aware of God’s presence in everything around us. It’s hard to look around in your kitchen and say that that Styrofoam cup is holy, but to look down see that the forest floor is actually a cycle of life and death – the dead leaves and twigs providing an environment for new plants to grow and flourish – that is divine.
Maybe, just maybe, Sukkkot is not just all about harvesting fruit, maybe it’s about bringing you closer to nature so that you can find that divinity in everything. So here is my challenge to you: You don’t have to conduct services in the middle of the woods – although it is a wonderful experience - , but every once in a while, take a second in your normally busy and hectic lives, to appreciate the beauty of Gods creations. Luckily, you have a holiday coming up where you’re commanded to be outside, so appreciating nature might be a little bit easier, considering you’re in it.
Happy Holidays,
Ben Zimmerman