"In Liminal Time and Space", Katy Z. Allen

Transience has to do with change, and liminal space and time are in-between places and moments. They are boundaries. They are neither here nor there. Transience is also neither here nor there. It is always on its way. Both are areas that can feel uncomfortable, they are conditions or places where we humans like least to be. However, if we can accept them, we can open ourselves up to the third meaning of which is emptiness’the great void, the time and place before creation from which all newness comes. Learning to stand comfortably in our sukkah, in liminal space and time, requires us to empty ourselves, but it also makes it possible for us to empty ourselves. And once we have done this, we open ourselves up to the possibility that God will fill that space, and the result will be a new creation’a new creation of who we are. Only then will the process that began with the month of Elul and reached its climax on Yom Kippur be temporarily completed, and only then will we taste the fruits of teshuvah; we will be recreated; we will be transformed. This transformation will bring with it true happiness, for only in being fully in relationship to the Divine can we find contentment and peace, and contentment and peace lead to happiness.