Experimental Fridays: Lady Gaga’s Sukkot

There is a simple beauty to the holiday of Sukkot, perhaps because it is the chag (holiday) with the least meshugas (craziness). The Day of Atonement and the month of weighty reflection are behind us, the manic celebration of Simchas Torah lies ahead. Sukkot, often called The Festival of Ingathering, is unadorned, honest, at peace with itself.

And it reminds me of Lady Gaga.

Though I would not use the term “unadorned” to describe her inspired ensembles, she is unadorned when it comes to her character, honest when it comes to her spirit, at peace when it comes to her personhood. And she invites, nay demands, through her songs, performances, interviews, and her anti-bullying campaigns that others strive for the same.

On Tuesday, Lady G was awarded a peace prize by Yoko Ono, for her efforts of combining stardom with activism. (Last month, Yoko Ono awarded the LennonOno Grant for Peace to members of the band Pussy Riot who are serving time for staging a “punk prayer” in Moscow’s main cathedral.) Gaga dedicated the award to “youth empowerment around the world,” and added a challenge: “I dare you to be compassionate in a cynical age.”

Read More: @ jwa.org

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