This week we celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, also known as Z’man Simchateinu – the Season of Our Rejoicing. Sukkot commemorates the 40 years our ancestors wandered in the desert, building temporary shelters, or sukkot, that could be erected in the evening and taken down again the next day, as the Israelites continued their wanderings. It is also called Chag Ha-Asif – the Holiday of Ingathering – celebrating the fall harvest.
One of the customs of Sukkot includes welcoming guests into our sukkah, honoring the Jewish value of hospitality. Symbolically, our guests include seven figures from the Hebrew Bible, each of whom was forced to wander at some point in his life. Jewish mystical tradition calls these seven the Ushpizin, Aramaic for ‘guests’, and enumerates them as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David. In modern times, we add Sarah, Rachel, Rebecca, Leah, Miriam, Abigail, and Esther. This year, we also include the 100,000+ Israelis who have been displaced from their homes in both the south and the north, not knowing when or if it will be safe to return.
These figures from Jewish tradition exemplify Jewish values of lovingkindness, hospitality, strength, courage, faith, justice, and moral leadership. As we welcome them into our sukkah, we remember our obligation to honor their legacy by bringing these values into our own lives.
In modern times, we have the opportunity to add other people to our Ushpizin list, people from history, people from our own families and communities, whose lives have been a blessing and an example in our lives. As we enter the Sukkot season, think about who has been a positive influence in your life who you would like to welcome into your sukkah!
May this holiday season be joyful for us all!
-Rabbi Bonnie Margulis
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