Engage Sukkot Lunch and Learn

Text sheet for Lunch and Learn in the Sukkah, with social justice themes

(מב) בַּסֻּכֹּ֥ת תֵּשְׁב֖וּ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים כָּל־הָֽאֶזְרָח֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יֵשְׁב֖וּ בַּסֻּכֹּֽת׃ (מג) לְמַעַן֮ יֵדְע֣וּ דֹרֹֽתֵיכֶם֒ כִּ֣י בַסֻּכּ֗וֹת הוֹשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּהוֹצִיאִ֥י אוֹתָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י יְהוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃

Leviticus 23:42-43

(42) You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, (43) in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I the LORD your God.

דברים ט״ז:י״ג-ט״ו

(יג) חַ֧ג הַסֻּכֹּ֛ת תַּעֲשֶׂ֥ה לְךָ֖ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים בְּאָ֨סְפְּךָ֔ מִֽגָּרְנְךָ֖ וּמִיִּקְבֶֽךָ׃ (יד) וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֤ וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְהַלֵּוִ֗י וְהַגֵּ֛ר וְהַיָּת֥וֹם וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃ (טו) שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֗ים תָּחֹג֙ לַיהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֣ר יְהוָ֑ה כִּ֣י יְבָרֶכְךָ֞ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ בְּכֹ֤ל תְּבוּאָֽתְךָ֙ וּבְכֹל֙ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֶ֔יךָ וְהָיִ֖יתָ אַ֥ךְ שָׂמֵֽחַ׃

Deuteronomy 16:13-15

(13) After the ingathering from your threshing floor and your vat, you shall hold the Feast of Booths for seven days. (14) You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities. (15) You shall hold a festival for the LORD your God seven days, in the place that the LORD will choose; for the LORD your God will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy.

משנה סוכה ב׳:ט׳

(ט) כָּל שִׁבְעַת הַיָּמִים אָדָם עוֹשֶׂה סֻכָּתוֹ קֶבַע וּבֵיתוֹ עֲרַאי.

Mishnah Sukkah 2:9

(9) During the whole seven days [of the festival] one makes his sukkah [his] permanent [dwelling], and his house [a] temporary [dwelling].

All rabbinic discussion about the sukkah is based on the distinction between what is arai (temporary) and what is keva (permanent). The sukkah, by definition, must be arai – that is it cannot appear so sturdy that it might be confused with a permanent home. The rabbis of the Talmud argue about whether this constraint against the sukkah appearing permanent constitutes a limit on the height of the sukkah or on the materials that may be used to construct it (Sukkah 2a). In either case, the point is the same: the sukkah should be a structure in which someone can live for a week, but not in which he or she can live permanently. In contrast, a permanent house, we can assume, is noticeably sturdy, either because of its size or because of the materials used to construct it. Similarly, the requirement that the roof of the sukkah be permeable, combined with the explicit permission to return to your home if rain threatens to ruin your sukkah, implies that a permanent home is expected not to have holes in the roof and should fully shield a person from the elements.
- From There Shall Be No Needy, by Rabbi Jill Jacobs, pg. 141

Sukkot is at once a rejoicing in the bounty of the harvest, z’man simchateynu, and a reawakening to our fragility in the face of the awesome power of nature. Each year I am moved again by the power of this juxtaposition. In much of America, Sukkot comes just as the evening chill of autumn is taking hold. We are aware of the shortening days and the coming of winter. We decorate our sukkot with gourds and fruit, brightening these temporary huts as if to fortify them enough that we can pretend that they—and we—are strong enough to have nothing to worry about. But the stars shine in, and the wind blows through. More than a few sukkot are knocked over by its gusts. The forces of nature highlight our frailty.
So too it is in our daily lives. We have established routines and relationships. We are surrounded by an abundance of material goods that we largely take for granted. We live with a bounty unimaginable even a few generations ago. And yet the routines in our lives can be overturned in a moment by the diagnosis of disease, by dismissal from a job, by a family tragedy or an exploded relationship. Jewish tradition teaches that one of the things we should recall when we give tzedakah is that we can go from giver to receiver with a single turning of the wheel.
- Rabbi David Teutsch, American Jewish World Service - From the Sources - 2009

Ushpizin
הֲרֵינִי מוּכָן וּמְזֻמָּן לְקַיֵּם מִצְוַת סֻכָּה כַּאֲשֶׁר צִוַּֽנִי הַבּוֹרֵא יִתְבָּרַךְ שְׁמוֹ: בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, כָּל הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת. לְמַֽעַן יֵדְעוּ דֹרֹתֵיכֶם, כִּי בַסֻּכּוֹת הוֹשַֽׁבְתִּי אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, בְּהוֹצִיאִי אוֹתָם מֵאֶֽרֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם.
I am ready to perform the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah as instructed by my Divine Creator: In sukkot you shall dwell for seven days, every inhabitant of Israel shall dwell in sukkot, so your descendents may know that I caused all Israel to dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of Egypt.
יְהִי רָצוֹן מִלְּפָנֶֽיךָ, יְיָ אֱלֹהַי וֵאלֹהֵי אֲבוֹתַי, שֶׁתַּשְׁרֶה שְׁכִינָתְךָ בֵּינֵֽינוּ, וְתִפְרוֹשׂ עָלֵֽינוּ סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶֽךָ, וְתַקִּיף אוֹתָֽנוּ מִזִּיו כְּבוֹדְךָ הַקָּדוֹשׁ וְהַטָּהוֹר. וְלָרְעֵבִים גַּם צְמֵאִים תֵּן לַחְמָם וּמֵימָם הַנֶּאֱמָנִים. וּתְזַכֵּֽנוּ לֵישֵׁב יָמִים רַבִּים עַל הָאֲדָמָה, אַדְמַת קֹֽדֶשׁ, בַּעֲבוֹדָתְךָ וּבְיִרְאָתֶֽךָ. בָּרוּךְ יְיָ לְעוֹלָם, אָמֵן וְאָמֵן.
May it be Your will, Adonai our God, and God of our ancestors, to cause your Divine Spirit to dwell in our midst. Spread over us your sukkah of peace, and encompass us with Your glorious majesty, holy and pure. As for those who are hungry and thirsty, grant them sufficient bread and water. May we merit to dwell many days upon the earth, transforming it into a land of holiness, so that we may honor You through the Avodah we do in Your presence. Blessed be Adonai forever, amen and amen.
אֲזַמֵּן לִסְעֻדָּתִי אֻשְׁפִּיזִין עִלָּאִין....
I am honored to welcome into my sukkah, the following ushpizin ...
- from my files; source of translation unknown

Brian Fink

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