בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה יהוה אֱלהֵינוּ מֶלֶך–הָעולָם אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָנוּ בְּמִצְותָיו וְצִוָּנוּ לַעֲסק בְּדִבְרֵי-תורָה.
Blessing Over the Study of Torah
Baruch atah, Adonai Eloheinu, Melech haolam, asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav v’tzivanu laasok b’divrei Torah.
Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who sanctifies us with mitzvot, commanding us to engage with words of Torah.
When have you seen a religious symbol used in a public space?
(מב) בַּסֻּכֹּ֥ת תֵּשְׁב֖וּ שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֑ים כׇּל־הָֽאֶזְרָח֙ בְּיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל יֵשְׁב֖וּ בַּסֻּכֹּֽת׃ (מג) לְמַ֘עַן֮ יֵדְע֣וּ דֹרֹֽתֵיכֶם֒ כִּ֣י בַסֻּכּ֗וֹת הוֹשַׁ֙בְתִּי֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל בְּהוֹצִיאִ֥י אוֹתָ֖ם מֵאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרָ֑יִם אֲנִ֖י יהוה אֱלֹהֵיכֶֽם׃
(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, your God יהוה.
- What does it mean to remember an event rather than to recreate it?
- What does it mean that our sukkot are meant to recall God's protection?
סֻכָּה שְׁאוּלָה כְּשֵׁרָה וְכֵן הַגְּזוּלָה כְּשֵׁרָה. כֵּיצַד. אִם תָּקַף עַל חֲבֵרוֹ וְהוֹצִיאוֹ מִסֻּכָּתוֹ וּגְזָלָהּ וְיָשַׁב בָּהּ יָצָא שֶׁאֵין הַקַּרְקַע נִגְזֶלֶת. וְאִם גָּזַל עֵצִים וְעָשָׂה מֵהֶן סֻכָּה יָצָא. שֶׁתַּקָּנַת חֲכָמִים הִיא שֶׁאֵין לְבַעַל הָעֵצִים אֶלָּא דְּמֵי עֵצִים בִּלְבַד. וַאֲפִלּוּ גָּזַל נְסָרִים וְהִנִּיחָן וְלֹא חִבְּרָן וְלֹא שָׁנָה בָּהֶן כְּלוּם יָצָא. הָעוֹשֶׂה סֻכָּתוֹ בִּרְשׁוּת הָרַבִּים הֲרֵי זוֹ כְּשֵׁרָה:
25 A borrowed sukkah - as well a stolen sukkah - is fit. How is that? If one assaulted his fellow and expelled him from his sukkah, stole it and sat in it - he has fulfilled [his obligation]. For land cannot be stolen (such that he is ultimately only borrowing the sukkah). And [even] if he stole wood and made a sukkah from it, he has fulfilled [his obligation]. For it is an ordinance of the Sages that the owner of the wood is only [entitled to] the worth of the wood alone. And even if he stole boards and placed them there - and did not connect them and did not change anything about them - he has fulfilled [his obligation. In a case of] one who makes his sukkah in the public domain: It is fit.
- What does it mean for ritual to exist in the public domain?
- What tensions arise?
Making "Modern-Day Examples"
“We chose to erect and occupy our sukkah here at Zuccotti Park,” Dan Sieradski, the organizer of Occupy Judaism NYC, wrote in a statement. “There is no better place to celebrate the festival of Sukkot this year than right here at Occupy Wall Street. We stand in solidarity with all those who are challenging the inequitable distribution of resources in our country, who dare to dream of a more just and compassionate society.”
Rabbi Bentzi Sudak of Chabad Lubavitch UK said, “We want the Sukkah to be a place of Jewish pride in the city and work hard to make it a beautiful, welcoming and meaningful space for everyone to enjoy. We hope this will be a catalyst for Judaism to become even more accessible not only in the City but throughout Central London.”
"Believing that public mourning is prohibited by Jewish law during Sukkot, a coalition of Jewish leaders and activists in New York City organized what they called a Circle of Unity, inviting people to gather on the Great Lawn in Central Park for “dancing, praying, and celebrating Jewish life and resilience together.”"
- If our congregation built a sukkah in a visible public space, what message would we hope it sends?
- What challenges or objections might we face?
- How could we use the "fragile yet visible" nature of the sukkah to amplify our message?
(ד) אַחַ֤ת ׀ שָׁאַ֣לְתִּי מֵֽאֵת־יהוה אוֹתָ֢הּ אֲבַ֫קֵּ֥שׁ שִׁבְתִּ֣י בְּבֵית־יהוה כׇּל־יְמֵ֣י חַיַּ֑י לַחֲז֥וֹת בְּנֹעַם־יהוה וּלְבַקֵּ֥ר בְּהֵֽיכָלֽוֹ׃(ה) כִּ֤י יִצְפְּנֵ֨נִי ׀ בְּסֻכֹּה֮ בְּי֢וֹם רָ֫עָ֥ה יַ֭סְתִּרֵנִי בְּסֵ֣תֶר אׇהֳל֑וֹ בְּ֝צ֗וּר יְרוֹמְמֵֽנִי׃
(4) One thing I ask of Adonai, only that do I seek: to live in the house of Adonai all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of Adonai and to visit God's temple.(5) God will shelter me in God's sukkah on an evil day, grant me the protection of God's tent, raise me high upon a rock.
וּכְשֶׁהוּא אוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה חַיָּב לְהַאֲכִיל לַגֵּר לַיָּתוֹם וְלָאַלְמָנָה עִם שְׁאָר הָעֲנִיִּים הָאֻמְלָלִים. אֲבָל מִי שֶׁנּוֹעֵל דַּלְתוֹת חֲצֵרוֹ וְאוֹכֵל וְשׁוֹתֶה הוּא וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֵינוֹ מַאֲכִיל וּמַשְׁקֶה לַעֲנִיִּים וּלְמָרֵי נֶפֶשׁ אֵין זוֹ שִׂמְחַת מִצְוָה אֶלָּא שִׂמְחַת כְּרֵסוֹ.
...When a person eats and drinks [in celebration of a holiday], he is obligated to feed converts, orphans, widows, and others who are destitute and poor. In contrast, a person who locks the gates of his courtyard and eats and drinks with his children and his wife, without feeding the poor and the embittered, is [not indulging in] rejoicing associated with a mitzvah, but rather the rejoicing of his gut.