And G!d says: “After you are all wrung out from that amends making and accountability-having, go out into your backyard and build yourself a fort. And be sure to invite all your friends to join you in your backyard fort for food and merriment because that is how you make the community continue after all that hard work."
And G!d says: “And make your fort enclosed enough to feel cozy, but keep one side open, so that all who pass by know that they are welcome. Even the roof must be thin enough to invite the evening sky to dine with you, the openings in the branches that cover you wide enough for stars to fall through. There are too many among us who are made unwelcome - not just in the inhospitable corners of the world, but in our own towns, our own neighborhoods, on our own blocks. You may even know their names. Invite them.”
Ritual for Sukkot
Find one person with whom you made repairs over the ten days. Invite them to your fort, if you made one - to your house, if you didn’t. Prepare a meal for them, with your own hands, in whatever form that takes - digging the potatoes yourself, or opening the box. Serve your guest. Offer them the best you have. Say: welcome. Say: thank you. Say: this is only the beginning. Celebrate the work of connection and repair.
And G!d says: But nothing holds forever. The branches over your head will wither; grass under your feet will die of thirst and cold; you will unbolt these frames and fold the canvas walls. Even the bedrock beneath you holds molten memories of liquidity. Bottle the warmth of these cooling nights, of friends around the table, of candlelight, of wine, woodsmoke and holy tunes. You will need to drink from it soon enough.
From Dane Kuttler's The G!d Wrestlers, The Social Justice Warrior's Guide to the High Holy Days, Sept. 2015
Sarah: famously pregnant at the age of 90, she became the “mother of nations”
Rebecca: a wily woman, she helped trick her husband Isaac into giving their younger son Jacob the blessing of the firstborn
Rachel: beloved wife of Jacob, she was also crafty enough to hide her father’s idols from him
Judith: she liberated her city from siege by beheading the enemy general, Holofernes
Miriam: sister of Moses, she sang and played the timbrel at the Sea of Reeds
Deborah: a prophetess and the only female judge mentioned in the Torah
Hannah: she literally invented spontaneous, personal prayer (even before Rabbi Nachman!)
Emma Goldman: anarchist activist who famously said, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution”
Octavia Butler: a Black science fiction writer whose dream of writing bestsellers came true, she wrote that “the only lasting truth is change”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: notoriously beloved first Jewish female Supreme Court Justice
John Lewis: a Civil Rights legend, he coined the term “good trouble” and served in the House of Representatives, winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011
Carrie Fisher: beyond her star-making turn in a galaxy far far away, she spoke candidly about her experiences with bipolar disorder and addiction
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz: the founder of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, she grounded her activism in Jewish values
Grace Lee Boggs: instrumental in revitalizing community leadership in Detroit, she wrote and spoke about changing yourself to change the world with her husband, James
In the 16th Century, Jewish mystics created the ritual of ushpizin (Aramaic for honored guests), inviting seven different Biblical figures into the sukkah during the holiday. The traditional list includes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Modern feminists have added Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Avigail and Esther.
Think of seven people - historical, fictional, ancestral, or virtual (those you wish you could celebrate with this year). For each night of Sukkot, spend a few moments thinking about one of those people, imagining what you’d want to talk about and how their presence would make you feel. You can also use the nights of Sukkot to host a video chat in your sukkah, welcoming friends and family to bring their fullest selves.
Blessing for welcoming ancestral, fictional, historical, Biblical, familial or virtual ushpizin into your sukkah:
Blessed are you, Divine Gatherer, whose presence grows through abundant welcome.
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam,borei p’ri hagafen.
We bless You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
And G!d says: “After you are all wrung out from that amends making and accountability-having, go out into your backyard and build yourself a fort. And be sure to invite all your friends to join you in your backyard fort for food and merriment because that is how you make the community continue after all that hard work."
And G!d says: “And make your fort enclosed enough to feel cozy, but keep one side open, so that all who pass by know that they are welcome. Even the roof must be thin enough to invite the evening sky to dine with you, the openings in the branches that cover you wide enough for stars to fall through. There are too many among us who are made unwelcome - not just in the inhospitable corners of the world, but in our own towns, our own neighborhoods, on our own blocks. You may even know their names. Invite them.”
Ritual for Sukkot
Find one person with whom you made repairs over the ten days. Invite them to your fort, if you made one - to your house, if you didn’t. Prepare a meal for them, with your own hands, in whatever form that takes - digging the potatoes yourself, or opening the box. Serve your guest. Offer them the best you have. Say: welcome. Say: thank you. Say: this is only the beginning. Celebrate the work of connection and repair.
And G!d says: But nothing holds forever. The branches over your head will wither; grass under your feet will die of thirst and cold; you will unbolt these frames and fold the canvas walls. Even the bedrock beneath you holds molten memories of liquidity. Bottle the warmth of these cooling nights, of friends around the table, of candlelight, of wine, woodsmoke and holy tunes. You will need to drink from it soon enough.
From Dane Kuttler's The G!d Wrestlers, The Social Justice Warrior's Guide to the High Holy Days, Sept. 2015
Sarah: famously pregnant at the age of 90, she became the “mother of nations”
Rebecca: a wily woman, she helped trick her husband Isaac into giving their younger son Jacob the blessing of the firstborn
Rachel: beloved wife of Jacob, she was also crafty enough to hide her father’s idols from him
Judith: she liberated her city from siege by beheading the enemy general, Holofernes
Miriam: sister of Moses, she sang and played the timbrel at the Sea of Reeds
Deborah: a prophetess and the only female judge mentioned in the Torah
Hannah: she literally invented spontaneous, personal prayer (even before Rabbi Nachman!)
Emma Goldman: anarchist activist who famously said, “If I can’t dance, I don’t want to be part of your revolution”
Octavia Butler: a Black science fiction writer whose dream of writing bestsellers came true, she wrote that “the only lasting truth is change”
Ruth Bader Ginsburg: notoriously beloved first Jewish female Supreme Court Justice
John Lewis: a Civil Rights legend, he coined the term “good trouble” and served in the House of Representatives, winning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011
Carrie Fisher: beyond her star-making turn in a galaxy far far away, she spoke candidly about her experiences with bipolar disorder and addiction
Melanie Kaye/Kantrowitz: the founder of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, she grounded her activism in Jewish values
Grace Lee Boggs: instrumental in revitalizing community leadership in Detroit, she wrote and spoke about changing yourself to change the world with her husband, James
In the 16th Century, Jewish mystics created the ritual of ushpizin (Aramaic for honored guests), inviting seven different Biblical figures into the sukkah during the holiday. The traditional list includes Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Modern feminists have added Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Avigail and Esther.
Think of seven people - historical, fictional, ancestral, or virtual (those you wish you could celebrate with this year). For each night of Sukkot, spend a few moments thinking about one of those people, imagining what you’d want to talk about and how their presence would make you feel. You can also use the nights of Sukkot to host a video chat in your sukkah, welcoming friends and family to bring their fullest selves.
Blessing for welcoming ancestral, fictional, historical, Biblical, familial or virtual ushpizin into your sukkah:
Blessed are you, Divine Gatherer, whose presence grows through abundant welcome.
Baruch ata Adonai, Eloheinu melech haolam,borei p’ri hagafen.
We bless You, Eternal God, Sovereign of the universe, Creator of the fruit of the vine.
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