Rabbi's Sermons

Chag Sameach! Moadim Lesimcha!

A beautiful song for this Sukkot holiday in Israel says: "Shlomit builds a Suca, illuminated and green, Shlomit builds a Sucat Shalom, the neighbors will all arrive in numbers, and there will be room for all". It is a beautiful melody, but it is more than that. This song carries a revolutionary vision, which is immersed in the Sucot Festival.

One of the most important rules in building a Suca, is that we need to be able to see three stars through the thatched or palm roof. According to the Halacha, it is indicated that the construction of the Suca should be performed in such a way, that it is attributed as a temporary place, while, in fact, it is a room outside the house. It has a frame, but it is thin and fragile, it has walls, but no door, although in some Orthodox communities, where they literally, sleep and live in the Suca during the holiday, it is advisable to place a door with a padlock. It has a roof, but it is not sealed, in such a way, that if it rains, there will surely, be leaks, and insects may infiltrate inside as well.

The space created in the Suca, is in fact, a combination between the interior and the exterior, between living outdoors in nature, and in a more comfortable place, between the open, exposed and insecure, and the safety of being at home. This space allows us to step out of our comfort zone, to get out of the walls and family habits of the home, to change our familiar routine; very unconventional, but that shall not threaten us. After all, we should feel at home!

Another custom of the holiday is of hospitality, or Ushpizin, in Aramaic a tradition, which originated in the 16^th century, under the influence of the great Kabalist, Rabbi Isaac Luria, known as – “The Ari”. According to The Ari, in every night of the holiday, an important Jewish guest of our tradition is expected to be with us, in the following order: Abraham, Yitzchak, Yaacov, Yosef, Moshe, Aharon and David – each, representing different qualities. This guest list was certainly, appropriate to the time in which Rabbi Isaac Luria lived. Even today, by force of tradition, this list of honorable Ushpizin still continues to be mentioned, and it is great! Unfortunately, it seems that they are only virtual guests, and not real... And they are all male and Jews.

In recent years, the Ushpizin concept has evolved with a call to broaden the range of our guests. For example, in the Reform movement in the United States, there is an interesting tradition, of adding Ushpizin, who are just as important, along with the others: Are we going to invite the patriarchs and great representatives of the Jewish tradition, and not their wives? So together with Abraham, on the first day, his three wives are invited: Sarah, Hagar the Egyptian, and Ketura. Along with Yitzchak, on the second day, we also receive Rivka, his wife, and on the third day, we will be a little tight, but together with Yaacov, we gladly invite his four wives: Leah, Rachel, Bilha and Zilpa. Yosef might want to arrive alone, on the fourth day, although his Egyptian wife, Osnat, would be more than welcome to our Suca! On the fifth day, we will happily accept the great Moshe Rabenu, and along with him, his sister, Miriam, and his Midianite wife, Tzipora. On the sixth day, along with Aharon, the priest, we invite Elisheva, his wife. On the last day, we may have a delicate problem of logistics. Specifically, King David had eight wives: Michal, the second daughter of King Saul, Ahinoam of Jezreel, Abigail, the Carmelite, widow of the evil Nabal, Maacha, daughter of Talmai, king of Gesur, Chagit, Abital, Egla and Bat Sheva, who was Uriah’s widow, the Hittite. Besides, according to the 2^nd book of Samuel, chapter 5, we know that he had concubines of whom we only know the names of the children! So, either we give access to all of them, or in the case of a great King of Israel, we invite along with him, great leaders of Jewish history, like Debora the prophetess, or modern great women, like Golda Meir!

Another interesting initiative suggested, based on our song, about Shlomit’s Suca, is to actually have a Sucat Shalom – meeting and receiving during this week, via Zoom, for example, guests from fellow congregations, to chat about any topic that we may find interesting. Even more surprising, is the inter-religious initiative, to invite leaders of other religions to share our Suca and discuss topics of common interest. It is here, where the two customs come together: that of having a temporal place, and that of hospitality. It is very easy to invite our family and friends to our Suca in person, and it is even more symbolic, to mention great representatives of our Jewish history, as Ushpizin, in a virtual form. But the Suca, as mentioned, is a house outside the house. It should be open to anyone: Jews and non-Jews just the same, anyone who has an interest in sharing this holiday with us, whether they live in our city or far from it. Distance is no longer a problem, we have Zoom!

I invite you this Sucot to have many Ushpizin, not only men, but women as well, not only close, also distant, not only Jews, but also our friends of other religions, and who wish to share with us the blessings of a Sucat Shalom, in the broadest and most significant sense of the word. Sucot invites us to open a space and invite to that unsafe and open place to those who are different or far from us, as those who are close. Together, we can sit and look up to the stars, and remember, that we all live under the same sky. This is how a Sucat Shalom is truly built.

Chag Sukkot Sameach!

Rabbi David Laor

October 6^th, 2025