Jewish Holiday of Succot

Dear WISDOM Sisters:

I would like to share with you an explanation of Succot, written by Todd Mendel, president of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Metro Detroit.

At sundown tonight,Monday, October 13th, the Jewish holiday of Succot begins. This is a holiday that Jews observe not only for its rituals and spirituality, but also for its social justice message that links the Jewish community to the world at large. A main feature of the holiday is to build a Succah. This is the structure that Jews lived in several thousand years ago while they wandered the desert for 40 years. During that time period, the Jews left slavery in Egypt (celebrated by the holiday of Passover), received the Torah at Mount Sinai (celebrated by the holiday of Shavous) and then entered the land of Israel. The structures that you may see around town or in someone’s backyard are these Succahs. Jews eat most meals in the Succah for the duration of the eight day holiday. Some Jews even sleep in them. The rules and regulations for building a Succah are quite extensive and have ensured for millennia that these temporary structures are very much like the original structures. Even today, they continue to serve the same spiritual purpose as they always have by bringing Jewish families and the community together to spend time with and appreciate each other. Special prayers are said in the synagogue during the holiday, and it is also required to shake a Lulav and Esrog. A Lulav is the spine of a palm branch, with some smaller myrtle and willow tree branches attached to it with a holder. An Esrog is a fantastic smelling citrus fruit that is somewhat similar to a lemon. The Hebrew bible specifically mentions that these items are to be used during Succot, and numerous reasons have been asserted over thousands of years as to why these items were specifically chosen.

There is one more special observance on the day following the last day of Succot. It is called Simchat Torah. On that day, there is great celebration in the Jewish Community. Each week during the year, a difference chapter of the five books of Moses is read and studied in the synagogue. They are read in order, starting with “In the beginning, God created…” and the last one is just after Moses dies and the Jews are to go into the land of Israel – the Promised Land. On Simchat Torah, when the chapters are all finished, the Jewish community around the world starts reading the Torah over and goes back to the beginning for another year of reading and studying these texts. This is one more set of traditions and holidays that has maintained the cohesiveness of the Jewish people and that has helped us survive throughout the ages.

The holiday of Succot also leads us to focus on the importance of shelter and housing, our mandate to welcome others into our homes, the environment and the exigencies of nature. It is a reminder that the Jewish people’s pursuit of social justice is never complete. Metro Detroit’s Jewish community is profoundly committed to fulfilling that responsibility. Our social service agencies, such as Jewish Family Service and JVS, provide many lifesaving and life-enhancing services for those in need in both the Jewish and Non-Jewish communities. Requests for service from those agencies have increased dramatically in recent months due to worsening economic conditions, and the agencies’ response has been nothing short of heroic. The Jewish Community Relations Council is working in coalition with other ethnic communities to preserve and grow the flow of federal funds supporting those and other agencies’ service.

Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration

The 22nd Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Celebration
From Every Tribe, Race and Nation:
We, the People

AN INTERFAITH CELEBRATION

Sponsored by the major faith and cultural communities of Metro-Detroit

Wednesday,
November 26, 2008
7:30 PM

Westminster Presbyterian
17567 Hubbell St.
Detroit, MI 48107

Featuring:

• The MOSAIC Youth Theater

• Prayers, readings and
meditations representing 8
different faith traditions

• .Hindu Dance

• Music by Gesu Parish, Roman Catholic choir

A free will offering will be gathered for the work of the MOSAIC Youth Theater.

For more information, call: Westminister Presbyterian, Phone 313-341-2697

Directions to the the Church

From the Lodge Freeway North or South

take the 7 Mile Rd. exit. Turn
WEST onto 7 Mile Rd. Drive to the first stoplight, which is Hubbell Street.
TURN LEFT (south) onto Hubbell. Travel 5 blocks and look for Westminster
Church on your right. Park in the north or west parking lots.

From the Southfield Freeway North

take the Southfield Freeway to the
McNichols Rd. exit. TURN RIGHT (east) and travel 5 stoplights (including the
6 Mile-Southfield freeway intersection). TURN LEFT (north) onto Hubbell
Street, drive past the church and TURN LEFT into the church parking lot.

From the Southfield Freeway South

take the 7 Mile Rd. exit. TURN LEFT
across the freeway onto 7 Mile Rd. Travel to Hubbell Street. TURN RIGHT
(south), and travel 5 blocks until you see the church on the right.

Address: 17567 Hubbell Street at West Outer Drive.
Phone: 313.341.2697 Ext: 200