Tonight begins my favorite Jewish holiday, Sukkot. “Sukkot” is a Hebrew word meaning "booths" or "huts," (I hope the weather holds out so I can sleep in my sukkah each night) and refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest. The holiday also commemorates the wandering of the Jewish people through the desert for 40 years after receiving the Torah atop Mt. Sinai. You can learn more about the holiday with this short, cute video.
Many of you know the song, "Turn, Turn, Turn", written by Pete Seeger and made famous by The Byrds years later. The lyrics consist of the first eight verses of the third chapter of the biblical Book of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet). The reason I share this is because we read this on the Shabbat during the intermediate days of Sukkot (Shabbat Chol HaMo'ed Sukkot).
It tells us: "To everything there is a season and a time for every purpose under heaven / A time to be born and a time to die" (Ec. 3:1-2). We learn that life includes both joy and sorrow and abundance and loss. Yet loss can be a pathway to renewal.
There is also a kabbalistic practice to recite Ushpizin (Aramaic for “guests”), symbolically welcoming into our sukkah each evening the "seven shepherds of Israel": Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and King David. Today, many will also include the seven female prophets in the Talmud: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther.
This year we not only call on those Biblical figures to join and bless us; we should add the hostages remaining in Gaza. By doing this each evening in the sukkah, we can weave together the past and present, memory and hope, as we honor those whose lives shine as clearly as the stars above.
On a lighter note, you must watch this video and this video (both going around on social media) about Sukkot products for sale at Amazon. They will make you chuckle because someone messed up.
The Jewish Federation’s annual Campaign for Community Needs is in full swing! Your contribution provides funding necessary to fight antisemitism/anti-Israel hate, support our network of local Jewish agencies, and help plan for the future.
As part of our campaign season, the Jewish Federation is bringing best-selling author Dara Horn to Portland on Monday, October 28. She will have "A Conversation About Antisemitism in a Post 10/7 World." Her book, People Love Dead Jews, was the winner of the National Jewish Book Award. We hope you will join us by registering here by Monday.
Dara Horn recently wrote an essay in The Atlantic – October 7 Created A Permission Structure for Antisemitism. I found this comment of great interest:
“This is the permission structure for antisemitism: claim whatever has happened to the Jews as one’s own experience, announce a 'universal' ideal that all good people must accept, and then redefine Jewish collective identity as lying beyond it. Hating Jews thus becomes a demonstration of righteousness. The key is to define, and redefine, and redefine again, the shiny new moral reasoning for why the Jews have failed the universal test of humanity.”
The Jewish Federation is co-sponsoring with the NAACP a Portland Mayoral Candidate Forum on Monday, October 21. The panel will take place at Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church (3138 N. Vancouver Avenue) starting at 6:00 p.m. For those in the City of Portland, we encourage you to attend to hear firsthand from the four leading candidates.
One role of the Jewish Federation is to provide training and learning opportunities to our community’s leaders. Over the last six weeks, 50 members of various Jewish organization executive committees, along with their executive directors, participated in a three-part program focused on improving governance and fundraising. The key learning lesson is we can all do a better job of setting clear expectations and articulating roles and responsibilities (between volunteer leaders and professionals).
One chart I found of great interest was the “Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team” created by Patrick Lencione. This chart can be used in our personal, professional, and communal lives. (Think of this as a pyramid with the last bullet at the top):
- Trust – requires vulnerability, courage to risk
- Healthy Conflict – implies candid debate, share opinions without retribution
- Commitment – hear everyone – disagree…deliberate…dig in
- Accountability – actively hold self and team accountable to decisions
- Results – deliver measurable results
I am grateful to Rose City Philanthropy, who partnered with the Jewish Federation, on developing the program, and everyone who participated. I hope these sessions help each of the organizations and their leadership maximize their results.
I would be remiss if I did not mention the news that Christopher Columbus (disregard your personal views of him) was likely Jewish. Scientists spent 22 years researching Columbus’ national origins before concluding that bones buried in a Seville cathedral are in fact his — and his DNA suggests he likely came from a Jewish family. Perhaps he was the son of Marranos -- Jews in Spain who converted to Christianity to escape persecution but who continued to practice Judaism secretly?
Many researchers are waiting to see the scientific evidence. In addition, those who study Columbus say the DNA evidence, if true, would show only Jewish heritage, not Jewish identity. Columbus’ own writings express both Christian beliefs and praise for the decree expelling Jews from Spain. However, a professor at Georgetown University analyzed Columbus’ known writings and concluded that his native tongue may have been Ladino.
Warmest wishes for an early Shabbat shalom and chag Sukkot sameach. May the festival of Sukkot inspire us to embrace life and strive to rise up to the challenge of renewing our lives, whatever the circumstances, each and every day.
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