12 Oct Sukkot and World Homeless Day

The Torah offers two different explanations for dwelling in a sukkah – a temporary booth – over the 7 days of this Sukkot holiday that Jews all over the world are observing right now:

1) This is the time to give thanks for the year’s harvest, since it was at this time of year the ancient Israelites could finally rest after reaping the grain in the spring months and picking the fruits of the trees and vine over the summer (Exodus 23:16, Deuteronomy 16: 13,15).

2) So that future generations will know that the Children of Israel dwelled in sukkot – temporary booths – when God brought them out of the Land of Egypt. Thus we sit in the sukkah in order to retain a historical link with our ancestors and remember their relationship with God (Leviticus 23:42-43).

A wonderful interpretation combining both of these biblical traditions is offered by Philo of Alexandria (1st C.E., On the Special Laws 2:204, 206-211):

…it should remind us of the long wanderings of our ancestors in the depths of the desert, when at every halting-place they spent many a year in tents.

And indeed it is well in wealth to remember your poverty, in distinction your insignificance, in high offices your position as a commoner, in peace your dangers in war, on land the storms on sea, in cities the life of loneliness.

For there is no pleasure greater than when who has become prosperous calls to mind old misfortunes

Most of us feel quite secure with regard to food and shelter and felt that way for most, if not, all of our lives. And so, per Philo’s suggestion, we are called to take part in the collective memory of our people, and be conscious of those times in history when things weren’t going so well.

Alongside the vertical approach or reaching back into our Jewish narrative’s timeline it is important to take a horizontal view as well and take a look at the world around us. Estimates run from 100 million to 1 billion homeless globally. We hear of the masses around the world who are seeking refuge from places of war, or even worse, trapped in a war zone, without a roof above their heads. We have been told about, or have seen with our own eyes, those who have lost the buildings they once called home through financial ruin. We also know that some of those who sleep in parks, underground stations and shelters are not entirely well from an emotional point of view. But this is a reality that can not be ignored.

It is for this reason – together with our feelings of joy and thanksgiving for all that we have received and will continue to enjoy – it is most appropriate to remember during these days of Sukkot and be mindful of those here in Israel and around the world who are not as fortunate as most of us with the warm, safe and secure homes we all live in.

Today (October 10) is International Homeless Day and so when each of us we go out into our sukkah we have an opportunity to reflect upon all the wonderful things we have – our houses and our possessions, much like our ancestors who rejoiced over the bounty of their harvests. But we also have an opportunity to remember what it has been like for us Jews to wander and suffer in a state of homelessness, both as a people and as individual families. Today, thank God, as a people, we have the State of Israel as a national homeland and as Diaspora communities and individuals, we have relatively stable homes. Let us utilize both these memories to motivate us in changing our society – locally and globally – for the better, in whatever small ways we can.

Shabbat Shalom v’Moadim L’Simcha!