"Happy Boothday" - Wondering
I hope you are enjoying the lovely weather. The Harvest Moon this month meant that Sukkot began. What glorious weather to be outside and in the Sukkah. Please remember that you are welcome to fulfill the Mitzvah of "leshev basukkah" ("dwelling in the Sukkah") by bringing a snack or meal to the Sukkah behind B'nai Zion. Thank you to the Brotherhood for building it, and the Religious School and other friends for decorating it. There are tables and chairs ready for you. Let me know if you want to shake the Lulav & Etrog.
One of the traditions of Sukkot is to invite guests ("Ushpizin" to the Sukkah. Each night you invite another prominent person from the Torah. This is the traditional prayer: “I invite to my meal the exalted guests, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. May it please you, Abraham, my exalted guest, that all the other exalted guests dwell with me and with you – Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David.” On each day, a different one of the seven is singled out, in order.
In recent years the women of the Torah have also been included in the "invitations" each night.
On the first night, when we invited Abraham into our Sukkah, at first I felt like a boring/redundant news reporter. I wanted to ask: What were you thinking when you were about to sacrifice your son, Isaac? Was it Isaac, or was it Ishmael - like the Koran says? Then I realized I wanted to know what was his perspective about what happened at Sodom and Gomorrah? I realized that I wanted to ask other questions - really get to know him. What would you ask him?
Then we got to asking Isaac questions, and I wanted to know why he was playing favorites with his children. I asked the same thing of Jacob.
For this week's Wondering. Please let me know: What would you ask the traditional guests? Which guests who are not on the traditional list would you invite? What would you ask? Can you imagine some of the answers? Reply to this email to let me know.
Remember that you can find previous Wondering questions and answers HERE. I love that people are still sending me answers to some of the previous questions. It has been wonderful to be having discussions with you about the Wonderings.
P.S. I am sure you have already heard me tell the pun about "Happy Booth-day" for Sukkot. I got it from one of my favorite professors, Daniel Grossberg. We would sing "Happy Booth-day" to you, and then have a "Lulav Shake" - which was not a special drink.
Don't forget that even if you don't get to come to the Sukkah at B'nai Zion, you can have a "virtual shake" by using our LULAV SHAKE program. Enjoy!