Dear Friends,
We are about to celebrate the festival of Sukkot, not Passover, but freedom is in the air. This evening the Israeli government and Hamas announced an agreement which will allow IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held captive for 1934 days, to return home. Under the agreement Israel will be releasing over 1000 Palestinian prisoners, 280 of whom were serving life-sentences in Israeli prisoners. The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that no prominent prisoners will be released.
“After 5 years, 1935 days and long nights, the government of Israel is returning our son Gilad to us,” Noam Shalit, Gilad’s father, said minutes after the results of the vote were announced. “We bless the government for its courageous decision, despite the long stretch of time that has passed…” Since March 2009 members of Shalit’s family had been living in a protest tent across from the Prime Minister’s residence in Jerusalem.
When I think of this tent and the long journey it represents it makes me think of the sukkah, the temporary hut we build on Sukkot. The Torah tells us that we dwelt in sukkot during our long, difficult period of wandering in the harsh wilderness. The sukkah is also said to represent both the fragility of life and God’s providence, God’s protection in difficult times. I can think of no better time for us to hear the wonderful news that Gilad Shalit will finally be coming home than this festival. For over 5 years the Jewish world has watched and prayed for Shalit, knowing how precarious his situation was. We thank God for protecting him through this time and will all breathe a sigh of relief when he is actually (k’nu huru) back on Israeli soil. It is a statement of the value our people places on each and every life that we never forgot Gilad Shalit and that the government of Israel was willing to release so many dangerous prisoners in order to bring home just one of our own.
I hope you can join us for our Sukkot evening celebration tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon and evening. We begin with decorating our Temple Sukkah at 4:00, sponsored by the ECC and Sisterhood. This is followed by a Tot Sukkot service at 5:30 and a family dinner at 6:00 p.m. The evening culminates with a musical family service at 7:00 p.m. where we will say a special prayer of thanks for the release of Gilad Shalit. Hope you will be able to make it.
New of Gently Used Clothes Needed Now for Important Mitzvah
It is also fitting that this Saturday night, during Sukkot, our high school youth group, SFTY, will be participating in “Midnight Run.” Through this nationally recognized social justice program, our students will distribute food and clothing to the homeless on the streets of New York City. The sukkah represents shelter, something all people should have but sadly some in our society lack. I am very proud that our kids are participating in this program.
But, in order to do this critical mitzvah SFTY needs more clothing to distribute! Clothes can be brought to the Temple anytime through this Saturday, October 15th. We specifically need men’s coats, long sleeved shirts & sweatshirts, pants, and new underwear & socks (in unopened packages) in larger sizes.
The parent of one student emailed Jonah and Rosie Moss, our other youth advisor, after last year’s “Midnight Run”:
Hi, Jonah and Rosie,
Just to let you know that (my daughter) was really touched by the experiences she had during the Midnight Run. She realized that the homeless are human beings, and that brand names which are so important to some people have no meaning for those who have no clothes. She told me that she wants to go each time there's a Run.
Just to let you know that (my daughter) was really touched by the experiences she had during the Midnight Run. She realized that the homeless are human beings, and that brand names which are so important to some people have no meaning for those who have no clothes. She told me that she wants to go each time there's a Run.
Midnight Run is this Saturday, October 15 from 6:30pm-1am. The program will begin at Temple Sinai and is open to all high school students. Interested teens should sign up at online at http://tinyurl.com/
Chag Sukkot Sameiach – Happy Sukkot!
Rabbi Jordan Millstein
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