By Eli Bass – Director of Jewish Life
The time of our happiness. This is the way that the holiday of Sukkot, which occurs this week, is described in the Bible. The joy of Sukkot happens in a way that can seem backwards. It is a holiday that requires you to live outside of your home in a booth with a natural roof where you can see the sky. Jews around the world will eat meals and sometimes even sleep under the roof of a sukkah. Living under the stars is a reminder of both the Exodus from Egypt experience and early Jewish farm harvests in the land of Israel, which necessitated long periods of time away from home.
The joy of the holiday comes with inviting in friends, relatives and strangers and building a community. We are reminded by Exodus: 22:21, “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
Sukkot comes with feeling vulnerable and outside of our normal comforts. It is traditional to also welcome in ancestors, both those we remember and those documented in the Bible. It is this act of inviting others into our sukkah that also allows us to invite those who may be suffering either by personally welcoming them or metaphorically welcoming them into your sukkah. I believe it is this sharing and care for others that makes this holiday time so filled with happiness.
You can see our campus sukkah outside of the Degenstein Campus Center. We celebrate the harvest season and enjoy time outside even though in central Pennsylvania at this time of year the weather can be rather chilly.
This Sukkot, I’m also deeply focused on those without a safe place to call home. According to cnn.com more people are currently displaced around the world than in the aftermath of World War II. United Nations estimates show that there are 23 million refugees worldwide. The crisis is unprecedented and the need is deep.
According to the U.N., 3.3 million Iraqis have left their homes over the past two and a half years. The civil war in Syria has been happening for more than five years and there are large numbers of Syrians fleeing to Europe. Significant refugee populations exist from other centers, including South Sudan and Ukraine.
We are deeply blessed at Susquehanna to be in a space that feels more secure and safe. We are blessed to not be in a war zone. Yet we are on a campus deeply committed to global understanding; learning from students directly affected by conflict shows us the small and interconnected nature of our world. We understand the challenges ahead for both families that have remained in conflict zones and those that have left. Our happiness in this season needs to be correlated with our ability to help those who are experiencing great need.
I’ve found it quite overwhelming to see this humanitarian crisis and find something to do. This Sukkot, please come visit our campus sukkah where I have posted a few of the millions of stories of refugees. Facebook and other social media are great resources to share what you are learning and get friends involved. We cannot be blind to the suffering of others.
In recognition of this time of my happiness, I will be sharing some of my financial resources with Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, one of the many aid organizations focused on managing the needs of refugees.
In Pennsylvania, Lutheran Children and Family Services has been instrumental in the settling of refugees. The United States is expected to accept 110,000 refugees this year. I would encourage you to also consider how you can contribute to the conversation and to organizations committed to the needs of refugee population.
Director’s Discussion reflects the views of an individual member of the religious field. They do not necessarily reflect the views of the entire university. The content of the Forum page is the responsibility of the editor in chief and the Forum editor.
