17 Sep Sukkot 2021
Dear friend,
Shanah Tovah! I hope your celebration of Yom Kippur was meaningful and inspiring.
Having finished Yom Kippur, we are heading toward Sukkot, which commemorates the “clouds of glory” that covered the Jews in their journeys. The sukkah embodies the divine presence, which was driven away by our negative behavior from the past year; now that we are cleansed, that presence has returned, and we take the opportunity to bask in it for 7 days by “living” in the sukkah. Minimally, this means eating and drinking in it–at least 14 meals (2 a day), but some people even have the custom not to eat or drink anything outside of the sukkah! Maximally, this means doing everything you would do in your home–making the sukkah your residence for a week.
Zecharayah 14:17 prophecies that “everyone left of the nations who fought against Jerusalem will go up annually to bow to the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to celebrate the festival of Sukkot.” In other words, the messianic vision of Sukkot is a holiday for different faiths to worship God together. In honor of this, we will have a special guest, Rev Julius Sanna, at our dinner next Friday night, so we can share and celebrate together with him and a few members of his community by sharing the music that inspires us after dinner.
Four ways to start the New Year Right
1. Join Kol HaLev for Sukkot Dinner!
On Friday Night, September 24th, at 7:00, we will celebrate Sukkot with a musical service, dinner, and some extra musical celebration with special guest Rev. Julius Sanna, sharing some celebratory music from his own faith tradition. $25 pp, builders $18, kids $10; tickets at paypal.me/kolhalev.
Please RSVP by Monday, September 20!
2. Sukkot Family Festival
Sunday morning, September 26th, at 11:00 we will hold our annual Sukkot Family Festival: Arts and Crafts, lawn games, barbeque, smores, and more!
Suggested donation $10pp, $5 kids;
Tie-dyes $5 (please reserve in advance by 9/20!)
RSVP by Monday, September 20th.
3. Help build our sukkah!
If you are not building a sukkah of your own, you or your children can have the experience by joining me Sunday morning to build and decorate our Sukkah; email me for details.
4. Become a Builder!
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On Yom Kippur, in Yizkor, we committed to acts of tzedakah. Please help us create meaningful Judaism by becoming a Builder of Kol HaLev, with a monthly donation of $50 per household member, or with a one time donation at any level; contributions can be made at the link below.
Shabbat Shalom,
Rabbi David