By Shula Smith

Jews (and Jewish holidays) almost always have an open invitation for people to come and eat with them. Whether it be Pesach ("Let all who are hungry come and eat") or just a typical Shabbat dinner at a college Hillel, there is always a chance for those who want to shmooze and eat to find a community that they can join. Sukkot is, of course, no different. Ushpizin, literally meaning "guests" in Aramaic, are the figures, generally historical that we welcome into our home during Sukkot. Traditionally the Ushpizin are the patriarchs, Aaron, Moses, and other Jewish (male) characters of our past. In my home growing up we also welcomed the matriarchs, as well as Yitzhak Rabin. My mother also had a pretty extensive family tree hung on the walls of our Sukkah, and so we welcomed our ancestors as well.

This Sukkot, I encourage everyone to both welcome those of our past, as well as the community of the present. For the holidays there are always movement members (hello college students?) with no place to go who could benefit from a warm meal in a beautiful sukkah. This sentiment should also extend to chanichim everywhere, who don't necessarily have a community but want to find a community to be a part of. Maybe they have never been to machaneh, or live in a different eizor, or just need some more positive encouragement to join the community. My hope is that we have the strength to give that to every single chanich this year!