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Sukkot: Shabbat Message by Rabbi Elana Rabishaw

וּפְרֹשׂ עָלֵֽנו סֻכַּת שְׁלוֹמֶֽך

Ufros Aleinu Sukkat Shlomeicha

“Spread over us your sukkah of peace…”

In our liturgy, we ask the Eternal to spread a shelter of peace over us—a sukkat shalom. A sukkah, unlike other shelters, is temporary, fragile, and open to the world. It reminds us how fleeting our lives can feel, how moments of joy, challenge, and peace seem to come and go. And yet, even in its impermanence, the sukkah stands, just as God’s presence surrounds us, offering protection in life’s most fragile moments.

This week, we entered the festival of Sukkot, a time when we step into our own temporary shelters. The rabbis teach that a sukkah can have anywhere from two and a half to four walls—just enough to give us shade and safety, but open enough to invite the world in. That delicate balance is at the heart of Sukkot: how we can simultaneously seek protection and connection, and how we look to hold space for both vulnerability and blessing in the same breath.

As we start this new year, I’ve been thinking about the sukkah not only as a place of physical shelter, but as a space for healing. Even the most fragile, temporary spaces can offer us protection—through our relationships, through the care of community, through the presence of God.

The sukkah also provides us with a new vantage point. Its open walls teach us that while we need shelter and protection, we are never truly alone. We are commanded to dwell in the sukkah, to eat, to sit, to be together.

Yet, when it is hot, we feel the warmth of the sun. If it rains, we will still get wet. The openness of the sukkah challenges us to welcome others in, knowing that even if the walls are fragile, what we build together can still be strong and secure. This vulnerability invites us to embrace the things we cannot control and to welcome others into our fragile spaces, trusting that even when the walls feel unsteady, the strength we find in each other can make what we build together resilient.

After a year that has left us feeling exposed, much like the open walls of the sukkah, and with uncertainty still lingering all around, I find myself sitting in its fragile shelter, searching for a sense of peace. Imagining that many of us yearn for peace, safety, and comfort, I offer this prayer.

Even in the most fragile sukkah,

Where the walls feel unsteady,

And the wind threatens to blow them down,

May we still find sacred shelter in Your presence.

Protect us from harm,

Calm our minds as we face the approaching storms.

Guide us to the shade we need,

Yet let us still feel the warmth of the sun,

And see the beauty of the stars above.

May we always remember,

That, like a sukkah,

Our relationships are fragile, easily broken,

Yet become strong when we build them together, with care and love.

Guide us, Eternal One, to live lives filled with meaning,

With intention and purpose.

Help us build, welcome, and heal,

Knowing that even in life’s most delicate moments,

We are sheltered by Your holy protection.

.בָּרוּךְ אַתּת יְיָ, שׁוֹמֵר עַמּוֹ יִשְׂרָאֵל לָעַד

Blessed are You, Holy Guardian, who protects Your People of Israel, now and forever.

 

Shabbat Shalom,

 

*”zl” of blessed memory

 

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