A Sukkah of Peace

Friday October 10, 2025/ 18 Tishrei 5786/Sukkot

Hevre/Friends,

Could it really be that tonight will be the last Shabbat on which we kindle an extra candle to represent our hostages whose release we’ve been yearning for these last two years? Could it be that we’ll finally be dancing again on Simchat Torah with fuller hearts than we’ve felt since October 7, 2023? The overwhelming urge to celebrate this moment is tempered only by the hesitation we carry given prior failed negotiations and last-minute disruptions. But rather than feel disoriented by these seemingly opposite emotions, it's the very backdrop of Sukkot which holds them - and us - in its singular, courageous embrace. 

In our prayers we express a desire to be sheltered by a “sukkat shalom/a sukkah of peace”. Rabbi Arthur Waskow once asked why we don’t ask for a palace of peace, or a fortress of peace - a structure that conveys more stability, safety and dignity than a shaky, vulnerable, leaky hut such as a sukkah.

He explained that the sukkah is a necessary symbol of our collective vulnerability. No one of any religion, race, or nationality, whether they possess the tallest buildings, richest bank accounts, or most powerful weapons is immune to the vulnerability of human life. Only when individuals and communities accept this truth, only when everyone feels vulnerable will we feel connected enough to one another to end our fighting; to expand our shelters of lovingkindness and together strive towards peace.

On an internal level, this blending of fragility and fortitude, concern and courage, humility and hope is also the only reality from which peace can emerge. It allows our irrepressible joy in this moment to mingle emotionally, spiritually, and psychologically with the breath we're holding until we see our captives back in the embrace of their families, their land, and our people.

Reb Nosson, the disciple and scribe of Rebbe Nachman of Bratslav, commented on a talmudic teaching about Sukkot, “The entire Jewish people can fulfill the mitzvah of sukkah in one sukkah, for the sukkah corresponds to a gathering of the entire Jewish people”. In other words, the metaphorical Sukkah of which we speak - our shared experience of the delicate nature of human life - is the only setting in which we can, and must, come together with the fullest expression of our feelings in order to cultivate meaningful bonds and realize our dreams.

On this festival of Sukkot when every seven years the Torah summons all Jews to gather in Jerusalem, may our people be reunited and may we be blessed with the inner unity of heart and soul that’s eluded us for so long. And may we never forget the tragic losses of life, the physical and mental injuries sustained along the way, and the love and comfort we must continue to show those in pain. 

With continued prayers for our ability to bring home all our hostages, protect our soldiers, heal the injured, comfort the bereaved, and build a lasting peace in Israel and around the world, and with blessings for a Shabbat Shalom and a Chag Sameach,

Dini

(Photo by Ronen Avisror)