Community Sukkah Building & Picnic
Every year, Machar has a Sukkot celebration after a JCS session meets. This year will be no different. On Sunday, October 23rd, after class, Rabbi Nehama BenMoshe will lead the Machar community with a lulav & etrog and other Sukkot traditions.
Sukkot. סוכות. Feast of Booths.
This year we will also have something extra. As the result of the tireless efforts by our interim Teen Leader, Scott Lyons, our teens will be building a Machar Community Sukkah. Among many details in handled in preparation for this teen opportunity, he researched Montgomery County building requirements. Thank you, Scott! As in past years, on October 23rd, Machar will use the JPDS Sukkah for our celebration, but this year we will also be building our own.
“For a seven-day period you shall live in booths, in order that your ensuing generations should know that I had the children of Israel live in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt.” -- Leviticus 23:42-43
This year, the Machar teens will be focusing on the plight of homelessness. There's no better place to start that discussion than by building temporary homes (or "booths") with our own hands, and then eating in them on the ground. While the Sukkah serves as a physical reminder of our wandering ancestors, the Sukkah also brings empathy to those who must live in temporary housing all year. After the seven days of Sukkot (or often much earlier), we can choose to return to our homes with shelter, warmth, and comfort, but many have no homes to which to return.
"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." -- Maya Angelou
After building the Sukkah, the teens will invite the entire Machar community to share in a dairy, Kosher-style picnic. During that time, the teens will have a chance to reflect on their work in a moderated discussion on homelessness.
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." -- Aesop
In November, the teens will participate in a Havadalah & Community Service Project where they will celebrate the end of Shabbat, and the put together care packages for the homeless in their neighborhoods.
If you did not receive a personal invitation to the Community Sukkah Building & Picnic, please reach out to Shel Lyons through the form at http://www.machar.org/contact-us/.
Every year, Machar has a Sukkot celebration after a JCS session meets. This year will be no different. On Sunday, October 23rd, after class, Rabbi Nehama BenMoshe will lead the Machar community with a lulav & etrog and other Sukkot traditions.
Sukkot. סוכות. Feast of Booths.
This year we will also have something extra. As the result of the tireless efforts by our interim Teen Leader, Scott Lyons, our teens will be building a Machar Community Sukkah. Among many details in handled in preparation for this teen opportunity, he researched Montgomery County building requirements. Thank you, Scott! As in past years, on October 23rd, Machar will use the JPDS Sukkah for our celebration, but this year we will also be building our own.
“For a seven-day period you shall live in booths, in order that your ensuing generations should know that I had the children of Israel live in booths when I took them out of the land of Egypt.” -- Leviticus 23:42-43
This year, the Machar teens will be focusing on the plight of homelessness. There's no better place to start that discussion than by building temporary homes (or "booths") with our own hands, and then eating in them on the ground. While the Sukkah serves as a physical reminder of our wandering ancestors, the Sukkah also brings empathy to those who must live in temporary housing all year. After the seven days of Sukkot (or often much earlier), we can choose to return to our homes with shelter, warmth, and comfort, but many have no homes to which to return.
"The ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned." -- Maya Angelou
After building the Sukkah, the teens will invite the entire Machar community to share in a dairy, Kosher-style picnic. During that time, the teens will have a chance to reflect on their work in a moderated discussion on homelessness.
- What are the causes of homelessness and what does it look like in DC, the United States, and the World?
- What are Jewish responses to homelessness, and what can we do to have a more empathetic understanding of the plight of homelessness?
- What are our Humanistic values and how to we make sure to honor them in regards to homelessness?
"No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted." -- Aesop
In November, the teens will participate in a Havadalah & Community Service Project where they will celebrate the end of Shabbat, and the put together care packages for the homeless in their neighborhoods.
If you did not receive a personal invitation to the Community Sukkah Building & Picnic, please reach out to Shel Lyons through the form at http://www.machar.org/contact-us/.
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