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September 20, 2002/Tishri 14 5763, Vol. 55, No. 4
Welcoming ushpizinEditorialOn Sukkot, the Jewish people are commanded to construct and dwell in a sukkah for seven days. The sukkah is to be a temporary structure, with an incomplete roof, open enough to see the stars.This year, at the season of dwelling in booths, we mark the completion of another structure - one dramatically different from the fragile sukkah commanded by our tradition. The 115,000-square-foot Ina Levine Jewish Community Campus rests on a firm foundation, girded by solid walls and protected by an impermeable roof against harsh desert elements. As impressive as the campus is, we know through painful experience that no building is invulnerable. While far, far sturdier than our backyard sukkot, the campus, like all manmade structures, depends on us for nurture and protection. This effort includes inviting guests. Tradition instructs to invite into our sukkah the ushpizin, the seven patriarchs - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David - and the seven matriarchs - Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Miriam, Hannah, Deborah. After all, a sukkah is meant to be a meeting place, where we can eat and drink, socialize and study. By the end of this month, many hosts will be in residence at the Scottsdale campus, namely the Valley of the Sun Jewish Community Center, the Jewish Federation of Greater Phoenix, the Bureau of Jewish Education, the Council for Jews with Special Needs and the Jewish Community Foundation. Architecturally, the campus, like a sukkah, is designed as a place of gathering. Generous spaces are designated for learning, exercising and socializing; office spaces are small. And while we welcome only 14 ushpizin to our sukkah, the "guest" list for the VOSJCC alone is already 1,000 member units. During Sukkot, we are instructed to welcome all who are hungry and thirsty to visit our sukkah. With the campus, all who are hungry and thirsty for Judaism have a chance to visit and improve mind and body through study, socializing and exercise. If our sukkah is built correctly, if we welcome the ushpizin, if we invite those who are hungry and thirsty - maybe, just maybe - we will receive an additional guest, the Shekhinah, the divine presence. During Sukkot and in the coming days, our challenge is to enable the Shekhinah to hover over our sukkah and over our campus. In the long term, our task will be to maintain the zman simchateinu - the Sukkot-inspired season of our rejoicing - throughout the year in the community home we have constructed at the corner of Sweetwater Avenue and Scottsdale Road. |
