Welcoming immigrants as Sukkot approaches
September 20, 2007
Last night, Ethan mowed the lawn in preparation for Sukkot, which is coming surprisingly soon.
As we think ahead to that next holiday, I want to pass along these wise words from Jewish FundS for Justice. I hope they'll resonate for you, as they do for me. Sukkot is a beautiful holiday with gorgeous symbolism, and it can be enriched even further when we connect our celebrations with our politics. Don't leave our country's immigration conversation at the door of your sukkah this year.
On Sukkot, many of us invite ushpizin -- honored guests, both living and dead -- into our sukkah. During this period of vicious anti-immigrant rhetoric and raids, too often immigrants are viewed with suspicion rather than treated like guests to be honored.
We hope that you will join with individuals and institutions across the United States in extending a welcome to the immigrants who care for our children and aging relatives, work in our synagogues and schools, and add to the cultural and economic life of our communities. On Sukkot, when we remember the experience of being gerim -- sojourners without a permanent home -- we commit ourselves to helping others to find permanent homes for their own families.
To help us build sukkot that demonstrate our desire to welcome immigrant communities, the Jewish Task force for Comprehensive Immigration Reform has created a special poster. We hope that you will place this poster in your personal or institutional sukkot as a sign of your commitment to making America a safe place for immigrants.
This poster is available for purchase at www.cafepress.com/jewishjustice . Three sizes are available, in prices ranging from $6 to $18. Order soon to ensure delivery before the holiday begins next week. Click here to read the poster's text.
For more information about immigration and Jewish perspectives on immigration, please visit our online resource center. There, you will find immigration fact sheets, time lines, text studies and divrei torah.
Gmar chatimah tovah -- may you be inscribed and sealed for goodness in the year to come.