In the Jewish calendar, Sukkot’s seventh day is called Hoshanah Rabbah. That is when The Shalom Center is planning our next actifest.
We will dedicate that seventh day and all of Sukkot to Sukkat Shalom! - as in, “Ufros aleinu sukkat shlomekha – Spread over all of us Your sukkah of Shalom – of Peace.” – ALL of us!
Read the full public announcement about the Sukkat Shalom actifest here.
The ancient Rabbis asked why there had been 70 offerings at the Temple during Sukkot? They answered that this most expensive of the sacred offerings was a metaphor for the human species, in all its divisions, united in loving concern for each other. The 70 offerings correspond to “the 70 nations of the world,” our People ritualizing prosperous and peaceful harvests not for ourselves alone, but for all.
So could we build a Sukkat Shalom - a Sukkah of Peace - in one or 70 cities on Hoshanah Rabbah, October 23, 2024?
Could crowds come to that sukkah to embody “Sukkat Shalom”? -- and collectively practice it? And while we're there, could we vigorously shake our palm fronds or beat our branches for a windfall redistribution of US military budget into American public schools, and health care, and poor counties and countries that are experiencing climate danger and disaster first and worst, and so much more?
“Hoshanah Rabbah” means “the Great Save-Us.” Who will save us now? The elections? Technology? Us? YHWH, the InterBreath of life? (Try pronouncing YHWH without any vowels – just breathe!)
There is also a more intimate aspect to Hoshanah Rabbah this year. It is Reb Arthur’s 91st birthday in the Jewish calendar. He has been attracted to this coming year, even more than 90, because 7 times 13 equals 91. So this will be the shabbat and shmitah of his bar mitzvah life.
“With a dish of relief garnished with spices of ruefulness,” says Reb Arthur, “I will be retiring as Executive Director of The Shalom Center. One of my greatest dreams in life is that The Shalom Center lives and thrives beyond me, and I’m delighted and grateful that is our plan! I am honored that Rabbi Nate DeGroot, our Associate Director, will succeed me in the years ahead. I will continue as ‘prophetic adviser’ or some similar title. And actifests will continue to become the central part of what we do to try to heal the holy world.
What will it look like? How can you get involved? This is the work of the next six months and we’d love for you to join us. Get involved by clicking here - or continue to check back on this page in the weeks and months ahead for updates and invitations. We’re excited and humbled to be in this together.
With blessings of love and shalom.
-Arthur & Nate
