Rabbi Hannah Spiro
Hill Havurah
Washington, DC
Date of Prayer: 09/24/2018
Opening Prayer Given by the Guest Chaplain:
God, we thank You for the Jewish festival of Sukkot, which begins today, and for Your commandment to build temporary structures, to eat
and sleep in them under the stars, and to welcome in guests––honored guests, guests in need. You teach us that these are one and the same.
Your festival teaches us to come to terms with impermanence––of these temporary structures, our actual homes, our wealth, our social standing, and even our lives. When we remember, as Ecclesiastes
teaches, that we came from dust and will return to it, we can't possibly feel justified in holding on to our resources with a clenched fist. You move us to open our hands and homes in generosity, inclusion, and justice.
May the Sukkot season and the beauty of changing autumn leaves inspire each one of us to welcome, to serve, and, for this brief time we are allotted, to generously live.
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