From the Desk of Rabbi Marcelo Bater  October 2/3, 2009   15 Tisrei 5770

Dear Friends, On Monday, we had the opportunity of experiencing a beautiful service for Yom Kippur, of breaking the fast together at the Crowne Plaza, and of seeing our children enter the sanctuary at the end of Ne’elah to add strength to the T’kiah G’dolah Shofar sounding which concluded this holiest day of the year.   Then, this past Wednesday, children and parents got together to build our Temple’s Sukkah in preparation for Sukkot, the Holiday known in our tradition as "Ha Chag" -- "THE Holiday". Yes, Sukkot seems to be a very important festival, but why? One reason is that the Sukkah -- the popular icon for this Holiday -- is like a time machine. When we spend time in the Sukkah, we’re transported back to events which happened a long, long time ago. (In fact, when we were building the Sukkah together, we felt a little bit like the Jews who had just escaped from Egypt!) Even though the Sukkah is fragile and without modern conveniences (no microwave; no dishwasher; no computer; etc.), it and the Holiday it represents has something much more important…it has Spirituality, Happiness, and Peace! Indeed, Sukkot is remembered in our Tefilot, our prayers, with the words: "Ufros Aleinu Sukkat Shlomecha" – "Spread over us Thy Tabernacle of Peace". Although this prayer is very easy to recite, it is often difficult to actualize in real life and we have to work especially hard to achieve this ideal peace. This week we built a community Sukkah that serves as a link between Judaism past, present, and future. I pray that each of us will also build an internal Sukkah that exudes the happiness of the holiday and the peace that we wish: Peace in our hearts, in our homes, in our community, in the world, in Eretz Yisrael, and in Jerusalem... Baruch Ata A’d …Blessed be Thou, O Lord our G-d… Hapores Sukkat Shalom Aleinu v’al Kol Amo Yisrael v’al Yerushalaim…Who Spreadest the Tabernacle of Peace Over Us, Over Israel and Over Jerusalem… …and together we say: Amen. Chag Sameach!