Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot are known as the Shalosha Regalim
(שלושה רגלים) — the three pilgrimage festivals. These are holidays that our ancestors would journey to Jerusalem, usually on foot (regel in Hebrew), to offer sacrifices at the ancient Temple.
Even though the Temple no longer stands, we can continue to make the journey—the pilgrimage—to holy places in our lives. Our Sanctuary (and now because of the COVID-19 pandemic) our Zoom rooms and live streams—can be sacred spaces where we can gather to offer words of praise and thanksgiving for the blessings of our lives.
During this joyous festival of Sukkot, let us pause to give thanks for our lives, for our community, for our friends and families, and for the gift of life itself. Then let’s go one “step” further, as if we were truly on a pilgrimage, and let’s reach out to those around us with a phone call, on Facetime, or even a backyard visit (wearing our masks), to let the people who are the blessing of our lives know just how thankful we are for their love.
— Cantor Nathan Lam