The Shelter of the Sukkah
by Rabbi Ron Stern

For more than 2,500 years Jews have been gathering for Sukkot. Whether at the Temple in Jerusalem, their homes, or inside the Sukkah built at their synagogue, the primary observance of Sukkot is to sit (with a crowd) inside the Sukkah. How do we compensate for new constraints when we may not be able to gather in person? I’d like to suggest that we expand our Sukkah and invite hundreds more people! Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting that you break any safety protocols, rather that you invite some of the world’s most threatened and marginalized to your Sukkah by supporting organizations that sustain immigrants and refugees and that help those facing food insecurity.

Representing the four walls and the roof of our Sukkah, Wise is supporting these organizations and their efforts on behalf of our world’s displaced populations and our world’s most vulnerable.

Here is a helpful guide to those organizations and how you can help.

High Holy Days and Sukkot SOVA Drive
Here’s how you can help:
• All donations, large or modest, are greatly appreciated. Due to their special relationship with food suppliers, for every $1 you donate, SOVA can purchase $5 worth of groceries.
DONATE NOW
• Fill your own grocery bag with non-perishable items – (e.g. canned meats, vegetables, tuna, cereal, and peanut butter) – and drop it off at Wise between Tuesday, September 21 and Tuesday, September 28 (the end of Sukkot). We will have bins on campus marked for SOVA donations, so that you can drive right up and safely drop your bag off.

 

IsraAID
This vital organization is committed to supporting response and recovery efforts in vulnerable communities around the globe amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This year, IsraAID provided integrated psychosocial support, protection, and education services to South Tel Aviv’s asylum seekers and migrant worker communities. IsraAID hopes to continue providing this type of support in the future in locations heavily affected by the ongoing situation, including in Israel.
DONATE NOW

 

Save The Syrian Children
For families in Syria, the COVID-19 crisis has meant the tightening of borders (through which essential aid passes), increased food insecurity, and further distancing of the world’s attention to Assad’s siege, torture, and bombings of civilians. Throughout this time, Save the Syrian Children has kept donation dollars at work. Because of ongoing support from the Wise community, 2020 is on pace to be Save the Syrian Children’s biggest aid delivery year yet. Since the beginning of 2020, Save the Syrian Children has delivered containers of supplies directly supplying hospitals and Syrian families, with more containers en route. Many of these shipments have included soap, hand sanitizer, masks, and medical consumables to equip hospitals, doctors, and families in fighting the virus. There are now three containers ready to depart and you can help get them on their way.
DONATE NOW

 

Jewish World Watch
While genocide and mass atrocity survivor communities around the world continue to deal with the impact of COVID-19, Jewish World Watch and their on-the-ground partners are adapting current projects to fight this crisis head-on. Your support is essential to these efforts. Support Jewish World Watch’s “Marketplace for Good” store, which features vital products and services needed by genocide and mass atrocity survivors in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Rohingya camps in Bangladesh. All gifts purchased will provide life-changing assistance where it is needed most. These services include prevention education, necessary medical supplies, and essential food aid.
LEARN MORE AND DONATE

 

Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice
Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice (CLUE) is working closely with churches in Southern California to expand emergency housing for immigrants released from detention centers and with those that have already begun hosting guests—for example, an Episcopal church in San Bernardino that is repurposing five rooms to use as housing. Your donation can help with these renovations.
DONATE NOW
There is also a need for airline miles for people released from detention who need to travel to other states to live with family or friends. Miles 4 Migrants accepts miles donations on their website.
LEARN MORE