Friday, October 21, 2016

The Mitzvah of Welcoming Guests to our Sukkah

This year, our beautiful Davis Academy Sukkot welcomed several hundred special guests. Most of these guests were family members that came to celebrate the festival with their children. But two extra special groups visited as well.

On Wednesday morning our 1st grade friends from the Dunwoody Springs school across the street came to learn about Sukkot from our 1st graders. They impressed us with their knowledge as they had clearly studied up. We set a joyful tone by singing, "If you're happy and you know it." From there, the children went on to share about Sukkot and eventually compare Sukkot with Thanksgiving.

On Thursday, 6th grade members of the Jewish Life Leadership team of MSLTI welcomed JF&CS's "Independence Works" group. Our 6th graders enthusiastically and graciously hosted 12 adults with a wide range of developmental disabilities some of who had never been in a Sukkah before. The students sang songs, led the traditional blessings, served lunch, and then visited with our guests. I was particularly impressed by the easy way that they interacted with people they'd never met before and who have very different and diverse backgrounds.

The Davis Academy provides many occasions and opportunities for our students to put their values into action. Welcoming guests to our Sukkah is a very meaningful and special way to share the joy of Jewish tradition with others.






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