By Rabbi Micah Greenland
NCSY International Director
Dear NCSY Family,
This Sukkos, Jewish public school teens across North America celebrated the holiday in meaningful and tangible ways. Thanks to programming run by our incredible Jewish Student Union (JSU) staff, they built edible Sukkas, learned how to shake the Lulav and Esrog, and attended Sukkah parties. Some regions ran creative events like Sushi in the Sukkah, Candy in the Sukkahland, Lunch & Lulav, and even a missing Esrog mystery game.
These are more than simply fun activities. They are opportunities for teens to connect to their Judaism in ways that touch on some of the most fundamental dimensions of religious engagement.
There is a line of social science research about religion that Rabbi Dr. Josh Joseph, the CEO of the Orthodox Union, has written a lot about. It categorizes religious engagement through the prism of three “Bs”: believing, belonging, and behaving. Sukkos is a beautiful paradigm for all three.
When teens come together at a JSU club or a Sukkah party, they build a sense of Jewish community and belonging. When they shake a Lulav and Esrog, sit and eat in a Sukkah, or even build a Sukkah out of candy, they are behaving in a more Jewish way and experiencing Judaism through tangible action.
And foundationally, Sukkos is about belief.
After the Yamim Noraim, we leave the comfort and security of our homes and enter the temporary shelter of the Sukkah. We demonstrate our confidence and trust in Hashem by leaving behind the security we normally rely upon and placing ourselves instead under the Schach. The Zohar refers to the Sukkah as tzila d’mehemnusa, the “shade of faith,” an expression of our Emunah and our relationship with Hashem.
Through our Sukkos programming, all three “Bs” come to life: believing, belonging, and behaving.
And as we enter Simchas Torah, we bring all three together once again. We celebrate our belief in the Torah by taking it in our arms and dancing with it, not alone, but together as a community. Our belief becomes something we live and something we celebrate together.
That is our hope for every teen we reach: not simply to learn about Judaism, but to experience what it means to believe, belong, and live as a Jew.
Wishing you and your family a Chag Sameach!
