blogs/brentspodek

The first time I hitchhiked, I was about 24.

My wife Alison and I were bicycling through Georgia and something - I can't quite remember what - went very wrong with one of the bikes and there was no way to pedal it further. We had been traveling north from Jacksonville, Florida, headed towards Washington DC. Our bikes were loaded with our camping gear, maps, and tools, but whatever had gone wrong, repairing it was beyond our meager skills.

So, we rearranged our stuff, flipped the bike on its handlebars to show it wasn't working and stuck out our thumbs. Soon enough, some art students picked us up and helped us get to get to Savannah, where they were in school. We spent a few days with them, hanging out, getting our bike fixed and generally having a great time. It was one of the best bike malfunctions we ever had.

When we travel, we live a different sort of way. We have less stuff, less security, less comfort. The Jewish travelers prayer asks ????????????? ????? ????????? ???????????? ??????????? ?????????? ??? ????????? / that we be granted "grace, kindness, and mercy in Your eyes and in the eyes of all who see us." When we travel, we're often exposed to the elements and concerned about the people we meet - we hope they mean us no harm and we even hope they will help us out when we need it.

Being in a sukkah is like traveling while staying still. Even a well built sukkah is open to the sky, easily entered and permeable by rain. When we sit in a sukkah, we are by definition outside of our comfort zone - it's open, it's sometimes cold, there are strangers. Sometimes, discomfort and beauty come together in one package - both in a sukkah and in life.

Sitting in the sukkah - particularly one in the middle of Main Street - is an opportunity to make connections with real people in real life. It's an opportunity to make connections that are hard to make when we are home in our houses that are well insulated and secure - that are closed off to the world.

Over the rest of this holiday, I hope you'll take a moment to come and sit in Open to the Sky. We have plenty of programs scheduled and we have unlimited opportunities to travel while sitting still on Main Street, finding grace, kindness, and mercy in the eyes of all those we talk to.