By Rich Walter
Sukkot is my favorite holiday because of its timing in the calendar, its emphasis on welcoming guests, and its deep connection to the land of Israel. At its core, Sukkot’s origins as a harvest and pilgrimage festival, reinforce the importance of Israel to the Jewish people as a religious and cultural center.
This spring, we will be celebrating the remarkable achievement of the State of Israel turning 75. Federation is amplifying and spearheading several communal efforts around marking this historic milestone, including our community journey which will take place in April.
Last month, we convened a steering committee made up of representatives from several community partners. The committee is focused on a few large-scale community events which are in the visioning stages with some initial planning being done: a community program to be held at the Marcus Jewish Community center on Sunday April 30th and a community reception hosted by the Israeli consulate for leaders in the Jewish, political, and other faith communities preferably on the evening of Yom Ha’atzmaut. We also want to amplify other community programs which will celebrate Israel’s 75th year and as such have organized working groups on marketing, fundraising, and each of the events mentioned above. If you or someone from your organization would like to join these efforts, please let me know at rwalter@jewishatlanta.org.
