I love the festival of Sukkot. To me it represents the ability to “kick back and relax” after the seriousness, rush and formality of the High Holy Days. It is time to move out of the formal dining room and into blue jeans and the backyard. As someone who spent much of my life in the northeast, I hear Sukkot and my mind’s eye sees pumpkins, apples fresh from the trees, and leaves of every color filling my yard and adorning the top of my sukkah. It is a festival that often begins with sunshine and bees and ends in rain or snow. (Thank goodness for space heaters!)
More than the images, Sukkot offers a time to savor the gifts that surround us. We can spend relaxed time with family and friends in the midst of the natural world. We see creation and re-creation in action as the landscape changes in the course of the week.
I make sure to take time to linger in the sukkah and outdoors. As the festival begins, I am, each year, truly captivated by all that surrounds me and pause to say “How majestic are Your Works!” “Exposed” to nature and the fragility of protection it offers, I am ever more grateful for all I am blessed to have.
As I return to a work pace during the middle festival days, reality begins to creep in. The festival’s temporary exposure the fragility of nature reminds me that many are not blessed with being able to return inside to warm homes and full refrigerators. I connect the dots between the power Yom Kippur words of Isaiah and the lives of those around me. This year, I must admit, my mind is already there.
Just a few short days ago Isaiah reminded us that the “fast” is not supposed to be one day of refraining from food and physical pleasure. Rather we are charged to share our food, ensure all have proper clothing and shelter and treat our workers fairly. (Isaiah 58)
In contrast to that, just a few short weeks ago, a widely shared news article reminded us that most synagogue employees are ineligible for unemployment benefits, even if they are laid off. As religious institutions, churches and synagogues are, in most states, exempt from paying into the unemployment tax. They can “opt in” so their staff is protected in case of layoffs, but most institutions do not, seeing it as a way to save a bit of money.
In 2008, the Lorraine and Jack N. Friedman Commission for Jewish Education of the Palm Beaches partnered with the Covenant Foundation and Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education to study the community’s Jewish early childhood education system. As they looked at the educators who teach our next generation they learned that 88% of the teachers earned under $25,000/year. 45% of lead teachers have family incomes under $45,000. 7% carried no health insurance. Only 11% receive a pension benefit.
The data is not much different today. Nor are issues totally restricted to early childhood teachers. Just as we need to do our best to feed the hungry and shelter the homeless, we need to ensure that our community’s Jewish professionals are treated with appropriate respect and parnasa – that they are able to support themselves and their families.
We want our children to know what it means to celebrate Sukkot and to hold images of beauty, gratitude and caring for others as lifelong memories. To do this, we need skilled educators and professionals to partner with parents in providing these experiences. Jewish educators are aging; young, passionate professionals are choosing other fields that provide better salaries and benefits.
May the reminder of the need for shelter and warmth remind us that we must, even as we keep working to feed the hungry, also find the means to ensure a vibrant Jewish future by ensuring we can attract quality professionals to the field.
Wishing you Chag Sukkot Sameach – a festival that fills you with joy and motivates you to take action.
Prior to her position with the Grinspoon Foundation, Iris served as a synagogue educator in Syracuse NY, the Central New York PJ Library Program Coordinator and as a national consultant for PJ Library.
Iris holds a bachelor’s degree in Early Childhood, Elementary, and Special Education, a master’s degree in Special Education and Reading, and Advanced Certification in School Leadership and Administration. Her experience as a secular educator and educational leader in congregational and community settings spans over 20 years. She is also a lay leader in Jewish organizations on the local and national levels. Iris served as the President of CAJE – the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education, which was the largest member organization for Jewish educators in the country.
- May My (and Your) Yom Kippur Be Filled Meaning - October 3, 2014
- We All Are Standing Here.. Now What Will You Do? - September 19, 2014
- ‘Tis the Season of Transitions - September 12, 2014