This Harvest Hut

Photo ^©Laura Evonne Steinman

Reader:
This harvest hut, green boughs, ripe fruit, they are sweet with meaning.

All:
We long for the link with each other and with our ancestors in the desert.

Reader:
In the seasons of rich harvest, we gather each other in; we pause in the leafy shade in the sukkahLit. hut or booth A temporary hut constructed outdoors for use during Sukkot, the autumn harvest festival. Many Jews observe the mitzvah of living in the Sukkah for the week of Sukkot, including taking their meals and sleeping in the Sukkah. of women, sukkat shalom, the sukkah of peace.

All:
We listen inwardly; we thirst for spiritual richness; we invite the Shechinah, the in-dwelling spirit of the Creator.

Reader:
As women and as Jews, we know how fragile are these shelters. We remember MiriamMiriam is the sister of Moses and Aaron. As Moses' and Aaron's sister she, according to midrash, prophesies Moses' role and helps secure it by watching over the young baby, seeing to it that Pharaoh's daughter takes him and that the baby is returned to his mother for nursing. During the Israelites' trek through the desert, a magical well given on her behalf travels with the Israelites, providing water, healing, and sustenance. unsheltered in the desert. We honor her and all our mothers, all the courageous makers of brief and loving safety – the cradle of rushes; the huppahMarriage canopy symbolizing the couple's new home.; the hidden bunker; the sukkah; the circle of a mother’s strong arms.

All:
The shelter is frail; the love is long.

Reader:
We will weave our branches together. We will make each other stronger.

All:
We sowed in tears, but we shall reap in joy.

Reader:
The Book of Proverbs tells us: Wisdom, Hochmah, is a woman. She has built her house, she has prepared the feast, set out the wine and called forth the young women. She pours forth her spirit for us.

All:
Her ways are ways of pleasantness and all her paths are peace.

Reader:
She is a tree of life to those who hold her, and happy is everyone who honors her.

All:
We sowed in tears, but we shall reap in joy.