Sukkot Tent Drive
Donation protected
What do Jews, Backpackers, Circuses and Homeless Encampments have in Common?
Jews around the world are dwelling in temporary outdoor structures this week called sukkahs, or in Hebrew sukkot, in celebration of Sukkot, an ancient Jewish harvest festival. We sit in them, eat inside them, and invite guests into them, three of the core practices of the weeklong holiday.
A sukkah traditionally has a partial roof made out of sechach, raw plant matter, such as palm leaves, bamboo branches, or other natural materials. When I was living in Oakland we grew sunchokes in our garden and the long stalks were perfect for sechach. We are instructed not to cover the top of the sukkah completely-- we must be able to see the stars through its makeshift roof.
As we share our harvests with friends and family, the fragility of the structure, open on at least one side and exposed to the elements, can remind us of our own vulnerabilities. As humans, we are interdependent. The food we eat depends on rain, sunshine, healthy soil, and many working hands. Our clothing and buildings are made from natural and synthetic materials that other people have created, transported, and built. Our well-being is intimately tied to many outside forces; many people touch our lives directly and indirectly in countless ways. In our sukkot, our temporary homes, let’s think about home this year. We each need a place to rest, a safe shelter, a place to ground and collect ourselves.
While housed Jews take time during Sukkot to reflect on vulnerability and home, more and more of our unhoused neighbors live with the risks that come with housing insecurity on a daily basis. Rising housing costs and other economic forces are driving more people to live on the streets, in cars, in homeless shelters, or in tent cities.
While we are dwelling in our sukkahs, getting a small taste of the vulnerabilities of impermanent shelter, let’s provide shelter for those who are housing-insecure.
My home synagogue, Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland, California, collects donations of tents, tarps, sleeping bags and warm jackets year-round. Talya Husbands-Hankin, a Kehilla member and local homeless advocate and activist, distributes these items directly to our homeless neighbors, to people she knows personally when specific needs arise. Talya and her collaborators at the Homeless Advocacy Working Group are bringing national and international attention to the housing crisis in Oakland and around the Bay Area, often bringing press, politicians, even United Nations investigators into homeless encampments to witness them firsthand.
As part of my own tzedakah practice, I buy tents, tarps, or sleeping bags when I can, to donate. One tent that I donated this summer happens to be featured in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article. Each tent, tarp, or sleeping bag becomes an essential part of someone’s home. Each one has a story, as it weaves into the life-story of its new owner.
SF Chronicle article featuring a recently donated tent
I invite you to join me in this mitzvah of tzedakah, now, in celebration of Sukkot. Please donate to our Sukkot Tent Drive, and let your friends and communities know about this opportunity for a sacred, season-specific spiritual practice.
Your donations will have an immediate positive impact on the wellbeing of Oakland's unhoused communities. Please donate as generously as you can.
If you live in the Bay Area and prefer in person donations, you may drop off new tents, tarps, men's warm jackets, and warm men's socks to Kehilla Community Synagogue.
There is a big box just outside the sanctuary, and donations are welcome whenever business hours are open.
Moadim l'simcha, May you have a wonderful Sukkot holiday.
Thank you for your generosity!
Jews around the world are dwelling in temporary outdoor structures this week called sukkahs, or in Hebrew sukkot, in celebration of Sukkot, an ancient Jewish harvest festival. We sit in them, eat inside them, and invite guests into them, three of the core practices of the weeklong holiday.
A sukkah traditionally has a partial roof made out of sechach, raw plant matter, such as palm leaves, bamboo branches, or other natural materials. When I was living in Oakland we grew sunchokes in our garden and the long stalks were perfect for sechach. We are instructed not to cover the top of the sukkah completely-- we must be able to see the stars through its makeshift roof.
As we share our harvests with friends and family, the fragility of the structure, open on at least one side and exposed to the elements, can remind us of our own vulnerabilities. As humans, we are interdependent. The food we eat depends on rain, sunshine, healthy soil, and many working hands. Our clothing and buildings are made from natural and synthetic materials that other people have created, transported, and built. Our well-being is intimately tied to many outside forces; many people touch our lives directly and indirectly in countless ways. In our sukkot, our temporary homes, let’s think about home this year. We each need a place to rest, a safe shelter, a place to ground and collect ourselves.
While housed Jews take time during Sukkot to reflect on vulnerability and home, more and more of our unhoused neighbors live with the risks that come with housing insecurity on a daily basis. Rising housing costs and other economic forces are driving more people to live on the streets, in cars, in homeless shelters, or in tent cities.
While we are dwelling in our sukkahs, getting a small taste of the vulnerabilities of impermanent shelter, let’s provide shelter for those who are housing-insecure.
My home synagogue, Kehilla Community Synagogue in Oakland, California, collects donations of tents, tarps, sleeping bags and warm jackets year-round. Talya Husbands-Hankin, a Kehilla member and local homeless advocate and activist, distributes these items directly to our homeless neighbors, to people she knows personally when specific needs arise. Talya and her collaborators at the Homeless Advocacy Working Group are bringing national and international attention to the housing crisis in Oakland and around the Bay Area, often bringing press, politicians, even United Nations investigators into homeless encampments to witness them firsthand.
As part of my own tzedakah practice, I buy tents, tarps, or sleeping bags when I can, to donate. One tent that I donated this summer happens to be featured in a recent San Francisco Chronicle article. Each tent, tarp, or sleeping bag becomes an essential part of someone’s home. Each one has a story, as it weaves into the life-story of its new owner.
SF Chronicle article featuring a recently donated tent
I invite you to join me in this mitzvah of tzedakah, now, in celebration of Sukkot. Please donate to our Sukkot Tent Drive, and let your friends and communities know about this opportunity for a sacred, season-specific spiritual practice.
Your donations will have an immediate positive impact on the wellbeing of Oakland's unhoused communities. Please donate as generously as you can.
If you live in the Bay Area and prefer in person donations, you may drop off new tents, tarps, men's warm jackets, and warm men's socks to Kehilla Community Synagogue.
There is a big box just outside the sanctuary, and donations are welcome whenever business hours are open.
Moadim l'simcha, May you have a wonderful Sukkot holiday.
Thank you for your generosity!
Co-organizers (2)
Sam Luckey
Organizer
Oakland, CA
Talya Husbands-Hankin
Co-organizer