42 | OCTOBER 17 • 2019 

Spirit
torah portion

B

elongingness is a noun 
meaning the state or 
feeling of belonging to 
a group. 
There is an inherent 
human emotional need to 
be an accepted member of 
a group. In general, there 
is a push to move 
away from the term 
of inclusion and 
toward the term 
belonging. Verna 
Myers, noted online 
trainer, famously 
said, “Diversity is 
being invited to 
the party. Inclusion 
is being asked to 
dance.” Would that 
make belonging 
being empowered to 
ask someone else to 
dance?
“All the homeborn 
in Israel shall reside 
in sukkot” (Leviticus 
23:42). This teaches that all 
the Jewish people are fit to 
reside in one sukkah.
There are different ways of 
including others in our suk-
kah. The first level is that of 
diversity, where we open our 
sukkah to those who would 
not normally be invited. The 
second level is where we 
make them a part of our suk-
kah experience. Then there 
is a level where we empower 
them to feel like it is their 
sukkah experience. By doing 
this, we create a sukkah and 
a nation fit to reside in one 
sukkah. 
I think this goes one step 
further. Not only when oth-
ers step into our sukkah, 
but when we enter others’
 
sukkahs, what mindset and 
approach do we enter with? 
Do we enter in with a feeling 
of separation, recognizing 

ourselves as diverse from 
those around us? Do we 
embrace this diversity that 
makes us uniquely our-
selves and strive to include 
that within the setting we 
entered? Or do we come 
in with a mindset of unity 
that only our diversity 
can complete, which 
by doing so, allows for 
this person’
s sukkah to 
become fit for all our 
nation to reside in?
As we think outside 
the box to apply this 
theme to our day-to-day 
life, what is the sukkah 
in your life that you are 
creating for others? Is it 
a physical space, such as 
a community center of 
sorts? Is it an event or 
group? Is it an intangi-
ble, like a feeling or an 
idea? 
Just as a sukkah 
represents one person step-
ping out of the confines of 
his home to experience a 
new way of living daily life, 
I believe we need to step 
out of our perspectives and 
viewpoints. If we are to cre-
ate a world of belongingness, 
I believe that it starts with 
us stepping out of our social 
definitions that make up the 
homes of our mojo and value 
measuring systems, even if 
just for a week, and redefine 
a space that can be fit for 
all of our nation to reside 
in. I believe we need to step 
away from our material value 
assessments and step into a 
hut of inherent value, which, 
to me, is equality. 

Rabbi Yarden Blumstein is the teen 
director at Friendship Circle of 
Michigan in West Bloomfield. 

Parshat Choel 

Hamoed 

Sukkot: 

Exodus 33:12-

16-34:18-26; 

Numbers 

29:26-31; 

Ezekiel 38:18-

39:16.

Rabbi Yarden 
Blumstein

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