Erev Sukkot
This past Monday, Erev Sukkot, my husband, Bruce and I, had a delicious holiday dinner at our Rabbi and her husband’s lovely home in Reisterstown, Maryland.
We attended services at Beth Israel Congregation in Owings Mills, where we have been members for 47 years. When we pulled into the parking lot, there were only two cars. I thought maybe I had the wrong time, as I knew the date was correct. A quick check of the website said we were right: the service was Monday, October 6th, at 6:00 p.m. So, where was everyone? What happened to all of our congregants?
No one else was at shul in person, except Rabbi Rachel Safman, her son and our Executive Director, Leslie Weiner. When it is a sparse gathering, services are held in the chapel instead of the main sanctuary. This was the first time we had ever been in shul with a situation like this!
The Rabbi handed each of us a prayer book and we sat in the front row. This service was also live-streamed, so others were there, but not in person.
After services, we walked into the sukkah to say Kiddush, the blessing over the wine, which consisted of grape juice. Dessert was cookies.
Our Rabbi overheard us say, “We are going to get a bite to eat for dinner.”
She said, “Please join me and my family for a Sukkot holiday dinner.”
I said, “That’s not necessary; we don’t want to impose!”
Rabbi Safman replied, “It is not an imposition at all! It’s a joyous holiday, so you will be our guests for a festive Sukkot dinner.”
She proceeded to call her husband, Daniel Robinson, to tell him the Solomons would be dining with them.
We thanked her very much. Even though she gave us her address, we waited until she locked the building and followed her and her young son to their house in Reisterstown.
We assembled in the sukkah, in the backyard with flashlights, to wash our hands and say Kiddush. Due to so many mosquitoes, it was decided we would eat dinner inside the house, gathered around the dining room table. All of us said Hamotzi (the Jewish blessing recited before eating bread) over the challah. A delicious dinner consisted of baked chicken, roasted potatoes and broccoli. Dessert was a sweet apple cake, a typical dessert for this holiday.
Our conversations flowed so smoothly the entire evening as Rabbi Safman and her husband, Daniel, got to know us, and we learned so much about them! By the end of the evening, the camaraderie matched the sweetness of the fall Festival of Sukkot.
Before we said thank you and goodbye, I asked Daniel if I could give him a hug, as I am a hugging person and he said absolutely. Of course, I hugged our Rabbi, thinking of how kind she was to include us for dinner during Sukkot. Bruce shook hands and then we were on our way home.
What a beautiful and intimate way to get to know this warm and wonderful family!
We are grateful for the opportunity to make new friends.
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Read more by Marlene Wolff Solomon.