What do Thanksgiving and Sukkot have in common?

This year we barely had a chance to take our sukkot down before we started planning our turkey dinners. Sukkot and Thanksgiving share an important theme—both inspire us to open our doors and our hearts.

When we welcome guests into our spaces, including a sukkah or a Thanksgiving meal, we’re building a shared society—inviting people in so we can learn about each other. These encounters foster respect, understanding, and common cause.

JCRC-NY regularly brings New York City leaders from diverse backgrounds together to share in the warmth of our community and the richness of Jewish tradition and values. Last month, we gathered elected officials and community leaders to visit a sukkah in Queens, where they learned about the importance of Jewish unity and joy that we experience celebrating Sukkot. They also applied their newfound knowledge to constructing their own miniature graham cracker sukkot! In Prospect Park, nearly a thousand people visited our sukkah, which was open to the public.

Welcoming guests and making them feel comfortable in Jewish spaces is one of the ways JCRC-NY cultivates a society shared by the full diversity of New York. We build meaningful relationships with all levels of New York City government and with nearly 200 faith and ethnic groups—relationships that persevere through troubling times when we need each other’s support.

Together, let us open our doors and open our hearts and welcome each other into our spaces as honored guests. When you connect with someone else and build a bridge of understanding, share to make a statement. Use the hashtags #WelcomingGuests and #GivingTuesday, and tag @jcrcny.