Sukkah as Refuge

A Ritual for Domestic Violence Awareness

I ask my friends and fellow bloggers to remember abuse victims as Sukkot begins. Victims of mental, emotional & verbal abuse have "no safe place." While Domestic Violence Month officially begins in October - I would ask all of you to get and wear the Purple Ribbon during Sukkot and all of October - in support of people like myself. Victims & Survivors - who deserve peace & justice.

Rebecca Schwartz remembers the first Sukkot observance that her organization, Shalom Bayit, initiated in 1994: A small group of women, survivors of domestic violence and volunteer staff, reclaimed the sukkah as a shelter of peace. "The sukkah was like a refuge," recalls Schwartz, associate director of the San Francisco Bay Area organization devoted to combating domestic violence. "For some, this was the first time they had felt safe in the Jewish community."

Today, with more awareness and less denial in the Jewish community, the annual Sukkot ritual not only takes place as part of Shalom Bayit's support group but also is included in programs planned by other organizations. In addition, Shalom Bayit weaves together the Jewish themes of Sukkot and national Domestic Violence Awareness Month, sending out 200 purple ribbons to Jewish groups and individuals in honor and memory of Jewish women who do not know the safety of home. The foot-long ribbons, to be tied to the sukkah, can be accompanied by a blessing or healing ceremony that includes the following words:

We bless the Divine Presence, Whose wings shelter us with peace. Redeemer of Israel Who brought us out of Egypt, on this festival of Sukkot our thoughts turn to those who dwell in fear and danger in their own homes. With compassion and an outstretched arm, bring them forth into freedom and shelter them in your sukkah of peace.

—R.M.


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