By: Roberta Witkow
Director of Women’s Philanthropy
I recently told someone that, at its heart, my work is about building relationships. I have been thinking about that conversation as Sukkot approaches. Each year, we leave the comfort of our homes and step into a structure that is temporary, open to the elements, and a little imperfect. Sitting there, beneath a roof where we can still see the sky, raises a simple question: Is a house really a home, or is home wherever our people are?
Maybe shelter is more than walls and a sturdy roof. Maybe it is the experience of being together—with family, friends, colleagues, and community. In the sukkah, we break bread, share a meal, linger in conversation, and make space for a guest. It is often in those ordinary moments that relationships deepen and we feel most at home.
Shabbat Shuvah asked us to look back and learn from where we have been. Sukkot asks us to step inside and keep going—to continue on this journey we call life. A teaching about Sukkot reminds us that the journey itself matters: the way we move through it and, just as importantly, the people who share it with us. I love that idea. The sukkah may be fragile and temporary, but the connections made within it can stay with us long after the holiday ends. This Sukkot, I hope we can enjoy the simple gift of being together and recognize that sometimes the truest sense of shelter is the community we create for one another.
Please email Roberta Witkow at rwitkow@jewishcolorado.org with questions or comments.Â