Yesterday, on the way to my workout at Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan, I exited the subway station and found a cluster of Orthodox Jews waiting at the top of the stairs. Three women and one man. Since, as the author Anita Diamant, noted, as a Union Reform Jew, they will always be considered my cousins. Therefore, I wished them a “Happy Sukkot!” and the man replied, “Have you shaken the Lulav today?”
So, out there in the public and openly democratic air of Manhattan, he cupped his hands around my hands, and the women surrounded us, and we shook the Lulav & Etrog and prayed the Aravah in Hebrew for peace together. We made light together, old-style, hippie peace-making style.
On my way back from my workout, I saw three other Orthodox Jews outside the Sukkot at the JCC, but I kept walking to the subway station, where the same thing happened again. When I got there, a young man asked me if I had shaken. I told him, “Yes, ten blocks up!” And he gave me a thumbs-up.
A New Yorker fast-walking alongside me for five blocks, laughed. I turned to see her face and she said, “No, no. I am Jewish, and that was beautiful!”
Hanging heavily in the air is the possibility of a peace agreement promised by our president, which will crush their hearts if he doesn’t follow through. A dear friend of mine replied, “Why the fuck is it always before a long weekend?” making my eyes fill with tears. Tonight, Sukkot Shabbat, no doubt, everyone will be praying for peace, and an end to this war–the dismantling of Hamas.
If I want to, I have today, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to take the subway in Manhattan, and no doubt, at the top of the stairs, I will be asked, “Have you shaken today?” AND now I know it’s a tradition started by one individual. I hope you will read this: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/6105107/jewish/Excuse-Me-Are-You-Jewish-The-Lulav-Campaign-Turns-70.htm
Mary Louise Penaz 
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