New York State Senator Shelley B. Mayer, Holocaust survivors and their relatives and caregivers celebrated the joyous holiday of Sukkot together at a festive luncheon on Tuesday Oct. 22 at Westchester Reform Temple in Scarsdale. “Having just gone through the high holidays and that extended period of teshuva (repentance) and introspection that comes with it, we now celebrate,” said Allison Danzig, coordinator of WJCS Holocaust Support Services, as she welcomed more than 70 guests to the event. “This is a time for showing appreciation to others and for all the good around us. It is a time of Thanksgiving and harvest, and a time to begin moving forward into a new year filled with good health and happiness. Being together to start this New Year is the best way to welcome it and begin the year with hope and intentions for a joyous year.”
The holiday of Sukkot, a time of joy, poses a particular challenge this year, said Danzig, as it follows a period of tremendous pain and suffering in Israel that began last year on Oct. 7. WJCS CEO Seth Diamond spoke to the audience of Holocaust survivors, emphasizing that each of their lives is a testament to strength and hope. “The festival of Sukkot reminds us of the fragility of life and the strength that comes from community. The sukkah itself, with its open walls and temporary nature, symbolizes both the vulnerability we’ve all faced and the resilience we’ve shown in the face of unimaginable challenges. For each of you, as survivors, your lives are the embodiment of that resilience that continues to guide and inspire us today.”
WJCS hosted the celebration in partnership with UJA-Federation of New York, Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, and Westchester Reform Temple.
Westchester Jewish Community Services has been serving people facing major life obstacles in Westchester County since its founding in 1943. It is a nonsectarian, not-for-profit, trauma-informed human service agency. Its mission is to help people of all ages and backgrounds cope with emotional, substance use, disability, aging, social and educational challenges. Agency experts, using evidence-based practices, provide youth, mental health, trauma, disability, family and senior services to about 20,000 people each year. It also offers privately funded programs for the Jewish community. WJCS is affiliated with Family Service Society of Yonkers (FSSY), a human and social services agency founded in 1883 that provides programs and services related to housing for seniors and disabled individuals, literacy and academic support for students in underserved communities, advocacy, free legal counsel, and education for kinship families and guardianship for incapacitated adults in danger of neglect, abuse, and/or financial exploitation. The WJCS/FSSY affiliation ensures that those struggling in Westchester County have access to the support they need.
