Sukkot and Security: Building Communities That Can Stand in the Wind

Sukkot reminds us that resilience does not mean eliminating vulnerability. It means preparing wisely for the challenges we know may come. For Jewish organizations, that lesson has never been more relevant.

Every year during Sukkot, we do something unusual.

We leave the security and permanence of our homes and spend time in a temporary structure. We eat there, gather with family and friends, welcome guests, and celebrate while sitting beneath a roof made from branches.

The sukkah is intentionally temporary. But Jewish tradition makes an important distinction: temporary does not mean unstable.

A sukkah must be able to withstand a ruach metzuyah, an ordinary wind. It does not have to withstand every imaginable storm, but it does have to be strong enough for the conditions that can reasonably be expected.   For those of us working to strengthen the safety and resilience of Jewish communities, there is an important lesson here.

We Cannot Prevent Every Emergency

No synagogue, Jewish school, camp, JCC, Chabad center, Hillel, or community organization can eliminate every risk.

We cannot know exactly when an emergency will happen or what form it will take.

It could be a threatening individual outside a synagogue. A fire in a school kitchen. A medical emergency during services. A missing child at camp. A power outage, severe weather event, bomb threat, antisemitic incident, or active threat.

Preparedness does not mean predicting the future.

It means asking a different question:

If something happens, will our organization know what to do?

Security Is More Than Equipment

Jewish organizations have invested significantly in physical security.

Cameras, fencing, access-control systems, reinforced doors, panic buttons, communication systems, and professional security personnel can all play an important role in protecting our communities.

But equipment is only one part of security.

A camera can tell us that something is happening. It cannot decide what we should do next.

A reinforced door can delay someone from entering. It cannot tell staff when they should initiate a lockdown.

A mass notification system can send hundreds of messages. But someone still needs to know what message should be sent, when it should be sent, and who has the authority to send it.

And even the best-written emergency plan has limited value if the people responsible for carrying it out have never practiced it.

That is why at JEPP, we view preparedness as a complete system.

Prepared People Make the Difference

Real preparedness combines physical security with planning, procedures, communication, training, and exercises.

Organizations should know the answers to questions such as:

• Who takes charge during an emergency?

• Who calls 911?

• Who communicates with staff, congregants, parents, or families?

• Who has the authority to initiate a lockdown or evacuation?

• Where are the evacuation assembly locations?

• How will we account for everyone afterward?

• What happens if the executive director, rabbi, principal, or security professional is not present?

These questions may seem straightforward at a conference table.

They become much more difficult when an alarm is sounding, people are frightened, parents are calling, and information is incomplete.

Training and exercises help transform a written plan into an organizational capability.

The purpose of practicing is not to frighten people. It is to discover gaps before a real emergency exposes them.

Preparedness Must Belong to the Organization

There is another challenge we frequently see.

Sometimes an organization's emergency preparedness depends too heavily on one person.

The executive director knows the procedures. The facilities manager knows where everything is located. One volunteer understands the security system. The security chair has the relationships with local law enforcement.

But what happens when that individual is away, changes positions, retires, or leaves the organization?

Preparedness cannot live in one person's head.

It must become part of the institution.

Procedures should be documented. Responsibilities should be clear. Staff and volunteers should be trained. New employees should be incorporated into the process. Plans should be reviewed and updated as facilities, personnel, threats, and programs change.

In other words, preparedness should become part of organizational culture.

Our Jewish Spaces Must Still Feel Jewish

Security presents another important challenge.

Our synagogues, schools, camps, and community centers exist to bring people together.

They are places for prayer, learning, celebration, childhood, friendship, community, and belonging.

We should not have to choose between being secure and being welcoming.

The goal is not to transform Jewish institutions into fortresses.

The goal is to create places where thoughtful security operates alongside warmth and hospitality.

In fact, good preparedness often makes an organization feel calmer.

When people understand their responsibilities, when leadership has considered difficult scenarios, and when staff have practiced their response, there is less uncertainty.

Preparedness should create confidence, not fear.

What Sukkot Can Teach Us

Perhaps that is one of the most relevant lessons of the sukkah.

We know its walls are temporary.

We know the wind may come.

Yet we still enter.

We gather. We celebrate. We invite others inside.

But before doing so, we make sure the structure can stand.

Our Jewish organizations deserve the same approach.

We cannot control every threat facing our communities.

But we can identify vulnerabilities.

We can build clear emergency procedures.

We can train our people.

We can practice.

We can learn from our exercises and improve.

And we can create institutions that remain welcoming while becoming more resilient.

This Sukkot, as we sit beneath the schach, perhaps every Jewish organizational leader should consider one simple question:

When the wind comes, will our community know what to do?

At JEPP, our mission is to help ensure that the answer is yes.

Strong enough to protect our communities. Prepared enough to respond. Welcoming enough that people always want to come inside.