Jesus in the Sukkah

By Daniel Kaplow
Johns Hopkins University

One of the most exciting experiences in college is meeting people completely different from you. Walking around campus, you can pick out people of many different religions and cultures. The person sitting next to you in class could be from any number of backgrounds and may celebrate and observe holidays and rituals, which may be, at best, somewhat foreign. While a student could attempt to learn about others solely through his or her daily interactions, this can sometimes be a formidable task. First, there is always the danger that one will stick with what is familiar. Though in many cases this is desirable, it is always better to see things from another point of view. The second and more pressing danger is the workload, exams, assignments and projects with which the college student is periodically inundated. These serve to force a sort of hermetic lifestyle that any college student can confirm occurs: when a difficult midterm or final is imminent, socializing gives way to the deepest basement of the library. 

At Johns Hopkins, though, the administration recognizes the importance of regularly fostering religious dialogue. As a member of the campus Interfaith Council, I participate in a weekly or biweekly meeting to discuss many different issues and hear all types of speakers and presentations. The interfaith chaplain and assistant chaplain find creative ways to get people involved and interested. Jews, Muslims and Christians, as well as Jains, Bahai, Buddhists, Hindus and others sit around and eat the kosher Chinese food or pizza provided. Now, one might ask, aside from the food, could anything substantial ever come from these meetings? I would like to answer a most emphatic "yes"; to do this I will tell the story of how Jesus managed to get into the Sukkah.

At the first Council meeting of the year, we were asked to write, anonymously, any question we had about another religious tradition. While, at the time, I anticipated a sensitive and inescapably serious conversation to come, I was most mistaken. Arriving at the next meeting, the Council members were told to look at the posters that were hanging on the walls. Written on each poster was a question about a religious tradition or practice. We were then told to go stand by whichever we felt we could confidently answer to other inquisitive Interfaith Council members. I looked around and saw, "What is that booth that is put up in front of the dining hall every year?" I cracked a slight smile as I realized that this obviously referred to our community Sukkah.

I walked over to the sign ready to talk about the Israelites wandering from Egypt into the desert and the divine protection they received along the way. Then the chaplains announced the catch. Once we had answered the question, we were to move on to another question, leaving the newly informed person to answer the next person in line. It seemed like a game of telephone. And it was: as I went on to find out about the Trinity, the origins of the Bahai and other traditions, I could not help but overhear the person explaining the Sukkah. He was asked, "What is that booth in front of the dining hall?"  Looking confident he started, "That?" he said, "why that represents the booth in which the Jews sat when they were under Jesus’ protection in the desert." That certainly got my attention. As we sat down to talk about what we had learned, the interfaith chaplain prompted me to explain the Sukkah. Needless to say, the room erupted in laughter well before I had concluded explaining how Jesus had nothing to with the Sukkah.

While not every meeting is that dramatic, there is always room for the various members to learn about each other. And we do have serious learning too, as we hear Hindu religious epics and take a look at a Torah scroll. The Interfaith Council, in many ways, promotes interest in other ways of life and emphasizes the common concepts we all share. But it does not only do this. I find that even though I do not have to defend my beliefs, I am much more motivated to explore my own religious traditions and undertake personal introspection. While college life can alternately be very stressful and some of the best times of one’s life, taking time to talk with others in order to better understand theirs and one’s own traditions only serves to enrich the college experience.

[Posted 11/25/03]