D'var Torah by David A. Davis of Nassau Presbyterian Church

Several years ago my family celebrated Sukkot over dinner with Rabbi Adam Feldman and his family in the sukkah built in their backyard. As with everything Rabbi Feldman did, he took the opportunity to teach my presbyterian family about the meaning of the holiday. This year Nassau Presbyterian Church is honored to share in the Sukkah Village Project in his memory.

For more than fifty years ago, Nassau Presbyterian Church helped to resettle our first refugee family. Since then twelve families have been welcomed from eleven different countries. Some of those families eventually moved to other places in the United States to be near friends and family. Several still live and work in the Princeton community. Welcoming and assisting refugees rests at the very heart of our Christian faith. The child Jesus was born to traveling parents with no home. Jesus’ own teaching and ministry is in so many ways a call to care for refugees, the vulnerable, and those with so little. As stated in the sacred pages of scripture, “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for in doing so some have entertained angels unawares.” 

As the Sukkot holiday is celebrated this year and marked by the Sukkah Village Project in our community, Nassau Church is partnering with Princeton Theological Seminary and Church World Service to welcome our next family in the next month of so. 

David A. Davis

Pastor

Nassau Presbyterian Church