And no, it’s not just another party. The event, supported by the Jewish Community Foundation of Los Angeles, brings together both the Jewish and Latino communities - along with Latino Pastors who have undertaken advocacy courses with the AJC - in what is billed as a “celebration of culture, brotherhood and love for the State of Israel.”

Three years ago, some 350 people attended, last year that number jumped to 700. This year over 1500 people are expected to turn out for the festival, complete with music, Israeli dancing, great food and shofar blowing.

So how did a group of Latino Pentecostal pastors land up celebrating Sukkot at Sinai Temple? It all began when the Director of Interreligious & Israel Affairs? American Jewish Committee, Los Angeles Chapter, Randy Brown, moved to Los Angeles three years ago. Originally from South Florida, Brown grew up studying Spanish and being exposed to Latino culture, and it was something he was always interested in.

Taking up his post with the AJC, Brown became involved with Police Chief William Bratton’s clergy council where he first met Dr. Manuel Tigerino of the Latin University of Theology and some of his colleagues. After attending a Latino Pentecostal congregation, Brown was surprised to discover a community that held Israeli flags, prayed for Israel, and even had Hebrew names at their congregation.

Until Brown came along, the Latino community’s exposure to Jews was only through Messianic Jews, says Brown. “I was familiar with Anglo Evangelicals, but this was something completely different.”

The Latino Pentecostal community’s roots and understanding of Judaism is Biblically centered, Brown explains, “and I saw an opportunity to work with the community.” Brown started off small, organizing breakfasts and lunches with the pastors, and inviting them to Shabbat dinners. As a result, together with the former Israeli consul general to Los Angeles – Ehud Danoch – the first annual Sukkot Festival was held three years ago. “Danoch spent time in Paraguay and spoke Spanish, so he organized the festival where we distributed Israeli flags,” says Brown.

Why a Sukkot festival? “Because their roots and understanding of Judaism are Biblically centered, so they already knew about the Festival of Tabernacles,” Brown explains. “Pedagogically, Sukkot is an educator’s dream with all the rituals, and they already know about pilgrimage holidays.” However, Brown says he wanted to incorporate other AJC advocacy themes, and Sukkot was a way to incorporate issues of fragility, harvesting relationships, and dealing with the environment.

“I didn’t want to force feed the AJC agenda,” says Brown, “but the pastors said they wanted to learn more. So we started an Essence of Judaism course. We held the first one in our offices three years ago and had 35 people turn up to the first class. In our first year we graduated 50 pastors, we graduated another 50 pastors last year, and this year there are over 100 pastors taking part in the course.”

And with over 5,000 Latino congregations in Los Angeles alone, the AJC has made slow but steady inroads with the community, including taking the pastors on summer trips to Israel to visit Christian sites and to expose them to the modern, Jewish State of Israel. Through Project Interchange, the leading pastors in the local LA community were shown how Israel deals with immigration, with absorption, and different themes. “They were all things that resonate with the Latino community,” says Brown. “But we also honored them with taking them to important religious sites for them, like Bethlehem. We want them to come away from Israel having seen it through a broad lens so they can be ambassadors for the State.”

Aside from the obvious “fun” aspect of the Sukkot festival, Brown says the event is also used as an outreach tool to recruit pastors for the next course. “We also honor the pastors who have taken the course, and they bring their family and their congregations and we give them a diploma. We have consul generals from their home countries come, along with other dignitaries. There’s also a reception beforehand in the Sukkah for the pastors where I teach them how to bensch lulav and etrog.

Yet while the event may be exciting for the Latino community, it begs the question as to why the local Jewish community should attend. Says Brown, “Well firstly, the advocacy piece is a no brainer. This is a natural synergy. We’re creating future allies for the State of Israel, but more importantly, it’s about encountering the ‘other’” he says. “There’s a huge gap where unfortunately for the Jewish community their only exposure to the Latino community is mainly through having a Latino gardener or housekeeper. There’s a linguistic, cultural, and socio-economic wall between our communities, but having them set foot in a synagogue for the first time they’re learning about us and it’s a place where the Jewish community can see them on an equal footing and where we can celebrate together.”

Brown says that beyond the fact that the Latino community is so enamored of Israel, the important piece is that Latinos and Jews can share in a personal encounter. “It’s about understanding these people and treating them like mensches,” he says. “And up until now that simply hasn’t happened.”

So what can people expect at this unique Sukkot festival? “You’ll see Latino’s doing Israeli folk dancing, 50 men blowing shofarot together, you’ll meet people who know more about the Hebrew Bible than you do. I can’t really explain it,” Brown confesses. “I get goosebumps thinking about it, but unless you get off your tuches and come and see you’ll never know what this is about.”

Brown stresses that this is not an obligation; rather it’s a unique opportunity for the Jewish community. “We’re living in a time where this is ground breaking,” he says. “If you could go back to the civil rights era and march in Selma this is the 21st century version in my opinion. So if you want to be at the cornerstone of relations with the largest demographic in the United States, now is the time to do it.”

For a glimpse of previous festivals and a taste of what’s to come this year, check out this video, along with a message from Yakki Dayan, Israel’s current consul general here in Los Angeles.

/www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pr0VjDhTStQ

The Third Annual Sukkot Festival will take place on Thursday October 8 at Sinai Temple Ziegler Sanctuary at 7 p.m. Admission is free. Please bring a can of food for SOVA. For more information, contact Randy Brown at brownr@ajc.org, telephone 310-282-8080, or visit www.ajclosangeles.org