Sukkot
A Little-Known Holiday With a Big Message
Last week was our anniversary and our kids threw us a surprise party. They invited all of our friends and brought in spectacular catering. It was amazing and the party went on until the early hours of the morning with the guests trickling...
The Priestly Blessing on the Intermediate Days of Passover
Twice a year, during the intermediary days of Passover and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), a mass priestly blessing takes place at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. This event is usually attended by tens of thousands of Jews who are...
Chol Hamoed: Sanctifying the Mundane
The holidays of Passover and Sukkot (Feat of Tabernacles) are seven days in Israel and eight days outside of Israel. The first day each and, on Passover, the last day (first two and last two outside of Israel) are full holidays during...
The Clouds of Glory and the Feast of Tabernacles
God watched over the Children of Israel as they traveled through the desert toward the Promised Land, guiding them with a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. The pillars were a constant presence. At dawn the pillar of...
Isru Chag: Last but certainly not least
The day following Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot is known in Hebrew as “Isru Chag.” It’s a minor holiday on the Jewish calendar but a major holiday for Israeli school children, since there is no school on “Isru Chag.” Many Israeli families...
Sukkot’s Joyous Judgment Day
According to Jewish tradition, Sukkot is one of four Judgment Days during the year, and on the festival, God determines the world’s water allocation for the coming year. In ancient times, life and death hinged directly on the amount of...
Sukkot Prayer: Praise the Lord all the Nations!
Every day during Sukkot, Jews sing Psalm 117, yearning for the day when all of the Nations praise Hashem. Psalm 117 is part of the “Hallel” service that Jews recite on the festivals. While Sukkot commemorates the miraculous protection God...
The Connection Between Sukkot and Gog and Magog
When Shabbat occurs during Sukkot, rather than reading from the weekly Torah portion, there is an ancient, yet unusual, Jewish tradition of reading about the famous war of Gog and Magog from the Book of Ezekiel in chapters 38 and 39. The...
The Portion of Re’eh
This week’s portion focuses on changes which will take place upon the people’s entry into Israel. First, they are told to wipe out all forms of idolatry which remain from the land’s previous inhabitants. They are then told God will set...
The Portion of Pinchas
Our portion picks up where last week’s left off, in the aftermath of a plague. Phineas is blessed by God for his actions and a new census of the people is taken. The brotherless daughters of Zelophehad appeal to Moses for a share in the...