Rabbi Rachel Barenblat (aka The Velveteen Rabbi): My Heart is Heavy

Rabbi Barenblat writes a beautiful poem expressing the pain of this week’s events:

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z’l: Re’eh – Defining Reality

The purpose of leadership is to frame reality for the group.  They show the group the map and the destination.  As Rabbi Sacks states, ‘no one did it more powerfully than Moses’.  As Moses says, “I am setting before you…the blessing and the curse…”. Please follow the link below to read his article on Re’eh, which we read for Shemini Atzeret:

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat: Rejoice/Fragile

We woke this morning to the news that Israel is officially at war with Hamas. My heart is heavy with grief. It’s especially heartbreaking on Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah. Like the Yom Kippur War, almost exactly fifty years ago, this coordinated series of attacks via land, sea, and air were a shock on a day of national religious celebration.

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, z’l: Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah Family Edition

Rabbi Sacks writes about the tension between the universality of nature—the Four Species being a ritual of rain while eating in the succah depends on the absence of rain, and the particularity of history—the long journey through the wilderness.  He continues to observe that the God of Israel is the God of all humanity while the religion of Israel is not the religion of all humanity.  

Rabbi Rachel Barenblat: Simchat Torah

Rabbi Barenblat blogs about celebrating Simchat Torah at home with her cat during the pandemic.  She has included 7 poems to be sung for the hakafot.  Please follow the link below for her thoughts on the hakafot and her poetry: