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 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 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:
Rabbi Ruditsky cites the song “The Sounds of Silence” to highlight a key theme in Ha’azinu – there is no such thing as silence and on Shabbat Shuvah, we are required to listen.
Rabbi Sacks writes about the spiritual power of music. Moses used the technique to present a message to the people in such a way that they would hear it and absorb it. He cites many other instances in the Tanakh where music was applied for spiritual purposes. As he states, “when we pray, we sing.”
Rabbi Sacks presents some delightful insights on Sukkot. In one, contrary to popular opinion, the ancient Israelites didn’t live in succot during their sojourn in the desert; they lived in tents. In another, reading Kohelet doesn’t make sense for a festival that is called z’man simchateinu.
On Yom Kippur, Rabbi Belser contemplates the cruelty of ableism in our society, in particular, as it is implicitly raised in Una Taneh Tokef. In her recently published book, “Loving Our Own Bones,” she concludes that we all have a stake in dismantling ableism
Rabbi Ruditsky cites the song “The Sounds of Silence” to highlight a key theme in Ha’azinu – there is no such thing as silence and on Shabbat Shuvah, we are required to listen.
Rabbi Sacks addresses the challenging passage where God tells Moses he will never enter the land of Canaan. The concept of Hakhel, the covenant renewal ceremony, enabled the people to retain their spiritual immortality, even though their physical bodies eventually died. This was the lesson for Moses.
Rabbi Ruditsky addresses the concept of T’shuvah, as described by Isaiah—idolatry and mistreatment of others—raising the issue of social concerns in the community. The Rabbis connect his message to all generations that follow, reflecting Moses’ message in Nitzavim, that the Covenant applies to everyone, even those who were not, nor will be, present at the occasion. Please follow the link below to read his full article: