Message From The Rabbi

By now, members of the Brotherhood have assembled Temple Emanu-El’s new sukkah Perhaps you, too, are in the process of assembling a sukkah for the holiday, eagerly awaiting the chance to welcome guests as we eat, study, play, and maybe even sleep in our temporary “booth.” 

Sukkot begins this week, on Wednesday, October 16th, and concludes on the 23rd.  

Sukkot is a holiday categorized as: Z’man Simchateic — literally, “the time of our joy — but more commonly understood as: Our time to rejoice! 

From Deuteronomy*, we are taught to celebrate the festival of Sukkot for seven days in honor of God. God will choose where we celebrate. God will bless our crops (in Israel) and our undertakings. Then, we will have nothing but joy.   

This year we are reminded—once again—that we must hold two complicated truths simultaneously: We should rejoice during Sukkot while also carrying the pain of those impacted by the ongoing war and the suffering of our brothers and sisters still held hostage in Gaza. 

May we find space to hold these two truths, and may our Sukkot still be filled with joy. 

Shavua Tov, 

Rabbi Rachael 

* Deuteronomy 16:13–15