Tonight begins one of the most unusual holidays of our religion. It is the last one that bars me from working until April or so. (Good. Now, I can make some money!) The bible gives us very little clue about this holiday. It’s called the Eighth Day of Assembly (Shmini Atzeret in Hebrew).
Continue reading Shmini Atzeret
Tomorrow night begins the 7th day of Sukot- and it has a special name- Hoshana Raba. It’s kind of like a mini-Yom Kipur. During the morning services, we destroy the willow branches that are part of the Lulav and Etrog (see the picture below) we’ve employed during this seven day festival. We either do this because it was part of the rain-bringing rituals that existed centuries ago- or to remind us of repentance. (The origin of the practice is simply not clear to us today.) This day marks the period of atonement and introspection that we began some 50 days ago when the new moon (month) of Elul rolled around.
Continue reading Hoshana Raba. Shmini Atzeret. What’s that, you ask?
Tonight (this should automatically post around 6 pm on Sunday night) started a most unusual holiday. This is the last one that requires me not to work until April. (Good. Now, I can make some money!) The bible gives us very little clue about this holiday. It’s called the Eighth Day of Assembly (Shmini Atzeret, שמיני עצרת).
Continue reading 8 days (not a week)