Yes, another one.
We Jews know this time of year is the season of holidays. Rosh Hashana, Yom Kipur, and now this coming Sunday night begins the holiday of Sukot. (Christians call this the Feast of Tabernacles, but we know that Sukot means booths.)
Continue reading Huh? 40 hours in shul over the past 10 days wasn’t enough?
Tomorrow night is the 7th day of Sukot. It’s called Hoshana Raba. Kind of like a mini-Yom Kipur. During services, we destroy the willow branches that are part of the Lulav and Etrog (see the picture below) we’ve employed during this holiday. 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.)
Continue reading The last time- until April 10th
Yes, it’s another holiday. Among my favorites. For the past two days, I’ve been cleaning my backyard, moving all the furniture around, and building a hut. Because Sunday night starts Sukot- the full moon holiday of Tishrei. (By the way- don’t miss the Orionid meteor showers on Saturday night/Sunday morning.) After finishing our 40 days of introspection, which culminated in the most solemn, full day of fasting for Yom Kipur, we now have the holiday of joy. (Sukot has another name- the Time of Celebration.) Sukot is one of the three “festivals” delineated in the Tora, the Bible.
Continue reading Are you kidding me?
Whether we truly believe that our sukot (the plural of suka) are to remind us that we traveled for 40 years in the desert- or we needed to preempt the pagan harvest festival that occurred this time of year three millennia ago- is truly immaterial. Because we have found meaning in the suka- to remind us that our lives are transient, our lives are fragile, and our lives require our efforts along with Hashem’s help.
Yes, it’s another holiday. Among my favorites. For the past two days, I’ve been cleaning my backyard, moving all the furniture around, and building a hut. Because Sunday night starts Sukot- the full moon holiday of Tishrei. (By the way- there will be an eclipse that accompanies this moon, as is often the case with this holiday!)
Continue reading Construction Zone
Tonight is the start of 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 Tora gives us very little clue about this holiday and its requirements. It’s simply called the Eighth Day of Assembly (Shmini Atzeret).
Today is another holiday. This one is really a festival. One we get to celebrate without being in synagogue all day. But by the end of next week, I’ll have taken off a total of 6 whole days (Yom Kipur was on a Saturday) and three half days for the Jewish Holidays in September- plus the secular Labor Day. Recognizing that there also were 9 weekend days, you can see that means only 12 working days this whole month .
Continue reading Another holiday? Yup!
By the end of next week, I’ll have taken off a total of 7 days in the last 22. Recognizing that there also were 6 weekend days, you can see that means only 11 working days.
