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Michael Zoosman

Sep 30, 2026, 4:34 AM

“There is nothing new under the sun” – Ben-Gvir’s Execution Threats on Sukkot

מַה־שֶּֽׁהָיָה֙ ה֣וּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶ֔ה וּמַה־שֶּׁנַּֽעֲשָׂ֔ה ה֖וּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂ֑ה וְאֵ֥ין כׇּל־חָדָ֖שׁ תַּ֥חַת הַשָּֽׁמֶשׁ׃ Only that shall happen That has happened, Only that occur That has occurred; There is nothing new Under the sun! (קֹהֶלֶת , Ecclesiastes 1:9) Jews across the world read the famous verse above and many others...

Sagit Alkobi Fishman

Sep 30, 2026, 12:24 AM

What the Sukkah Knows That the Safe Room Doesn’t

A sukkah beside a reinforced safe room. AI-generated photorealistic illustration.

This Sukkot, two shelters stand side by side in countless Israeli homes. One has reinforced concrete walls, a steel door, and a window designed to seal from within. The other has flimsy walls and a roof of branches through...

Sep 30, 2026, 12:24 AM

Sukkot and Belonging

“Who would you invite to your sukkah?” This is one of my favorite questions to ask when teaching about Sukkot. Based on the idea of ushpizin – the ethereal visitors we welcome during the holiday – it’s an opportunity to...

Mordechai Soskil

Sep 30, 2026, 12:23 AM

Happiness is Overrated

Of all the Jewish holidays, the one most closely associated with happiness is Sukkot. The prayer service calls Sukkot Zman Simchateinu – the time of our happiness. The Torah instructs us to take the Lulav and Etrog and “rejoice”...

Elchanan Poupko

Sep 30, 2026, 12:21 AM

Sukkot, Survival, and Operation Pastorius

As you look out at the beautiful waters of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Long Island, you would never imagine that one of the great battles of WWII is visible from the windows of peaceful Long Island...

Sep 30, 2026, 12:21 AM

What Kind of Brotherhood Are We Offering Our Sons?

When I saw the story out of Wisconsin, I recognized the scene before I even finished reading it. Police responding to an anonymous tip at an Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity house near the University of Wisconsin–Madison said they found roughly...

Sep 29, 2026, 2:09 PM

Vezos HaBeracha: Blessings For Living on the Edge

The Edge of Believing: Living on the Edge, with Zevulun and Gad To stand on the boundary line is to inhabit a zone of profound spiritual tension. In Classical Hebrew thought, the border—the Sefar (ספר)—is never merely a physical perimeter...

Sep 29, 2026, 12:56 PM

Sukkot: When Jonah Was Right, You Need Shade

Every year, about four days after we finish beating ourselves up on Yom Kippur, Hashem looks down and says, essentially, now go sit outside in a hut for a week. And not a real hut. A temporary one, with a roof...

Allen S. Maller

Sep 29, 2026, 12:41 PM

Tawhid Monotheists call God by a name because we believe

Why don't monotheistic religions have just one name for God? Polytheistic religions have many names for their gods because they have many gods; and each god has one or more names. But if you worship only one Deity why give...

Sep 29, 2026, 12:29 PM

Kohelet: We Live in a Contradictory World

Good people suffer. Our best plans fail. The future is unknowable. And still, we are commanded to find joy. When I was younger, I felt a greater need to make sense of the world. I knew life was not fair...

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