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Oct 1, 2026, 10:57 PM

When the Sukkah Becomes a TARDIS

On AI, Moral Purity, and What We Do With Powerful Tools It all started when my friend Rabbi David Seidenberg made a post comparing the sukkah to the TARDIS. Attached to the post he included an image of a TARDIS-sukkah that...

Oct 1, 2026, 10:35 PM

The Power of Love on Sukkos

The Sages teach that there is a subtle but profound difference between the effect of teshuvah which is motivated by fear of God (teshuva mi’yirah) and teshuvah which is motivated by love for God (teshuva me’ahava). Fear-driven teshuvah can...

Oct 1, 2026, 10:24 PM

What 180 People in a Sukkah Taught Me

The ferry rocked ever so slightly as it crossed the Georgia Strait, as if to remind us that despite all our planning and preparation, it is nature that is ultimately in control. It felt like an appropriate beginning to Sukkot. My...

Oct 1, 2026, 10:16 PM

The Sukkahs of TikTok

Extreme Sukkahing

For almost as long as there has been TikTok, there have been people posting videos of their sukkah on it. Of course, there had to have been a first Sukkah Influencer: a person or organization who put the pieces...

Jonathan Muskat

Oct 1, 2026, 8:18 PM

When Life Suddenly Becomes Precious

Yesterday, I watched two videos I couldn't stop thinking about. In one, a group of Israelis was sitting on an airplane, singing: “And above all, not to be afraid at all.” In another, Israelis were singing: “Hashem yitbarach tamid ohev oti, v'yihyeh li rak tov.” “Hashem always...

Oct 1, 2026, 5:44 PM

How Will We Commemorate October 7 on Simchat Torah? A Practical Proposal

In the State of Israel, two memorial days will be held this year for the terrible massacre that took place on October 7. One, an official state Memorial Day, was set for 24 Tishrei and will be held this...

Oct 1, 2026, 10:26 AM

Sukkah - kosher style (Image generated with Google Gemini)

I am a little late with this week’s blog. Well of course I am! It’s the week of Sukkot which ends our fall holiday season and just like everyone else in Israel, I am postponing things till אחרי החגים...

Oct 1, 2026, 6:05 AM

Shemini Atzeret

The eighth day of Succot is known as Shemini Atzeret. In Israel, we combine this day with Simchat Torah, the rejoicing with the Torah. Unlike the last day of Pesach, where we do not say the שהחיינו blessing in Kiddush...

Daniel Z. Feldman

Oct 1, 2026, 6:02 AM

On the Faith of Sukkot, a Rainy Sukkah, and the Flight from Dubai

The sukkah is described by the Zohar as the tzila d’meheimanuta, the "shade of faith", and faith is indeed a theme that permeates the festival of Sukkot. On one level it is apparent why that is so: the Jews...

Karen Miller Jackson

Oct 1, 2026, 3:03 AM

Simchat Torah: An Unfinished Story

Simchat Torah will never be the same. Three years after October 7, this day will always carry a sense of before and after. A day once associated with joy, dancing, and women’s hakafot is now also a time to...

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