What Can We Learn From the Juxtaposition of Joy and Sorrow?
Several times during the year, the Jewish calendar places joyous and challenging holidays near each other. What lessons we take from this juxtaposition?
I Will Shelter You
Way back in July 1990, when my daughter Katie was two years old, Ellen turned to our little girl and said, "Tell Daddy something he doesn't know." Katie whispered, smiling shyly, "Today is Mommy's birthday." Can you say doghouse?
How Do We Make God Holy?
The point of being Jewish is to have a relationship with God. Yet, a relationship implies a certain give and take, and there is precious little in the Torah that talks about what we have that God could possibly need. What can we give to God?
Tearing a Hole in Being
At the end of Parashat Emor, a disturbing incident is related. In the heat of a fight, a man curses God and is stoned to death for blasphemy (Leviticus 24:10-23). It is understandable that readers may be repulsed by this narrative, and shocked and angry to find it in the Torah.
The LEGO Sukkot Movie: Jewish Holidays 101
5 Sukkot Activities You Can Do with What You Have at Home
Building Sukkot for Ourselves and Others
Sukkot in Jerusalem: A Precarious Balance
Jerusalem is home to a unique type of sukkah: precarious and cantilevered, they hang off the sides of buildings – and between the two Jerusalems, one above, one below.
11 Incredible Sukkot You'll Love
As Jews the world over construct their own sukkahs - temporary, walled, outdoors structures with a view of the sky - we've rounded up a few especially impressive versions.
Shelter for all: The Reform Movement mobilizes around the Dream Act
Sukkot, the celebration of bounty and harvest, is the plural of the word sukkah.