Rabbi's Message

Each night, we pray ufros aleinu sukkat shelomekha, that God spread over us, a Sukkah of peace.  I haven’t been able to stop thinking of this prayer this week, as I sit in my own Sukkah and anxiously await the implementation of the deal that will bring the 48 hostages home and end the war in Gaza.  On October 7, the first day of Sukkot, we reflected on the last two years and all of the pain and joy that we have been holding.  Now, as we approach the yahrzeit, the Hebrew anniversary, on Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah next Tuesday and Wednesday, we will hopefully be celebrating, along with the holiday, the hostages’ return almost two years to the day after they were kidnapped.  On Tuesday night, October 14, at 6:30pm, as Shemini Atzeret transitions into Simhat Torah, we will mark this incredible moment as a community with reflection and joy.  Full details are here.

I hope you will join us to mark what we hope will be an incredibly emotional and joyous moment for our community, and for our brothers and sisters in Israel.  May that moment be the beginning of a larger process that will allow us to move closer to fulfilling that prayer, ufros aleinu sukkat shelomekha, please God, please, spread of us, over all of Israel, and over all people Israel, your shelter of peace.