JOYOUS CELEBRATIONS CONCLUDE OUR HIGH HOLY DAYS!
SUKKOT │ FRI, OCT 2 – SUN, OCT 4
FRI, OCT 2
6:00 PM: Erev Shabbat/Sukkot Service—weather permitting, our CRS Clergy will be live from the Sukkah
SAT, OCT 3
9:00 AM: Sholom Sprouts Singin’ Swingin’ Shabbat—Sukkot Celebration
10:15 AM: Sukkot Shabbat Chapel Service
11:15 AM: Chapel Service Torah Study with Rabbinic Intern Vanessa Harper
SUN, OCT 4
3:00 PM: Sholom Sprouts Sukkot Virtual Scavenger Hunt!
We celebrate Sukkot to give thanks for the fall harvest. Meaning “booth,” a sukkah is a small outdoor hut built in our backyards, terraces, synagogues, and neighborhoods decorated with fruits and flowers. It is a place where we share our meals with family and friends. In fact, it is considered a mitzvah to enjoy this festival in the sukkah.
Torah tells us “to take the fruit of a beautiful tree” during Sukkot. The etrog is a citron, a fragrant fruit with a thick, white rind that ripens to a very bright yellow. Although bitter, it has a very strong citrus fragrance. The lulav is a combination of the date palm, willow, and myrtle held together by the woven palm branch. As we recite blessings over them, we wave the lulav in six directions (north, south, east, west, up, and down) to symbolize that God can be found everywhere.
The sukkah is also a reminder of the Israelites who lived in huts during the 40 years wandering in the desert after receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai. Thus, the end of Sukkot marks the beginning of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, the festival of rejoicing in the Torah.
Resources
- Family Activities including flower chains, glitter webs, and paper lanterns to decorate your Sukkah.
- Rabbi Sari Laufer teaches us how to say the blessings and shake the lulav.
- Recipe for a delicious Sukkot Pumpkin with Spiced Coconut Custard
- BimBam’s Lego Sukkot Video
SHEMINI ATZERET AND SIMCHAT TORAH │ FRI, OCT 9 – SAT, OCT 10
FRI, OCT 9
6:00 PM: Erev Shabbat/Simchat Torah Service with Kohenet Aliza Rivka and Torah of movement and prayer.
7:10 PM: So You Think You Can’t Dance? A Simchat Torah celebration with Kohenet Aliza Rivka
SAT, OCT 10
9:00 AM: Sholom Sprouts Singin’ Swingin’ Shabbat—Simchat Torah Celebration
10:15 AM: Simchat Torah Shabbat Chapel Service followed by Yizkor
Torah is the mysterious bridge which connects the Jew and God, across which they interact and communicate, and in which God fulfills His covenant with His people to sustain them and protect them.”
—Emanuel Feldman, Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation Beth Jacob, Atlanta, GA
A time of reflection and a celebration of Torah. Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah mark the end of the High Holy Days when we may simply acknowledge our fervent prayers and our relationship with God. The message that Simchat Torah conveys is how important Torah is in our Jewish lives, as a source of Jewish identity and the gift we received from God.
An enduring tradition, we take the Torah scrolls out of the ark on Simchat Torah to celebrate with much joy the completion and new beginning of the annual Torah reading cycle. Although this year we will not be dancing together with the scrolls in our arms, we can rejoice at being able to celebrate together as a united CRS family having just shared our High Holy Days in impassioned prayer and reflection. May this serve as our foundation during this time for us to go from strength to strength.
Resources
- Make Candy Torah Scrolls and Edible Torah Treats
- A Simchat Torah Prayer
