Unlike our other holidays, the holiday of Sukkot does not celebrate a particular historical event at a particular moment in time. Rather it…
Shmini Atzeret: A Dual Holiday
The Jewish holidays have two distinct themes. The shalosh regalim, three pilgrim festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, occurring at key…
Shmini Atzeret: Election Day
Tomorrow is Shmini Atzeret. It is also Election Day in Canada. While that is no doubt unfortunate for (observant) Jews, these days, Election Day is a…
Hoshana Rabbah: Water Falls
"On the Yom Tov of the last day, we read 'Kol Habechor, every first born'" (Devarim 15:19, Megillah 31a). Finding an appropriate Torah reading for…
Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah: Peace, Faith, and Learning
The 14th-century legal code, the Arba Turim, the Four Rows, begins the laws of Sukkot by noting that when one sits in a sukkah, one must be cognizant…