Sunday, May 25th 2025   |

Succot

How ‘Gaza solidarity sukkahs’ became a flashpoint for debates about anti-Zionist Jewish observance

By ANDREW LAPIN

(JTA) — Last week the Brooklyn rabbi Andrue Kahn received a request from a group of Jewish students at New York University: Would he come to lead prayers at their sukkah?

It wasn’t an unusual request for...

We bought the viral Amazon ‘tuchus’ boxes for Sukkot. What does that say about us?

By PHILISSA CRAMER

(JTA) — The brightly colored “Sukkot boxes” offered up on Amazon boasted the colors of spring, not fall; had no ostensible use for the Jewish holiday; and contained a Hebrew misspelling that bordered on obscene.

Reader, I...

Ushpizin

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER

One of the distinctive elements of Succot observance is “Ushpizin” – the nightly, formulaic invitation to historic characters to “join us” in our Succah as esteemed and honored guests. Typically, guests include: Abraham Isaac, Jacob,...

Rav-Elations!: Succot Is Over…For Some

By RABBI DAVID GERBER

Succot is clearly defined by the Torah as a seven day observance. Following Succot is Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. When these occur, however, depends on where you are. Shemini Atzeret literally means “the eighth day...

Succot turns New York City into a playground for local Jews

(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — On Monday, the Behfar family of Midwood hosted friends in their backyard, went out for ice cream and met up with friends again, this time for a barbecue and cocktails. On Tuesday, the...

Israeli minister holds Succot prayer service in Saudi Arabia amid warming ties

By BEN SALES

(JTA) — Israeli Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi held a Succot prayer service in Riyadh on Tuesday, a sign of warming ties as Israel and Saudi Arabia move toward establishing diplomatic relations.

A video and photos of the Orthodox...

Flash floods put a dangerous damper on the first night of Succot in NYC

By BEN SALES

(New York Jewish Week via JTA) — Mark Vogel, who lives in Riverdale and runs a website about Jewish and kosher travel, spoke for many of his neighbors when he posted a video on Instagram of his...

In Chicago, a Black-led church and a Jewish community are addressing painful history through a Succot festival

By LINDSAY EANET

CHICAGO (JTA) — Earlier this month, 40 people gathered in Chicago’s Lawndale neighborhood to design a succah.

But they hadn’t come together only to build a hut for the upcoming Jewish festival of Succot, which begins on...

THE Festival

By RABBI JOSEPH H. PROUSER

Amid its many definitions and lengthy discussion of the word “the” and its usage, the Oxford English Dictionary states that the definite article may be “Used emphatically, in the sense of ‘the pre-eminent’, ‘the typical’,...

OP-ED: Succot is a holiday of homecoming and homelessness

By RABBI JAMES PONET

(JTA) — What is home? The question sounds like it would best be answered by a children’s book on which each page proclaims a sweet tautology like, “Home is where you feel at home.” There would...