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Virtual Sukkot Box
Your Virtual Sukkot/Sh’mini Atzeret/Simhat Torah Box holds many resources to help you celebrate the festival. Choose what nurtures you. Listen, watch, or read. (September 20-29)
Read: Psalm for Sukkot
In her poem, Martha Hurwitz addresses some of the struggles this overly- stressed year brings into our sukkah. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: ‘Modim Anachnu Lach’
Sukkot is a special time for thanksgiving. In this setting, David Lefkowich uses the traditional words modim anachnu lach as a refrain between many sentiments of things we appreciate. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Read: Sukkot – Yom Kippur’s Counterbalance
Rabbi Michael Cohen teaches that “Sukkot comes along to remind us that the goal of Judaism is not that we should only sit in the synagogue, but that we must build a joyful and holy world with “‘the labor of our hands’ ” (Psalms 90:17). Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Watch/Listen: ‘Achat Sha’alti’ (Psalm 27)
With the close of the season of t’shuvah, we recite Psalm 27 for the last time. This rendition is by David Alon Friedman and performed by the combined choirs of West End Synagogue (New York, N.Y.) and Mosaic Law Congregation (Sacramento, Calif.A); Conductor: Brian Kreiswirth; Pianist: David Friedman. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Achat Sha'alti - David Alon Friedman - SATB+Piano from David Friedman on Vimeo.
Read: ‘Ushpizin: Come on in ... ’
What Dr. Lori Lefkowitz loves about the Sukkot tradition of inviting ushpizin (holy guests) into our sukkahot is that “the reminder that historical time may be linear, but, from a cosmic point of view, there is no timeline.” Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: For a World of Radical Belonging
Devon Spier reflects on the practice of ushpizin and offers this poem as a “sukkah blessing for the world still here and the world we are building.” Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: Hoshanot: Prayers for Redemption
Each day of Sukkot, we cry out for the world’s redemption as we process around the Torah and wave our lulavim. Rabbi Ezra Weinberg composed these Hoshanot prayers based upon the first official statement from Occupy Wall Street. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: ‘Ner Adonai’
“Ner Adonay nishmat adam hofayts kol-hadray-vaten; My soul is the flame of God that searches the inner chambers.” This line from Proverbs 20:27, set and chanted by Gayanne Geurin, is a fitting meditation for Yizkor, which is recited on Sh’mini Atzeret. Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: Women’s Torah Reading Song for Simchat Torah
This song was written by the Metro Detroit Womens Simchat Torah Project for a women'’s Torah reading on Simchat Torah, based on the traditional Chatan Torah poem. Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: ‘How to Build a Sukkah’
This poem, by Eve Lyons, captures the emotions as well as the technicality of putting up a sukkah. Sourced from Ritualwell
Read: Communal Exhaustion and the Gift of Sukkot
Rabbi Ariana Katz teaches us that after almost two months of rising to the challenge of repentance and renewal, and granting second chances to each other and ourselves, we get a second to sit down, eat, sing and even sleep. Sourced from Ritualwell
Listen: Even Ma’asu (Psalm 118:22)
This piece, composed by Solomon Hoffman, a student at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, sets a text from the Hallel, which is joyously recited each morning of the festival. Sourced from Reconstructing Judaism
Listen: Waterfalls and Abundance
Sukkot is a time to appreciate all that we have. In the days of the Temple, it was joyously celebrated with a ceremony of exuberant water-pouring. Rosa Blumenfeld’s meditation recalls these ancient themes. Sourced from Reset. For more practices, sign up for Harvesting Resilience: 30 Days of Spiritual Practice Before the Election. Receive a daily 5-minute practice to nourish your heart, mind and spirit. Register here!
Read: Climate Crisis Hoshanot With the Words of Greta Thunberg
During Sukkot services, we perform hoshanot, circling the sanctuary and waving our lulavim while crying “hoshana’na, save us!” Recognizing the environmental connections, Rabbi Ezra Weinberg shares hoshanot for the climate crisis. Sourced from Ritualwell
Watch: Justice, Judaism and Holiness
Rabbi Sid Schwarz, founding rabbi of Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation in Bethesda, Md. asks the provocative question: “What is the purpose of Judaism?” His answer to that question is based on his book Judaism and Justice: The Jewish Passion to Repair the World. Sourced from ReconstructingJudaism.org
Watch: Awareness in Action: How Jewish Practice Can Help Us Be a Mensch
On the High Holy Days we renew our aspirations to avoid the missteps of the past year, and to do better in the year ahead. Rabbi Marc Margolius describes how integrating mindfulness with core middot (innate spiritual/ethical traits) can help us to "catch ourselves" before we act or speak unwisely, and to come closer to our better selves. Sourced from Recon Connect Beit Midrash
These resources were drawn from:
