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Virtual Sukkot Box
Your Virtual Sukkot Box holds hand-picked resources for celebrating Sukkot with all of your senses. (Sukkot falls on October 2-9, 2020).
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:
