Shabbat Chol HaMoed Sukkot Chol HaMoed Day 4 October 14, 2022 – 20 Tishrei 5783 Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach

Dear Friends,

I look forward to seeing you tonight at our RST dinner in the Sukkah, with the building of the edible Sukkah by the Religious School students!  Such fun for all!

We will all be invited for Kiddush and Motzi in the Sukkah (even if we are not staying for dinner).  We will all be able to participate in the custom of “ushpizin” (inviting ancestral and present day guests into our Sukkah).

Following this Shabbat, we will be gathering to celebrate Shmini Atzeret (and recite Yizkor) on Monday morning.  Shmini Atzeret is God’s way of saying to us: Stay another day!  Sukkot has ended a very intense period of holidays.  But Shmini Atzeret allows us to linger in celebration with God for just a little while longer!

Monday evening, we will gather once again at RST for our Simchat Torah (Rejoicing with the Torah) service with the singing and dancing of Hakafot.  And on Tuesday morning, we will be reading the Torah in a very special way….Group aliyot, except for three specific aliyot: the aliyah that marks the conclusion of the reading of the entire Five Books of Moses; the aliyah that marks the immediate return to the beginning of the Torah; and the Maftir aliyah!  Hakafot for all!  Lots of fun again!

Join us on Shabbat in the Sukkah!  Join us to linger a bit longer with God on Shmini Atzeret on Monday morning!  And finally, join us to celebrate the culmination of our holidays on Simchat Torah, on Monday evening and on Tuesday morning!!!!

Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach!

Rabbi Gilah Dror