8th Assembly and Joy of the Torah

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Joshua Heschel,  teaching future rabbis.

"Sooner or later in the life of every Jew, 

there comes a moment when they are hit

 by a barely understood concept: 

that they are a Jew. 

Sometimes this seems like a mystical act."

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BLAIR BLIECHMAN'S  HOMEWORK PROBLEM

GESHEM: THREE STYLES OF PRAYER  FOR A CRUCIAL GIFT FROM GOD

HAKAFOT:  DANCE, DANCE, TORAH, DANCE!

What you need to know about . . . Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah

 

Things about Shemini Atzeret, a.k.a. Simchat Torah

·       It is a holiday commanded by the Torah.  It’s sort of part of Sukkot, but sort of its own holiday. It is the last Jewish holiday of the season. 

·       Shmini Atzeret is two days long outside of Israel.  The second day is called Simchat Torah.

·       There is no more lulav and etrog waving once the holiday begins.

·        Though we can  eat in the Sukkah, we no longer say the blessing for sitting in the sukkah.

·       Both days are celebrated with lighting of candles at sundown.

·       Both days are celebrated with festive meals with family and friends.

·       The Torah says we should not work on this festival.

The first day is Shemini Atzeret, when in synagogue…

·       Yizor, the special prayers remembering those who have died are said. This includes Kaddish Yatom.

·       There is a special prayer for rain (Geshem) said during Musaf. When a cantor chants Geshem, they often wear a white robe called a Kittel (just like on Yom Kippur) because this prayer is so serious and so important.

·       We Say Hallel.

·       We read Torah and Haftorah.

·       From now through Pesach, there will be a short line in the Amidah every day, asking God to provide rain: Mashiv Haruach Umorid Hagashem. We wait until this day to say this prayer because we don’t want it to rain until we’re done sitting in the sukkah.

 

The second day is Simchat Torah when in synagogue….

·       The atmosphere is one of fun and celebration, and things get a little silly.  Prayers are often sung  to pop music tunes (Think the Beatles, music from “Frozen”, etc)

·       The end of the Torah is read, as is the start.

·       There is food and drink  (but usually not in the Sanctuary itself)

·       People play (simple) pranks on each other.

·       Every Torah scroll is taken from the ark. People dance with the scrolls and around the scrolls in a series of seven processions known as Hakafot.  At least one usually breaks out into the halls or even outside.

·       Everyone of Bnei Mitzvah age gets an aliyah.

·       Young Children are given flags to wave, and all kids under BM age get an aliyah together under a Chuppah!

·       A special honor is to be  a Chattan/Kallah  (Groom or Bride) Torah at Night

and a Chattan/Kallat Beresheet  during the day.  Anshe Emet gives this honor people who have been active and helpful in the community in numerous ways.

Kohelet, Hallel, Hoshanot: The Liturgy of Sukkot

 

HEEEEEEBREW!

1.      Names of the Vowels

2.      https://www.learnhebrewpod.com/vocabularies/13/vegetables

3.      Numbers

4.      https://youtu.be/FAwMzJBJqEk?si=hynvdrYs7-F6GN5N

5.      The chant!

6.      https://www.studystack.com/picmatch-3369632

AES RS OCT 07 2024

not the average lulav

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eBQG0HeeA2k

   What to love and hate about this video

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/K9lYjW_Tnjs

hoshanot: not complicated music, but a parade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oafdAVed3E

Start at 125pm

Kohelet

Turn turn Turn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3xgcmIS3YU

Kohelet—why on Sukkot?

What kohelet sounds like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7I_32I_jwnc

 

 

 

 

Hallel Made Simple

HALLEL IS six of our ancestor’s prayers known as Teheilim/Psalms (113–118), which are recited as a unit in Synagouge in the morning, on joyous occasions including the Three Pilgrimage Festivals mentioned in the Torah, Passover (Pesach), Shavuot, and Sukkot, as well as at Hanukkah and Rosh Chodesh (beginning of the new month). It is also recited in the Passover seder,  the first two psalms before the 2^nd cup of wine and the rest after Birkat Hamazon.

Most of it is sung to happy melodies.

Here’s one Psalm that is part of Hallel in Haggadah- Psalm #114,  “Bitzeyt Yisrael /Mah lecha Hayam”. 

Listen to how it is sung from a bunch of different eras and communities.  Think of three words you would use to describe each one.

1.           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN8bCwhIyFw

2.           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5UbEMO2Fwo

3.           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L48-yy-eZPU  at 2:12

4.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kYL9pDNwYc

5.           https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFrbPMzeBd8

 

 

 

 

 

1.   True or False: Sukkot is one of the four great festivals of the year.

 

2.  True or False: The Hebrew word for holiday—“Chag”, actually means pilgrimage.

 

3.  True or False: Sukkot commemorates the Exodus from Egypt

 

4.  True or False : On Sukkot, ancestors are symbolically invited into the Sukkah in a ceremony called  Tachanun

 

5.  Frue or Talse: The prayers said during the Sukkot processions are called Hoshanot.

 

6.  True or False: Sukkot is also called  HeHag - the holiday

 

7.  True or False: Sukkot is also called  Zman Simchatenu - season of our joy

 

8. True or False:  Sukkot is also called Zman Ha’Flotzim

 

9.  True or False: Sukkot is also called Hag Ha'Asif - the harvest holiday

 

 

10.                 True or False:   It is a requirement for a Sukkah to have no electrical wiring.

 

11.                   True or False: The 'four species' we wave on Sukkot are:  palm, myrtle, cytron, willow.

 

12.                 True or false: The central commandment of Sukkot is 'leshev b'sukkah.' This means to decorate the sukkah.

 

What you need to know about . . . Sukkot and its observances

 

Things about the holiday

·      It is a holiday commanded by the Torah.

·      It is seven days long.

·      We are commanded to dwell in the sukkah for all those days.  This includes eating all our regular meals and sleeping in the sukkah (when possible).

·      Outside of Israel,  the first two days are Yom Tov-  Festival days where the Torah prohibits work

·      The remaining days are “Chol-Hamoed”,  when we work but still dwell in the sukkah and say special prayers at home and at Synagogue.

·      On Chol-Hamoed Sukkot, some or all of the biblical book Kohelet  (Ecclesiastes in English) is read before Torah reading.  There are a number of reasons we read this work at this time of year, in particular because it helps us focus on being thankful for the good things we  have.

 

Things  about the Sukkah

·      There is a maximum and minimum height.

·      There is a minimum number of sides.

·      There is a reason for that rule.

·      There is an exception to that rule.

·      The Sukkah may not be permanent- parts of it can be, but not all.

·      The Sukkah is covered in  a roof of Schach,  which must provide more shade than sun. It must be from plants (wood, branches, blossoms or leaves)

·      The Sukkah teaches us many lessons- to remember the homeless, to be in tune with the season, to act as our ancestors did, to be open to guests,  and more…. 

·       

Things about the Lulav and Etrog

·      It has four species of plants:

o  Citrus medica – citron-etrog

o  Myrtus communis- myrtle- hadas

o  Salix acmophylla Boiss - willow-  arava

o  Phoenix dactylifera - lulav-  palm frond

·      Each species  has simanim-  signs to properly identify the four species.

·      You can not use a lulav, etrog,  hadas or aravah if you stole them..

·      The are taken (and waved about)  every day except Shabbat.

·      There are many symbolic meanings assigned to the set,  e.g. Parts of the body (heart, spine, eyes, ears),  parts of the Jewish people,  types of people.

 

Prayers Added during Sukkot

1.             Hoshanot

2.   Hallel

3.   Ya’aleh V’yavo

4.   Musaf

 

 

Turn, Turn, Turn

The song’s words are a text of the Hebrew Bible,  adopted and set to music  by folk legend Pete Seeger.

 When covered by the Folk/Rock band “The Byrds”, the song shot up the chards, reaching #1 on December 4^th, 1965.

 

 

 Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), Chapter 3: 1-8

 

 

The words of Kohelet son of David, king in Jerusalem.

Hevel Hevelim!—said Koheleth—

Hevel Hevelim!  Everything is hevel!

What real value is there for a person

In all the gains one makes beneath the sun?

One generation goes, another comes,

But the earth remains the same forever.

The sun rises, and the sun sets—

And glides back to where it rises.

Southward blowing,

Turning northward,

Ever turning blows the wind;

On its rounds the wind returns.

All streams flow into the sea,

Yet the sea is never full;

To the place [from] which they flow

The streams flow back again.

Only that shall happen

Which has happened,

Only that occur

Which has occurred;

There is nothing new

Beneath the sun!

Sometimes there is a phenomenon of which they say, “Look, this one is new!”—it occurred long since, in ages that went by before us.

 

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There is nothing worthwhile for a man but to eat and drink and afford himself enjoyment with his means. And even that, I noted, comes from God.

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A season is set for everything, a time for every experience under heaven:

A time for being born and a time for dying,

A time for planting and a time for uprooting the planted;

A time for slaying and a time for healing,

A time for tearing down and a time for building up;

A time for weeping and a time for laughing,

A time for wailing and a time for dancing;

A time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,

A time for embracing and a time for shunning embraces;

A time for seeking and a time for losing,

A time for keeping and a time for discarding;

A time for ripping and a time for sewing,

A time for silence and a time for speaking;

A time for loving and a time for hating;

A time for war and a time for peace.

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 Kohe-what?  Or is this book so rarely studied because it’s so hard to spell?   L

What is this about casting away stones?

 

If you could add a pair of ideas, what would that be? (In other words, what do you think is missing?)

 

And do you think there is there a pattern or structure to these pairs?

 

In your own words, what is the life advice of the author?

 

Why do we read this book on Sukkot?

The Tenth of Tishrei and the Seventh of October.

Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Twice Prime Minister. 

Only UK PM born Jewish. 

In 1835 Daniel O’Connell, the Irish Roman Catholic leader, attacked Benjamin Disraeli  in the House of Commons. In the course of his unrestrained invective (insulting speech), he insultingly referred to Disraeli’s Jewish ancestry. Disraeli replied, "Yes, I am a Jew, and while the ancestors of the right honorable gentleman were brutal savages in an unknown island, mine were priests in the temple of Solomon."

https://www.humansoftelaviv.co.il/humans-of-israel-7th-of-october/

The great teacher Bar Yochai once taught this story:

A group of people were travelling in a boat. One of them took a drill and began to drill a hole beneath his seat. His companions said to him: "Why are you doing this?" Replied the man: "Mind your own business! I’m only drilling under my own seat, okay?" They said to him: "But you will flood the boat for us all!"  

(Vayikra Rabbah 4:6).

So it is with the Jewish people, taught Shimon Bar Yohchai.  Kol Yisrael Arevim Zeh Bazeh. Every Jew is  for liable for one other,  for we are all in the same boat.

            https://anschechesed.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/KiAnuAmechaWords.pdf

Ki Anu Amecha

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLI6yVKB5OI

Mar'eh Koheyn-- They prayer they tried to keep out-  but could not! 

     https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/sites/default/files/MLS%20MarehKohen.pdf 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMtk0Di7qok

           

1)    Yom kippur means  a day like Puirm.

 

2)    On Yom kippur, we can only  eat special foods that must be kosher.

 

3)    We blow the shofar 100 times on Yom kippur

 

4)    Yom Kippur starts out with  the Kol Nidre prayer.

 

5)    Sins you commit against other people are forgiven on Yom kippur automatically.

 

6)    The Yom Kippur fast lasts from sunrise to sunrise.

 

7)    You shouldn’t wear leather shoes on YK,  but  cologne, perfume, and other fragrances are allowed. 

 

8)    Conservative Judaism says you don’t have to fast as an adult unless you choose to; only the Orthodox say every adult has to fast.

 

9)    We add a musaf service to Yom kippur prayers.

 

10)                    Neilah is a special prayer for Yom kippur

 

11)                    On the afternoon of Yom Kippur, Jews traditionally read the entire  book of Jonah.

 

12)                    The haftorah reading on yom kippur talks about taking the homeless into your home as a way to atone.

 

13)                    People wear their tallit all day on Yom Kippur.

 

TEN THINGS YOU CAN DO TO INSURE YOU WILL

 GET LITTLE OR NOTHING OUT OF YOM KIPPUR  SERVICES AT ANSHE EMET

(OR ANYWHERE ELSE FOR THAT MATTER)

 

1)     Come in with a bad attitude, such as “this will be sooooo boring.” If that’s the way you feel when come in, it’s a good bet that’s  how it will feel the whole time.

 

2)     Make sure you don’t know even the most baseic outline of a synagogue service. That way you can always be lost during the service and stay bored even during the most common parts of Judaism’s prayers.

 

3)     Don’t bother thinking about Yom Kippur for ten days before it arrives.  The “Ten Days of Repentence”  that lead into Yom Kippur could make the day quite meaningful, so don’t think about Jewish things or how to be a better person for the duration of them.

 

4)     Avoid looking at a machzor in advance and absolutley don't have one to use at home. This will also help you not be able to follow along making it easier to think the whole thing is a waste of time.

 

5)     Judge services by comparing them to a trip to a ninja course or water park, and not to a spiritual effort that is hard work.   Don’t compare it to learning or perfecting a skill,  like playing in an orchestra or  having a part in play. That way you can complain that the services were not any fun.

 

6)     Make sure you and your parents don’t ever talk about what the holiday means to them and why they think you should attend.  And don’t ask them what they hope to gain by attending services. That could also make the day more meaningful, so don't do that. 

 

7)     Do not search YouTube before Yom Kippur to hear some of the remarkable musical elements  and styles of the high holidays. That way,  you can’t sing along or participate better with the community. What kind of nerd sings along in synagogue? Besides, YouTube  is too hard to use for Jewish stuff, everyone knows that. 

 

8)     Don’t learn the special prayers for Yom Kippur.  That could also lead to participation, meaning, or enjoyment.

 

9)     Refuse to pay attention to the rabbi’s talk. Refuse to enjoy the chazzan’s davening.  They work for weeks and months to make this day special.  These things might move you or change you if you pay attention.

 

10)   Don’t get ready for the day by apologizing in advance to those you have insulted, gossiped about, lied about, lied to,  spread rumors about, stole from,  hit, hurt, belittled, betrayed,  or bullied. That would be getting ready for Yom Kippur, and you can’t have that.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UBvHxggM0Y