Yomtov ends in London on Sunday at 7.01pm
| Succot - The time to refocus on our own needs | Rabbi Stanley Coten |
| Leishev BaSukkah | Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis |
| Spend an evening with The Chief Rabbi | |
| Miqveh Yisrael | Simon Goulden |
| Riddle of the Week | Alan Capper & Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis |
Every seven years, in the year after the Shemittah on the first day of Chol Hamo'ed Succot, everyone, including the young children, came together to hear the King of Israel read sections of The Book of Devarim. The Sefer Hachinuch suggests that the reason for this ceremony of Hakhel was to stress the centrality of Torah in our personal and national lives. Such a throng would lead to a commitment of renewed enthusiasm to study Torah by the whole nation.
The Talmud explains that this Mitzvah would also highlight the centrality of the family in Torah study and in transmitting Torah values to a new generation.
Why, though, is it Succot which has been chosen to highlight the fundamentals of Judaism - the importance of the Torah and the primacy of the family? Perhaps such a message would be more appropriate to another occasion in the Jewish year, for example Shavuot, the anniversary of the Giving of the Torah on Sinai.
One of the names for the Jewish people is Yeshurun. This name means 'straightforward'. On Simchat Torah, we read the verse from Devarim (33:5) which states: "He became a king in Yeshurun when the leaders of the nation gathered _the tribes of Israel in unity". The Sefat Emet reflects upon Israel's mission to the nations of the world. By highlighting an upright lifestyle in an unjust world, one day the Jewish people will merit seeing everyone adopt their ways. However, the verse also suggests that the tribes of Israel will be in unity. How do we go about achieving this very elusive unity? The answer can be found in the previous verse: 'Moses commanded us in the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob.'
The Torah should be the unifying force of the Jewish people. Whatever our differences, we all share the common gift of the Torah. Even the most unlearned Jew has a share in the Torah, comments the Sefat Emet. A focus on Torah knowledge can help us to bring light to the nations. However, what can happen too often is that while we busy ourselves with the universalistic message of the Torah, we may be falling short on the obligation to teach Torah to our own. We give others to drink from our wisdom, but our very own families are thirsty.
The Talmud has a story of Reb Nechonia who used to dig wells and trenches so that thousands of Jews who had made the pilgrimage to the Temple before the festivals would have water to drink. Yet his only son died from thirst. This phenomenon is echoed many times. We dig wells for the people of the world to benefit from the teachers of our Torah. You will find our Psalms in the houses of worship of so many peoples. Our concept of law has helped to influence the law of so many countries. Our social doctrine inspires the most liberal of states. Our prophets' demands for social justice are read with interest the world over. Our Hebrew tongue and its Biblical expressions have impacted upon the literature of western civilisation. Just think of the number of names in use today which are from the Tenach. Yet our own children often do not wish to drink from these wells _they end up suffering from thirst.
The Torah commands us: You shall dwell in booths for seven days (Vayikra 23:42). "Dwelling" implies living in every respect. Ideally, therefore, one should inhabit one’s sukkah as one would one’s home. We consequently maximize our sukkah dwelling experience through eating, drinking, sleeping and studying in this special booth.
While acknowledging the significance of observing this precept in its ideal form, and appreciating the infusion of spirituality that accompanies it, we adopt a pragmatic, commonsense approach to conditions which challenge its observance. We would surely not stay in our homes if there was water dripping through the roof onto our heads. As the sukkah becomes one’s "home" for the festival, one is similarly not expected to sleep in the booth when it is raining or simply too cold to go out. One is likewise exempt from eating one’s meals in the sukkah when inclement weather makes this task unbearable.
If necessary, we make an exception on the first night. Our Sages draw a parallel between Pesach and Sukkot: Both festivals fall on the 15th day of the month. This shared full-moon timing gives rise to another similarity. On Pesach it is halachically imperative to eat matzah on the first night, as it says: "On that night you must eat matzot" (Shemot 12:18). Similarly, it is incumbent upon us to have a meal in the sukkah on the first night, regardless of circumstances. So, if there is no sign of rain subsiding, one enters the sukkah to make Kiddush and, after washing, has a kezayit, (size of an olive), of bread to eat there, following which the rest of the meal can be consumed indoors.
In the same way as one occasionally has a bite outside one’s home, so may one have a drink, some fruit or a light snack outside the sukkah. When eating a set meal with food made from the five types of grain, i.e. wheat, barley, rye, spelt, oats, one is required to eat in a sukkah. According to the Magen Avraham, even when eating food from these grains as a snack, a sukkah should be used. Generally speaking, it is praiseworthy for one to be particular to eat every morsel and drink every drop in a sukkah throughout the festival
London School of Jewish Studies (LSJS) in partnership with the Yoni Jesner Foundation present the first of the Yoni Jesner Conversations.
The Chief Rabbi will hold a dialogue with Natan Sharansky MK, former Russian dissident and Minister for Jerusalem and Diaspora Affairs, chaired by Joshua Rozenberg, at 7.15pm Sunday 2nd November 2003 at St. Johns Wood United Synagogue.
The LSJS is a dynamic centre of academic study and lifelong learning committed to providing creative and informative educational programmes for the Anglo-Jewish community.
Yoni Jesner, 19, of Glasgow, was killed in a suicide bombing in Tel-Aviv on 19 September 2002. Yoni was a committed Jew and passionate Zionist deeply involved in education and leadership throughout the Jewish community. It is these aspects of Yoni's life that the Yoni Jesner Foundation wishes to reflect in its projects. The Foundation aims to provide scholarships for students studying in the UK and Israel, promote dialogue on contemporary issues facing Jewish people today and create dynamic educational programmes. Through these projects the Foundation will perpetuate Yoni's memory and continue the vital work to which Yoni devoted his short life. Proceeds from this event will go to the Yoni Jesner Foundation.
Early fee: £13, after 24th October £18.
To book your place send a cheque payable to "Yoni Jesner Foundation" to LSJS, Schaller House, 44a Albert Road, London NW4 2SJ. For more information call Marilyn on 020 8203 6427 or email
by Simon Goulden, Agency for Jewish Education
Old but still attractive - Miqveh Yisrael
As you race along the Ayalon Highway, Route 1, between Ganot and Kibbutz Galuyot interchanges, try to cast your eyes (safely, of course) south towards Holon. Here you will find one of Israel's hidden gems, now the Mikveh Yisrael - Vinik College of Agricultural Technology, but originally just Mikveh Yisrael. This was the very first modern Jewish agricultural settlement in the country, set up in 1870 by Karl Netter, an Alsatian Jew, on behalf of the Alliance Israelite Universelle, broadly the French equivalent of the Board of Deputies. Not surprisingly there was early friction between Netter and the Zionist leadership as the school insisted on French as the language of instruction, but these little local difficulties were overcome in time and it is sobering to think that on this spot in 1898, Theodore Herzl met Kaiser Wilhelm II !
Much later on, during the War of Independence, the Davidka' mortar was manufactured here in great secrecy. In reality it was just a large pipe and made more noise than the size of shell it fired deserved, but it seemed to have the required effect nonetheless. Some of the specimen trees are as old as the settlement itself, especially the Bengali Sycamore, with its hanging roots and multiple trunks, all actually one single tree. The highlight of any visit will be the botanical garden to the east of the site, originally planted in 1930. Now, with nearly fifteen hundred species and genera of foliage, medicinal, climbing and hedging trees and plants, this backwater in the heart of bustling Holon is just amazing.
You reach Mikveh Yisrael by turning south at Tzomet Holon on Route 44, onto Levi Eshkol Avenue. Turn left at Kikar HaLochamim and follow Qugel Avenue to the traffic lights at the southern entrance to the site.
Last week's questions:
1) set by Michael Dean of Stanmore Synagogue.
What is invalid if it is too big and invalid if it is too small and also invalid if it is both at the same time?
Answer:
A succah
It must not be higher than 20 cubits (approx.30 feet), nor smaller than 4 x 4handbreadths (wide and deep).
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE - set by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
On what occasions in our history was the beracha prior to blowing the Shofar "litkoah bashofar" (to blow the shofar) and not "lishmoa kol shofar" (to hear the sound of the shofar)?
Answer:
When the shofar was blown on a Jubilee year.
This mitzvah is for the shofar to be blown, whereas on Rosh Hashana the mitzvah is for it to be heard.
This week's question:
1) set by Alan Capper of Pinner.
Which Haftarah is printed twice in the Hertz Chumash but is only ever read once a year?
2) EXTRA CHALLENGE set by Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis.
According to the Rambam, which verses of the Torah may be read publicly in Synagogue during a service with no minyan, without there being any extenuating circumstances?
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