How to assemble an Israeli Succah

25/09/2015 – י״ב בתשרי ה׳תשע״ו – י״ב בתשרי ה׳תשע״ו – 16:59

How to Bind the Lulav Bundle
Guide for Sukkot
The Ushpizin
Holiday Havdalah

Start with laying the poles down

1) Start with laying the poles down

An example of the wall. When you have the walls up wrap the walls with 3 rows of rope on the bottom of the walls.

Isru Chag-Sukkot

Don’t forget to put away all the bags that the Sukkah parts were in. You will need then for Isru Chag-Sukkot.

side poles snap into the columns. Don’t forget the center beam.

2) side poles snap into the columns. Don’t forget the center beam.

The walls slide into the Top and Bottom Rows. Tie the walls to the frame tightly so that the wall will not move in the wind.

3) The walls slide into the Top and Bottom Rows. Tie the walls to the frame tightly so that the wall will not move in the wind.

Next put the Bamboo poles on the top using plastic clips and put the schach on top of the Bamboo poles.

4) Next put the Bamboo poles on the top using plastic clips and put the schach on top of the Bamboo poles.

When you have the walls up wrap the walls with 3 rows of rope on the bottom of the walls.

5) When you have the walls up wrap the walls with 3 rows of rope on the bottom of the walls.

The Succah decorations. You can put up lighting and have Tables, chairs, beds ect.

Safety tips for Sukkot

United Hatzalah emergency medics present safety guidelines for the upcoming Sukkot holiday, to prevent injuries during sukkah-building.
Arutz Sheva Staff, 20September2018 http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/252225

The season for building Sukkot has just begun and United Hatzalah volunteers have already treated dozens of injuries that occurred while people were building Sukkot. The Spokesperson’s department has therefore issued a series of basic safety tips for the holiday.

When building a Sukkah one should always be careful when standing or climbing in high places.

It is recommended to use proper safety gloves so as to avoid injuries to the hands.

Make sure that ladders are stable and being held by a second person.

It is strongly recommended to work in pairs if not larger groups so that one person can ground the ladder properly and call emergency services should an accident occur.

It is imperative to keep all nails, screws and tools away from the reach of small children.

When lighting candles for Shabbat or the holidays, be sure to keep them in a safe location, not near flammable materials, out of the wind, and also out of the reach of small children.

Keep the candles on a special platform that won’t burn such as a metal or glass tray and keep them away from the walls of the Sukkah or any flammable decorations.

Eli Beer, Founder and President of United Hatzalah explained that: “In previous years United Hatzalah volunteers have treated dozens of injuries due to people falling off of ladders during the building and decorating of Sukkahs. Some of these instances, unfortunately, have resulted in fatalities and serious injuries. We ask the public to take extra care this year while building, residing in and taking down their Sukkahs. Our volunteers will be on hand at all times during the holiday to provide care for any and all who need it. We wish you and all of Israel a happy and healthy holiday.”

Cat in Sukkah

Isru Chag-Sukkot

Sukkah Table

Soldier’s Guide To Staying Outdoors

Rivlin’s Sukkah Guests

Charlie the Cat From Nili Architecture http://niliarchitecture.com/

Upon entering the Succah

Torah Tidbits 1291 Sukkot5779 pages 31 guests p1

Torah Tidbits 1291 Sukkot5779 pages 31 guests p2

The Ushpizin

By Yanki Tauber https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4485/jewish/The-Ushpizin.htm

Who and What Are the Ushpizin

“Ushpizin” is Aramaic for “guests,” a reference to the seven supernal guests, “founding fathers” of the Jewish people, who come to visit us in the sukkah (the branch-covered hut in which we eat our meals throughout the festival of Sukkot), one for each of the seven days of the festival:

Day one: Abraham
Day two: Isaac
Day three: Jacob
Day four: Moses
Day five: Aaron
Day six: Joseph
Day seven: David1

Translated into English, the word “ushpizin” loses some of its mystery and otherworldliness. Yet these “guests” are indeed quite mysterious (at least until we learn more about them) and otherworldly (at least until we make them part of ours). We use the Aramaic term because our source of information about these mystical guests is from the Zohar, the fundamental Kabbalistic work written in that mystical language.

Sukkot Guests

Guests are an important part of the Jewish home all year round—there were even Jews who would never partake of a meal in their own home unless there was at least one guest, preferably a needy wayfarer, with whom to share it—but especially on Shabbat, and even more especially on the Jewish festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah, etc.). On the festivals, there is a special mitzvah (divine commandment),

“One who locks the doors of his courtyard, and . . . does not feed the poor and the embittered soul—this is not the joy of a mitzvah, but the joy of his belly . . .”

“You shall rejoice on your festival” (Deuteronomy 16:14), and, our sages explain, the only true joy is shared joy. Indeed, the verse in full reads: “You shall rejoice in your festival—you, your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, the Levite, the stranger, the orphan and the widow who are within your cities.” In the words of Maimonides (Mishneh Torah, Laws of the Festivals 6:18): “When one eats and drinks, one must also feed the stranger, the orphan, the widow and other unfortunate paupers. But one who locks the doors of his courtyard, and eat and drinks with his children and wife but does not feed the poor and the embittered soul—this is not the joy of a mitzvah, but the joy of his belly . . .”

If guests are integral to festival joy, they are even more so to Sukkot. Sukkot is the festival of Jewish unity; in fact, the Talmud states that “it is fitting that all Jews should sit in one sukkah.”2 If this is logistically difficult to arrange, it should, at the very least, be implemented in principle. We cram as many guests as possible into our sukkah, demonstrating that we fully intend to implement the Jewish communal sukkah to the full extent of our ability, each in our own domain. There is even a story told about a certain chassidic master who, because he lacked a guest, the Patriarch Abraham refused to enter his sukkah (why Abraham was there—more on that later).

The Kabbalah of the Ushpizin

And so we come to the ushpizin. As we fill our sukkah with earthly guests, we merit to host seven supernal guests. While all seven ushpizin visit our sukkah on each of the seven nights and days of Sukkot,3 each supernal “guest” is specifically associated with one of the festival’s seven days, and is the “leading” or dominant ushpiza for that night and day.4

The Kabbalists teach that these seven leaders—referred to in our tradition as the “seven shepherds of Israel”—correspond to the seven sefirot, or divine attributes, which categorize G‑d’s relationship with our reality, and which are mirrored in the seven basic components of our character (man having been created “in the image of G‑d”).

Translated into English, the word loses some of its mystery and otherworldliness

As each supernal “guest” graces our sukkah, he empowers us with the particular quality that defines him. This is the deeper reason that they are called the “shepherds of Israel,” for like a shepherd who provides nourishment for his flock, these seven leaders nourish us their spiritual essence: Abraham feeds us love; Isaac, self-discipline; Jacob, harmony and truth; and so on.

And while these seven great souls are our “shepherds” all year round, the seven days of Sukkot are a time when their presence in our lives is more pronounced and revealed. As we enter the “temporary dwelling” of the sukkah, freeing ourselves from the dependence we developed on the material comforts of home and hearth, we are now in a place in which our spiritual self is more revealed and accessible. In this place the ushpizin visit us, empowering us to connect the seven dimensions of our own soul’s “divine image” with its supernal source in the divine sefirot, feeding, nourishing and fortifying our spiritual self for the material year to come.

The seven sefirot, or divine energies, we are fed by the ushpizin are:

Day	Sefirah	Ushpiz
First day	Chessed: the attribute of “Benevolence” or “ Love”	Abraham
Second day	Gevurah: “Restraint” and “Discipline”	Isaac
Third day	Tiferet: “Beauty,” “Harmony” and “Truth”	Jacob
Fourth day	Netzach: “Victory” and “Endurance”	Moses
Fifth day	Hod: ”Splendor” and “Humility”	Aaron
Sixth day	Yesod: “Foundation” and “Connection”	Joseph
Seventh day	Malchut: “Sovereignty,” “Receptiveness” and “Leadership”	David

Chronologically, the order would be: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David; in many communities, the ushpizin are welcomed into the sukkah in the order in which they historically lived upon our earth. However, when aligned with the supernal sefirot (divine attributes) which they embody and represent, Joseph, who represents the sefirah of yesod, follows Aaron, who represents hod.

Talmud, Sukkah 27b.

This can be compared with the fact that each sefirah incorporates within it elements of all seven.

In the Jewish calendar, the day begins at nightfall and extends to the following evening. Thus, Shabbat begins Friday evening at sunset and ends at nightfall on Saturday; the same is the case with the festival. Thus, Abraham is the leading ushpiza for the first night of Sukkot and the day that follows, Isaac graces our sukkah on the second evening of the festival and on the following day, and so on.

By Yanki Tauber
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Torah Tidbits 1291 Sukkot5779 pages 35 lulav

Torah Tidbits 1291 Sukkot5779 pages 2 lulav

How to Bind the Lulav Bundle

Chabad.org Staff https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1019429/jewish/How-to-Bind-the-Lulav-Bundle.htm

In order to beautify the mitzvah, we fasten together the lulav, hadassim and aravot (palm frond, myrtle branches and willow branches). For those who’ve never done it before, binding the lulav can be a bit tricky. In most cases, your Four Kinds vendor will do this for you.

A lulav-leaf holder

Though technically one can bind them together with any material, the custom is to use lulav leaves—thus no foreign substance will separate between the Four Kinds and the hands of the person fulfilling the mitzvah.

There is no single universally followed way of tying the lulav. Different methods are employed in different communities.

aravot-willow

In most communities, the three kinds are bound together by way of a special holder woven of lulav leaves, which slides up the bottom of the lulav and has pockets for the hadassim and aravot. This holder is then securely tied to the lulav with a strip of lulav leaf. The hadassim should be placed in the pocket to the right of the person holding the lulav (as he will be shaking it on Sukkot), and the aravot to the left. The thickish green exterior of the lulav’s spine should be facing the person.

Lulav-leaf rings

Hadassim-myrtle

It is customary to have three lulav-leaf ring ties around the lulav, symbolizing our three Patriarchs. As such, in addition to the ring with which the holder is fastened, (at least) another two rings are fastened around the lulav’s midsection.

Chabad Custom

Chabad custom is to bind the lulav on the day prior to the holiday, while in the sukkah.

In addition, Chabad custom is not to use the woven holders, but rather to tie the hadassim and aravot directly to the bottom of the lulav using three lulav-leaf strips (all bound within the span of one handbreadth):

A lulav bound according to Chabad tradition

A lulav bound according to Chabad tradition. One aravah (willow branch) is placed on the right of the lulav (meaning, to the right of the person holding the lulav, as above) and one on the left. Then, one hadas (myrtle) is placed on the right of the lulav and one on the left (somewhat covering the aravot), and a third hadas is placed in middle—a bit towards the right side. Once these are all in place, they are all bound together with the three lulav strips.

(Many have the custom of using more than three hadassim. In 1991, the Rebbe suggested that everyone use at least six hadassim. The extra hadassim are just added to the mix.)

Then, in addition to the three lulav ties that hold together the three species, another two ties are fastened higher up, around the midsection of the lulav itself—with the lower one covered, at least partially, by the hadassim and aravot.

Notes:

It is important to ensure that the top of the hadassim and aravot end at least one handbreadth (approx. 3.2 inches) beneath the top of the lulav’s spine (i.e., beneath the point where the lulav leaves stop protruding from its sides), so to ensure ample “shaking” area on the lulav’s top. If the hadassim and aravot are too long, they can be trimmed from their bottoms, as long as they remain at least three handbreadths long.
If the lulav has not been bound before the holiday, it should be bound on the first day of the holiday (or the second day, if the first falls on Shabbat), but via slipknots, not regular knots (as it is forbidden to tie a regular knot on the first two days of the holiday).

By Chabad.org Staff
Photos by Chana Lewis.

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Hoshana Raba wish list
Hoshana Raba; May Hashem grant you a wonderful year with all your heart’s wishes for the very best always!

Hoshana Raba; May Hashem grant you a wonderful year with all your heart’s wishes for the very best always!

Guide for Sukkot

“You shall dwell in booths for a seven-day period so that your generations will know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in booths when I took them.”

Breslev Israel staff | Posted on 05September2023 https://breslev.com/259022/

“You shall dwell in booths for a seven-day period…So that your generations will know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in booths when I took them from the land of Egypt.”

Overview of the Holiday

One of the three pilgrimage festivals that the Jewish people were commanded to celebrate each year is Sukkot – the Festival of Booths, which lasts a week from the 15^th to the 21^st of Tishrei (and in the Diaspora until the 22^nd). The first day is a Yom Tov, and the rest of the 7 days are known as the Intermediate Days of the Festival. (A separate Festival –Shemini Atzeret or Simchat Torah – immediately follows Sukkot on the 8^th day, the 22^nd of Tishrei in Israel and on the 23^rd in the Diaspora).

The source in the Torah is in Vayikra (23:34-35,41): “On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Booths, a seven day period for Hashem. On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work…You shall celebrate it as a festival for Hashem, a seven-day period in the year, and eternal decree for your generations; in the seventh month shall you celebrate it.”

Dwelling in the sukkah (booth) is an integral part of the Festival. During the week we spend more time in the sukkah than in our house. It is an uplifting spiritual experience to live in the sukkah, and a quality family time as well.

The Sefer Chinuch (the Book of Education, which explains the 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) according to their Biblical source) writes concerning the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah: “One of the roots of the mitzvah is explicit in the Torah: In order that we should remember the great miracles that G-d made for our forefathers in the desert during the Exodus from Egypt. He surrounded them with the Clouds of Glory so the sun wouldn’t harm them in the day and the frost at night. Some explain that we commemorate the actual booths that the Children of Israel made in the desert.”

Even though the Exodus was in the month of Nissan, we weren’t commanded to make the sukkot in Nissan, because in the balmy days of Nissan farmers are accustomed to leave their homes and enjoy themselves in the shade of booths outdoors. It wouldn’t be so obvious that we are making the sukkah as a mitzvah of Hashem. During Tishrei, however, when the nights are cold and the rainy season is about to begin, farmers return to their homes. When we do the opposite, leaving our homes and dwelling in a sukkah, we are demonstrating that the purpose of the sukkah is the mitzvah of Hashem.

Sukkot falls in the harvest season, a time of plenty, when the farmer brings his produce into his silo. A man naturally feels haughty when he is wealthy, and thinks: “My strength and the might of my hand have made this wealth.” To counteract our tendency to arrogance the Torah commands us to leave our houses filled with the abundance of wealth in the harvest-time and to dwell in a sukkah. All a man needs for happiness is G-d’s protection symbolized by the sechach (the leafy covering over his head in the sukkah); even in the flimsy, temporary booth he can be full of joy in appreciation of what G-d has given him.

The Midrash says: “Why do we build the sukkah after Yom Kippur? Because on Rosh Hashanah G-d judges the entire world, and on Yom Kippur the judgment is sealed. Perhaps the Jewish people are obligated to go into exile? Therefore they make a sukkah and exile themselves from their homes to the sukkah.”

Living in the Sukkah

The sukkah should be made as beautiful as possible. Our Sages said: “Glorify Him with the mitzvot. Make a beautiful sukkah, beautiful lulav, etc. As it says: ‘This is my G-d and I will glorify Him…’” It’s a mitzvah for a person to attend to building the sukkah himself.

The Torah instructs us to live in the sukkah the way one would live in his home. The sukkah becomes his place of residence for the seven days of Sukkot. He should eat all his meals and entertain guests there. One should sleep in the sukkah even if he only needs to nap.

Building the Sukkah

The walls of the sukkah can be built from any material: wood, plastic, metal or stone; it must be sturdy enough to be immovable in an ordinary wind. For this reason, walls made of fabric are problematic and might render the entire sukkah as unkosher.

The Dimensions of a Sukkah

A sukkah has at least three walls. The walls may not be elevated off the ground more than 3 tephachim (24 cm.) so that a small animal can’t crawl inside. The height must be more than 10 tephachim (80 cm.) but less than 20 ama (9.60 meters). The width of the walls must be at least seven tephachim (56 cm.).

Sechach (Leafy “Roof”)

After setting up the walls, one places the sechach (the leafy covering that provides shade) as the roof, using thin, narrow boards, placed horizontally on top of the walls to support it. Many people use tree branches, palm fronds, or bamboo; specially prepared bamboo mats are available. The principal explained in the Oral Law is that the sechach must be something which has the following characteristics:

Grew in the earth
Was completely uprooted or detached from the plant
Was never made into an instrument or vessel (such a table or barrel)
Is not foul-smelling nor whose leaves fall off during Sukkot, because these types of sechach may cause him to leave the Sukkah

A sukkah may not be built under tree branches that make shade over the sukkah. The amount of sechach should be enough that the shade provided by the sechach in the sukkah is more than the sunlight that passes through, but not so much that no stars can be seen at night through the sechach, or that rain could not penetrate

The Four Species (“Arba Minim”)

The Torah states (Vayikra 23): “You shall take for yourselves on the first day the fruit of a citron tree, the branches of date palms, twigs of a plaited tree, and brook willows; and you shall rejoice before Hashem your G-d seven days.”

The Sefer Chinuch (the Book of Education) says:

“One of the roots of this mitzvah is that a man is affected by the actions that he does continuously, his ideas and feelings follow his actions. Because G-d wanted to bring merit to His Chosen People, He gave them many mitzvot so they would be affected beneficially by performing them daily.

“The Festival is a time of joy for the Jewish people, since it’s the harvest season, when they bring the fruits of their labor into the home and people are naturally happy. G-d commanded them to make a Festival at that time, so they will have the merit that their joy and happiness can be dedicated to His Name. Joy may cause a person to be drawn after materialism and forget his fear of Heaven, so the Creator commanded His people to take items in their hands to remind them that all their joy should be dedicated to His Name and His honor. He wanted these reminders to be items that bring joy, just like the time of year, and it is well known that the four species are naturally endowed to bring joy to the heart of man when he gazes upon them.

“Furthermore, the four species resemble precious organs of a human being:

Etrog (citron) – resembles the heart (meaning the mind), which is the place of our intellect, to teach us that one must serve G-d with his intellect.
Lulav (palm branch) – resembles the spine, the main part of a human being, to teach us that a man must focus his entire body to serve G-d.
Leaf of the Hadas (twig of a plaited tree, the myrtle) – is the shape of an eye, to teach us that our eyes should not lead us astray on the day of our joyous Festival.
Leaf of the Arava (brook willow) – is in the shape of the lips, which hint at speech, to teach us that a man should rein in his speech and be careful with what he says even in the time of joy.”

The mitzvah of the four species teaches us that we must seek to bring all the Jewish people closer to their Father in Heaven, no matter how distant they may be. We find in the Midrash that each one of the four species symbolizes a different type of Jew:

The fruit of a beautiful tree – The etrog has both taste and scent – these are the Jews who possess both Torah learning and good deeds.
The branch of the palm tree – The lulav has taste [i.e. the dates] but lacks scent – these are the Jews who posses Torah learning but lack good deeds.
A twig from the plaited tree – The hadas has scent but lacks taste – these are the Jews who have good deeds but lack Torah learning.
Willows of the brook – The arava lacks both taste and scent – these are the Jews who lack both Torah learning and good deeds.

What does G-d do with them? To destroy them is unthinkable. Rather G-d says, ‘Bind them together in one bond and they will atone for each other.’”

The Midrash teaches us that even those that have no taste or scent – neither Torah nor good deeds – must not be distanced; rather we are to bind them together with the species that have a scent so they will absorb the good scent. In this way we must reach out to our estranged brothers and bring them close to the Torah scholars, who have both “taste and scent,” and the scholars will have good influence upon them until they come to resemble the Etrog themselves, possessing Torah and good deeds.

The mitzvah of the four species can only be fulfilled if all the four are held together simultaneously. The Jewish people are the same, even though we are so different from one another, we must always be unified.

“You Shall Rejoice on Your Festival”

On all Holidays we are commanded, “You shall rejoice on your Holiday,” but on Sukkot the joy is doubled and tripled, “And you shall be only joyous.” In our prayers we call the Festival of Sukkot “the time of our rejoicing.” We are enjoined to show our rejoicing by eating meat and drinking wine, wearing fine clothing, dancing, singing and laughter.

On the other Festivals we rejoice because of a specific historical event, such as the Exodus on Pesach or the Giving of the Torah on Shavuot. But on Sukkot, simcha (joy) is the essence of the Festival. Therefore the mitzvah to rejoice on Sukkot is very great. We must rejoice in truth, with all our heart. We rejoice that we have G-d, we’re happy for the connection we have with Him with all our being. We’re happy He cares for us like a father cares for his beloved child.

Ushpizim – Exalted Guests

The Zohar HaKadosh writes: “When the People of Israel leave their homes and enter the sukkah for the sake of G-d’s Name, they merit to welcome the Divine Presence there, and all the seven shepherds descend from Gan Eden and come to the sukkah as their guests.” The seven shepherds include the Patriarchs of the Jewish people who wandered from exile to exile and attained rest only after great toil and travail.

It is customary, upon entering the Sukkah, to invite the ushpizim to enter by reciting the traditional Aramaic formula contained in the prayer book:

First day – Avraham Avinu (the Patriarch)
Second day – Yitzchak Avinu
Third day – Yaakov Avinu
Fourth day – Yosef HaTzaddik (the Righteous)
Fifth day – Moshe Rabbeinu (our Teacher)
Sixth day – Aharon HaKohen (the High Priest)
Seventh day – David HaMelech (The King)

Among the Sephardim, it is customary to prepare an ornate chair in the sukkah, which is covered with a fine cloth and upon which holy books are placed. The host declares: “This is the chair of the ushpizim.”

Since the sukkah is a dwelling for the Divine Presence and the exalted guests, it is proper that one also invite guests of flesh and blood, i.e., poor people, to share one’s meals in the sukkah, to please his Heavenly guests.

The sukkah is the dwelling place of the Divine Presence, so one must be careful not to speak meaningless conversation in the sukkah, certainly, even more so, he must avoid slander and gossip. Rather one should focus on words of Torah. One should behave in a very honorable way in the sukkah so as not to drive away the Divine Presence.

Names of the Festival

The Festival has a number of names:

Harvest Festival – This was the time when the farmers brought their produce in from the fields.
Time of our Rejoicing – The Torah emphasized rejoicing on Sukkot.
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah – The eighth day of the Festival (and the ninth in the Diaspora) is a special Day of Assembly.

The Pilgrimage to Jerusalem

Sukkot is one of the three Festivals in which the Torah commands the People of Israel to go up to Jerusalem, to the Holy Temple, and to offer special sacrifices. The three Festivals are Pesach (Passover), Shavuot, and Sukkot. Today many are accustomed to visit the Western Wall in Jerusalem to commemorate this mitzvah.

The three Pilgrimage Festivals are connected to working the land:

Pesach – Jews brought the Offering of the Omer, from the first ripening barley.
Shavuot – The first ripening of the wheat harvest was offered.
Sukkot – The time of harvest.

Hoshana Raba

The Hoshana prayers are recited in the Synagogue each day of Sukkot as we circle the bima (lectern) holding the lulav and etrog. These prayers are for redemption, and are referred to as Hoshanot because each stanza of the prayer is accompanied by the word “hoshana” – a combination form of the words “hosha” and “na” – bring us salvation, please. The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshana Raba – literally, the great Hoshana, because on this day more Hoshana prayers are recited than any other day in Sukkot.

Hoshana Raba marks the day when the judgment, which begins on Rosh Hashanah, is sealed. At the beginning of the period, on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the entire world passes before G-d in individual judgment. On Sukkot, the world is judged concerning water, fruit, and produce. The seventh day of the Festival, Hoshana Raba, is the day that this judgment is sealed. Because human life depends on water and all depends on the final decision, Hoshana Raba is invested with similarity to Yom Kippur and is marked by intense prayer and repentance.

We find in a Midrash:

G-d said to Avraham: “I am one and you are one. I will grant your descendants one single day on which they can atone for their sins – Hoshana Raba.

The Mateh Moshe explains that G-d told Avraham that should Rosh Hashanah be insufficient to atone for their sins, then Yom Kippur will atone. And if Yom Kippur does not, then Hoshana Raba will.

Why was this promise made specifically to Avraham? Avraham’s light began to illuminate the world after twenty-one generations [counting from Adam]. Similarly, even if Israel’s light is late in shining, it will not be delayed for more than twenty-one days after Rosh Hashanah – i.e., on Hoshana Raba.

The custom is to remain awake all night on Hoshana Raba and to read from a special Tikkun. The essential character of the day is prayer and the awakening of Divine mercy at the time of the sealing of judgment and the issuing of “notes of decision” – the verdicts. This is the source of the custom of wishing one another a pitka tava – Aramaic for a “good note.”

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Arutz Sheva http://www.israelnationalnews.com/

While most people put up sukkahs, police are taking them down

Two sukkahs, at least one of which had engineering permits, dismantled by police in Jerusalem.

Arutz Sheva Staff, 19September2021 https://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/313737

The sukkah in Meah ShearimJerusalem municipality
On Sunday evening, police arrived at the sukkah belonging to Rabbi Yitzhak Meir Morgenstern in Romema, Jerusalem, and informed the owners that it was to be dismantled. Shortly afterward, municipal inspectors arrived at the scene and began the work of dismantling the structure, which, according to Behadrey Haredim, is constructed in a similar fashion every year.

This year, however, police claimed that the sukkah lacked the requisite permits and that it posed a threat to the safety of the public. No objections were raised, and the sukkah was taken apart.

The night before, however, an hours-long standoff resulted after over 200 police officers arrived in the Meah Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem in order to dismantle the sukkah belonging to Rabbi Moshe Bransdorfer. This sukkah, too, has been built in the same fashion for years. It extends from a second-floor apartment and is supported on iron scaffolding, and according to accounts provided to Behadrey Haredim, it had been approved by none less than the Jerusalem Municipality’s own choice of engineer.

Nonetheless, several private individuals and a medical clinic situated near the sukkah complained to police, who in turn claimed that the sukkah was a public hazard.

“The sukkah was built on high scaffolding and posed a real risk to life and property, while harming passersby and the public using the medical center located there, which even filed a complaint to the municipality,” the police stated.

The saga began last Tuesday, when police made their first visit to the sukkah and a spontaneous protest erupted. Eventually, Rabbi Bransdorfer came to an agreement with police and the municipality, according to which the sukkah would be dismantled by his family the next day. Apparently this did not occur, and the municipality then offered an alternative site for the sukkah. The offer was accepted, but then representatives of Rabbi Bransdorfer appealed to the court for a stay of execution of the demolition, which was not granted.

The case was due to be heard in court on Sunday, but police decided to take action on the Saturday night preceding, and arrived in huge numbers, prepared for the fierce protests that indeed erupted.

Police arrived with trucks and cranes, raided the adjacent building, evacuated everyone from the sukkah and the apartment, and then began to demolish the structure.

According to attorney Shreiber, representing Rabbi Bransdorfer’s family, several of the claims made by those demanding the demolition are false, including a claim made by the health clinic that the sukkah blocked access to it, which is blatantly untrue as photographs showed. In addition, the sukkah obtained the approval of two engineers and was built according to the engineers’ instructions, including protective fencing placed around the scaffolding.

“Every single year, engineers inspect the sukkah and the same was true this year,” one source told Behadrey Haredim. “The sukkah complied with the most stringent safety measures. But due to pressure from social media, the municipality decided to issue a demolition order regardless.”

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Holiday Havdalah

By Naftali Silberberg
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/611296/jewish/Holiday-Havdalah.htm

Holiday havdalah can be divided into two categories: 1) Havdalah recited at the conclusion of a holiday. 2) The special havdalah recited on a holiday which falls on Saturday night. Havdalah is made when entering a day of lesser holiness. Since Shabbat is holier than all the holidays, we recite the havdalah when Shabbat leads into a holiday. Following the same logic, havdalah is not recited if a holiday leads into Shabbat.

Havdalah at the Conclusion of a Holiday

Havdalah is only made when entering a day of lesser holiness

Havdalah is recited at the conclusion of the following biblical holidays: Rosh Hashanah; Yom Kippur; the first days of Sukkot; Simchat Torah; Passover, both its first and last days; and Shavuot.

If the final day of the holiday was Shabbat, then the exact same havdalah procedure as a typical Saturday night is followed. If the holiday ended on another weeknight, the procedure is very similar to the Shabbat havdalah, but with some differences:

In some communities, the prefatory verses (from “Hinei E-l” until the wine blessing) are omitted. Many communities, however, including Chabad, do recite these verses.
Spices and a havdalah candle are not used. The exception to this rule is the Yom Kippur havdalah, which includes the blessing on a havdalah candle. The Yom Kippur havdalah candle is kindled from a fire which burnt throughout the holiday, such as a yahrtzeit candle.
The V’yiten lecha prayer is not recited following a holiday, nor is it customary to partake of a Melaveh Malka meal. (The Atah chonantanu insert is included in the post-holiday evening prayer.)
If one forgets to make havdalah following a holiday, it can be recited until sundown of the following day.

Havdalah From Shabbat to a Holiday (“Yaknahaz”)

Whether a holiday begins on a Saturday night or if Saturday night ushers in the second day of a holiday, that night’s holiday kiddush incorporates within itself the havdalah for Shabbat as well.

The whole text of the kiddush/havdalah can be found in your standard or holiday prayer book. The following is the basic procedure:

For the havdalah candle we use the standard holiday candles

The order of the night’s kiddush/havdalah is: 1) The wine blessing. 2) The holiday kiddush blessing. 3) The blessing on the candle. 4) The havdalah blessing — which is different than the standard Shabbat havdalah blessing. 5) The Shehecheyanu blessing (aside for the last days of Passover when it is not recited).
No spices are used.
For the havdalah candle we use the standard holiday candles which are on the table. It is not necessary to conjoin two candles. During this havdalah, many, including Chabad, have the custom to only gaze at the candles after reciting the candle blessing without looking at the fingernails.

Note: There are many activities which are forbidden on Shabbat but permissible on a holiday. All such activities must wait until one verbally “separates” between Shabbat and the holiday. This, however, does not have to wait for kiddush/havdalah, as a special havdalah themed insert, the Vatodi’enu paragraph, is inserted in the Amidah of the night’s prayers. Alternatively, one can say: “Baruch hamavdil bayn kodesh likodesh” — “Blessed is the One who separates between (the) holiness (of Shabbat) and (the) holiness (of the holiday).”

By Naftali Silberberg

Rabbi Naftali Silberberg is a writer, editor and director of the curriculum department at the Rohr Jewish Learning Institute. Rabbi Silberberg resides in Brooklyn, New York, with his wife, Chaya Mushka, and their three children.

Havdalah Blessing for Motzei Shabbat and Yom Tov

Click to Enlarge

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By Staff | Posted in Chagim - Holidays, General: All about cats in Jerusalem | Tagged Succah | Comments Off

Tisha B’AV Love your fellow Jew

26/07/2015 – י׳ באב ה׳תשע״ה – י׳ באב ה׳תשע״ה – 16:18

Tisha B’AV Rabbi Refael Rubin

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Tips for an Easy and Healthy Tisha B’Av Fast

August 2, 2022 by Lazer Brody https://lazerbeams.com/tips-for-an-easy-and-healthy-tisha-bav-fast/

Tips for an Easy and Healthy Tisha B’Av Fast

the 9th of Av Destruction

The notorious day of Tisha B’Av is is the day when our Holy Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed, among other calamities. This year, it falls on the Sabbath. Since the only fast permissible on the Sabbath is that of Yom Kippur, the fast of Tisha B’Av is delayed until sundown, Saturday August 6, 2022. It lasts until 35 minutes after sundown on Sunday, August 7, 2022.

The Year’s Most Challenging Fast

Since Tisha B’Av is a very warm-weather 25-hour fast, it’s the most challenging of all our fast days. As opposed to Yom Kippur, which is a day of joy, Tisha B’Av is our national day of lamentation and mourning. So emotionally, it’s far more difficult than Yom Kippur.

On Tisha B’Av, a person could be especially susceptible to headaches, extreme weakness, dehydration and hypoglycemia. That’s when blood-sugar levels fall dangerously low. With a few precautions and proper preparation for the fast, we can avoid the dangers. That way, the fast can actually be safe and healthy. Here’s the practical advice you need for a meaningful Tisha B’Av fast, without any bodily suffering that might make the day even more difficult than it already is.

Before the fast:

24 hours before the beginning of the fast, begin drinking a glass of water during every hour that you’re awake.
On Friday night, eat salty natural foods like olives, pickles and herring. These are all the foods that people with edema avoid, for they help retain fluid and therefore prevent dehydration. To avoid thirst, stop eating these foods 12 hours before the fast begins, namely all day until sundown.
Avoid sugary and starchy foods in the meal before the fast, for they have a high glycemic index (GI) and therefore cause a deeper plunge in blood sugar levels shortly after eating.
Eat plenty of good quality protein – eggs, fish and legumes. This year (5782/2022), since Tisha B’Av falls on Saturday night and Sunday, one may eat meat or poultry before the fast in honor of the Sabbath, whereas in other years, we’re not allowed to eat meat and oultry in the Nine Days that precede Tisha B’Av. Choose high natural, unprocessed (organic, if available) beef and poultry. Such protein sources are satiating. They also provide slow-release energy during the fast, since they are complex food stuffs that require longer time to digest.
Stay away from coffee and caffeine for 24 hours before the beginning of the fast. Drink herb tea instead and plenty of water.
My favorite rule of thumb is to focus on eating foods that are as unprocessed as possible, not only making the coming fast easier and healthier but promoting better blood sugar balance and better digestion, both of which lead to better weight control.
Don’t gorge before the fast. It doesn’t make the fast easier and only creates discomfort.
An hour before the beginning of the fast, eat a portion of watermelon. Finish eating 30 minutes before the fast. 15 minutes before the fast, floss teeth and rinse your mouth, then drink a final glass of water.

After the fast:

Be careful, for after the fast, your blood sugar levels are at their lowest. The worst thing you can do is to dive into the soft drinks, fruit juices and pastries that many congregations serve the moment the fast is over. This drives blood sugar through the roof and creates a shock to the body that could actually trigger diabetes, Heaven forbid. What’s more, drastic rises and falls in blood sugar cause headaches, nausea and fatigue. In order to avoid this, takes the following precautions:

Break your fast with a glass of ice-water and high-fiber foods such as celery sticks, homemade low-sugar oatmeal cookies or whole grain/bran crackers.
Add to the above a portion of protein, such as cottage cheese or goat cheese, which will also slow the rise of your blood sugar level.
Avoid all substances with added sugar. These include soft drinks, fruit juices, cakes and pastries.
Drink at least 2 glasses of water an hour for the first 4 hours after the fast. This will replenish the body’s fluids and slow the increase of blood sugar levels.
Don’t eat a heavier meal until at least an hour after breaking your fast in the above manner; preferably, do some light exercise like taking a 30-minute walk before having a heavier meal.

Consult Your Physician and Your Rabbi

If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, or if you take medication, ask your physician if you are able to fast. Then, consult your rabbi and give him the physician’s opinion. Fasting is not a mitzva for those who should not fast.

Our sages promise that those who mourn over the destruction of Jerusalem and Zion will live to see the rejoicing of Zion and Jerusalem (Bava Basra 60b).

***

Feel free to pass the above advice along to friends and family. Even better, send them this link so that they can subscribe to our weekly newsletter. We have no doubt that the above tips will not only make your fast more bearable, but safe and healthy as well! Every blessing, LB

By Staff | Posted in Positive Thinking | Tagged love | Comments Off

Who moved my cheese?

13/07/2015 – כ״ו בתמוז ה׳תשע״ה – כ״ו בתמוז ה׳תשע״ה – 17:08

Who moved my cheese? The Movie

Goodbye Prozac, Hello Emuna

By: Howard Morton 3Jnauary2015 http://www.breslev.co.il/articles/family/health_and_fitness/goodbye_prozac__hello_emuna.aspx?id=19866&language=english

“Prozac took the edge off my depression and helped me function better. But there was one side effect—I felt my entire being was encased in a kind of invisible cellophane…”

During my annual checkup several years ago, my physician asked me how I was feeling. “Lousy,” I said. I told him I felt both lethargic and agitated, shrouded by a heavy sadness that seemed almost tangible. I said I had had trouble concentrating and that even small tasks seemed to require an incredible amount of effort.

He told me I was suffering from depression and prescribed Prozac.

That quick diagnosis came to no surprise to me; I was just laid off from the job I loved. My employer was one of the largest corporations in America where I was a vice president in charge of marketing for six states. Having just merged with another Fortune 500 corporation, the company I had helped increase revenue and brand awareness for announced it was laying off 10,000 employees. And I was one of them.

Of course I saw it coming. Rumors were flying for weeks. But it didn’t make it any easier when I received the phone call from the regional Senior Vice President saying my job had just ended. I was forced to stop clinging onto a false sense of hope. So here I was with a wife and half dozen kids to support with no income. Thank G-d for my generous severance package and unemployment benefits, but all that had run out after several weeks.

My new full-time job was looking for a full-time job. The recession was in full swing, and I was repeatedly told that most companies weren’t hiring—and if they were hiring, they weren’t hiring higher paid marketing executives with a couple of decades of experience. Budgets were slashed. Doors were closed. I started collecting post-interview letters wishing me good luck on my future endeavors.

Throughout all this, I was fighting depression. The waves of depression kept growing higher and higher until I felt I was drowning. But when my family doctor prescribed Prozac, I didn’t get the prescription filled. I thought, “This doctor’s a general practitioner. What I need is a specialist.” So I went to see a well-known psychiatrist. I sat in the waiting room with other embarrassed people while the intercom system piped in a Vivaldi concerto. When I finally saw the psychiatrist, he asked me if I heard voices coming out of my nose or if my TV told me what to do. Standard questions to him, strange questions to me. I told him my symptoms and my worries about paying my mortgage payments and putting food on the table. He diagnosed me with depression and prescribed Prozac.

Prozac is part of a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, or SSRIs for short. Other SSRIs include Celexa, Lexapro, Paxil and Zoloft. All these type of drugs work by seemingly making nerve cells form stronger connections in parts of the brain. For me, Prozac took the edge off my depression and helped me function better. But there was one side effect—I felt my entire being was encased in a kind of invisible cellophane. There was a thin, transparent barrier between the Prozac me and the real me, and sometimes it would irritate me so much that I would stop taking the Prozac. But then the the concrete-like sadness, agitation and other depression symptoms would come flooding back, which my wife found unbearable. So I began a roller coaster ride of on-again, off-again Prozac.

Even when I started a new job with a higher salary, I was still depressed and still dependent on Prozac. Then a friend of mine introduced me to The Garden of Emuna. And my life changed.

Actually, it wasn’t until I read The Garden of Emuna for the third time that all the lights started blazing in my head. Previously, I thought I already had emuna—of course I believed there’s a G-d in the world. Yet now after reading The Garden of Emuna the third time, I saw I never really had emuna. I now saw the world in an entirely new light: Hashem Hu HaElokim ain od m’valdo, Hashem is G-d and there’s nothing else besides Him. I now saw that every single thing in my life was by Hashem’s decree. And that everything Hashem decrees is for the absolute benefit of my soul, even if it doesn’t feel comfortable. And that everything Hashem does is a tailor-made message for me to achieve my soul correction. And that nobody can help or harm me without Hashem’s permission.

I finally saw the root cause of my depression: I was lacking emuna.

I was depressed because I wanted to be in control in this seemingly cause-and-effect world. And I was anything but in control. The Garden of Emuna plucked me into a new reality where I could connect my intellect with my emotions and recognize that only Hashem is in control. Not me. Not the company that laid me off. Not my new employer.

I felt much like Neo, the protagonist in the 1999 film The Matrix when he realized the world he lived in his entire life was not real. It was all an illusion. There was one scene in the movie I now especially identified with. It’s the scene where Neo is waiting to see the oracle, and in the waiting room is a bald nine-year old boy bending a spoon with his mind. When the boy catches Neo watching him, he says: “Do not try and bend the spoon. That’s impossible. Instead… only try to realize the truth.”

“What truth?” Neo asks.

“There is no spoon, “the bald kid answers. “Then you’ll see that it is not the spoon that bends, it is only yourself.” And so I bent, realizing Hashem did, does and will do every single deed. I realized Hashem is the cause of every catalyst, and that any situation of stess or sorrow is only a test of emuna.

I started focusing on relying only on Hashem—and stopped relying on Prozac.

Prozac could only take care of the symptoms; The Garden of Emuna helped me take care of the root cause—emuna. With my new awareness of emuna—and with my newly acquired practice of talking to Hashem in my own words—I went off Prozac cold turkey. It’s been nearly three years since I’ve stopped taking Prozac, and my depression never returned. I know I’m one of many who have successfully replaced meds for emuna, and I can’t begin to express my gratitude to Rabbi Shalom Arush for having written The Garden of Emuna (and subsequent emuna books), to Rabbi Lazer Brody for tirelessly reinforcing the importance of emuna to the English-speaking world and, of course, to Hashem, the ultimate cause of everything.

Nefesh B’Nefesh: Rachelle Sprecher Fraenkel – Yomim Noraim Video Series

Rabbi Lazer Brody, The End of Days-21July2015

Lech Lecha – Does that Mean Me?

Torah tidbit CHIZUK and IDUD

Torah Tidbits #1145 – Matot-Mas’ei
July 17-18 2015, ’15 – 2 Av 5775website: www.ttidbits.com
http://www.ttidbits.com/1145/1145lite.pdf
CHIZUK and IDUD for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectivelyIn the early 1980s I met with the Olim parents of a group of boys whom I was teaching in preparation for their Bar Mitzva. As we discussed the boys’ upcoming celebration, one of the mothers, a recent Olah from Iran, broke down in tears. Noticing my surprise, the woman explained that she could not enter into the festive mood seeing as her husband and daughter were still trapped in Iran. She proceeded to describe how the family of four had arrived together at the Teheran airport planning to board a plane out of Iran, when they were notified that only two of the four family members would be allowed to leave the country. The Iranian authorities did not trust their claim that they were touring Europe, suspecting their real intention of making Aliya. The mother and son were told that they could leave, and upon their return from the “European tour”, the husband and daughter would be allowed to conduct a similar visit.

This woman had already been in Israel for a few months and the prospects of the family reuniting in the Holy Land any time before the Bar Mitzva were bleak.

As the woman continued her story, she wistfully noted that had they chosen to leave Iran a few years earlier they would not have met with such difficulties. Now, however, once the Ayatollah had overthrown the Shah, the family’s only hope was for the husband to find an underground smuggling ring to help him get across the border. Why had they not emigrated earlier? The answer was as predictable as it was tragic: She bitterly described the successful chain-store which had once been owned by her husband’s family and how the thought of forsaking this business was simply too difficult for them to countenance. If only they had known what was in store for them…

This story came to my mind as I studied the Torah’s account of the tribes of Reuven and Gad. The two tribes heightened concern for the protection of their wealth and livestock led them to choose to remain on the other side of the Jordan River near the coveted, vast pasture lands.

Rashi writes that their attachment to their wealth overshadowed their concern for their own children. The Torah quotes their telling Moshe: “we will build corrals for our sheep and cattle, and then build cities for our children” – Moshe realizing they have their priorities reversed sets the record straight – children and family must come first!

Ba’alei Tosafot were somewhat milder in their critique, however. They too pointedly noted how the tribes’ attachment to their possessions led them to disassociate themselves from their brethren. Indeed, till today many Diaspora Jews find that they are tethered to the Diaspora, since they are incapable of severing the umbilical cord connecting them to their business concerns.

In his response to the tribes’ request, Moshe raises an additional concern: “Will your brothers go to war and you will sit here?!“ (Bamidbar 32:6). The Malbim explains that their request not to cross the Jordan is neither ethical nor just – even if they truly believe that they will not be missed. To carry one’s own share of the war effort is crucial even when an objective assessment of a person’s actual assistance reveals it may not be needed. For when one chooses to stay away from the fighting, sitting outside in peace and tranquility, this undermines the resolve of all of those who will enter into battle. (Thus, Ibn Ezra translates the phrase LAMA TENI’UN, as why do you break the hearts of the people, (32:7) and Moshe proceeds to compare them to the Meraglim, the spies, who turned the hearts of the people).

The Malbim succinctly states the point: “By not crossing the Jordan they will lead the people to think that it was the fear of fighting the inhabitants of the land that motivated them. As a result, the others will be afraid and refuse to cross as well. “

The simple truth is that the entire Jewish People share a common destiny: Those who remain “on the other side of the Jordan” affect the lives of those in Israel, and vice versa. Nonetheless, as we all know, we face different challenges and dangers.

While the attachment to the land naturally strengthens one’s attachment to the people, life in the Diaspora can lead to a weakening of these familial ties. As we all know from bitter experience, intermarriage occurs. (Interestingly, in Divrei HaYamim Alef 7:14, we see that Menashe had two wives – one of whom was an Aramean). Current rates of intermarriage in America reportedly exceed 50%, while in Israel this challenge remains negligible.

For those who see the move to Israel as involving too great a sacrifice of their “livestock across the Jordan”, I would advise to focus on the following thought: If you choose to come here, you can at least rest assured that whatever belongings you leave behind, after your death, will be inherited by Jewish descendants…Rabbi Yerachmiel Roness, Ramat Shiloh, Beit Shemesh