Parsha Talk Pre - Sukkot 5784 2023

Kol Ramah

Parsha Talk - with Rabbis Eliot Malomet, Barry Chesler and Jeremy Kalmanofsky. The parashah this week is a special Torah Reading for Sukkot. This may be familiar to those who remember the Torah reading from the second day of Passover, 6 months ago, and it will be repeated again on Sunday in communities observing two days of yom tov [holiday]. The Torah reading comprises the sacred calendar of Leviticus. Of special note is verse 23:40, from which the rabbis derive the commandment to gather the four species [etrog (citron), palm branch, myrtle, and willow] and 23:43, which gives the reason for building the sukkah, the temporary dwelling in which one lives during the holiday of sukkot. Our conversation focused primarily on the meaning of the holiday itself, and the symbolism of the sukkah. In hoping you enjoy it we are only underscoring a special commandment associated with Sukkot, v-samachta b-chagekha [Deuteronomy 16:14], to rejoice in the holiday. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sa’me’ach!