1.
Leaving the sukkah; taking its light with us
* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
“Hi Sivan, we are friends of Neriya Cohen, an army reservist who was killed five months ago. He was a medical student, full of life and a true friend. Every year we would celebrate Simchat Torah together. In the last moments of Sukkot, just before Simchat Torah arrived, it was important for him to enter the sukkah one last time and then, upon leaving it, recite the attached prayer. It would bring us great joy this year if people throughout the Jewish world, upon leaving their Sukkahs, would recite the attached prayer in Neriya’s memory. May we merit to see the fulfillment of this prayer soon in our own lives.”
Amen. Chag sameach. Have a joyful Simchat Torah.
2.
* Translation by Yehoshua Siskin
How do we combine joy with sadness? This is a question for Sukkot and Simchat Torah that we celebrate this week. Roy Ben-Tulilah is an IDF disabled veteran, an athlete and an entrepreneur, and he wrote the following:
“Why is it written regarding the holiday of Sukkot ‘And be joyful on your holiday’ and not simply ‘Be joyful on your holiday?’ Why is the ‘and’ necessary?
Perhaps it is a hint that joy is sometimes an additional layer superimposed on reality, no matter how sad it might be.
While we cannot ignore the present situation and its challenges, joy is still a part of these days, despite some lingering sorrow.
The Torah is hinting that when there are difficulties, we must recognize them but still choose to declare: ‘And be joyful on your holiday.’
May all of us find the connecting ‘and’ in this season of our rejoicing.”
