As we committed on Simchat Torah to dancing again, we are commanded to remember the victims of October 7 and refuse to let our faith dwindle.
“To life! To Phil! Our love will not fade away! Eternally grateful,” the Jewish vocalist Jeannette Ferber posted on Facebook, alongside a picture showing herself with Lesh at a seder.
After the initial shock had worn off and the country began pulling together, people were looking for ways not only to express themselves but also to uplift others.
The duality of mourning and joy coexisting reminds us of the importance of honoring both the pain and the celebration, as we find strength and meaning in this complex emotional experience.
We need to seek a middle path between the usual joy of Simchat Torah and the mourning necessitated by the disaster of Simchat Torah 5784 on October 7.
It’s strained, if not seemingly impossible, to embody joy right now. The divine strands of joy around us are so dim as to be nearly invisible.
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On this day, Shemini Atzeret, God instructs us to stop looking for the appreciation of those nations whom we work so hard to benefit and to take this day to rejoice with Him.
Demand for ready-made food is rising. With little price difference and time saved, is it worth spending hours in the kitchen before the holiday meal?
Jews across the US shelled out about $15 for a dozen ready-to-construct cardboard boxes emblazoned with Hebrew letters that spelled a phonetic variation on “tuchus” — the Yiddish word meaning “butt."
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