#happy shmini atzeret

[hpigeonokay]

It’s that time of year when “Good Yom Tov” is too vague

#happy shmini atzeret #sukkos #simchas torah #high holidays #jewish feels #good yom tov #my mom texted that to me #and i texted back too vague try again

[progressivejudaism]

Dear non-Jewish friends, The Jewish High Holy Days are coming up.  Please do not schedule meetings, parties, and events on the following dates:

Between Friday September 18th at sundown and Sunday September 20th at sundown in observance of Rosh Hashanah.

Between Sunday September 27th at sundown to Monday September 28th at sundown. in observance of Yom Kippur.

Between Friday, October 2nd at sundown and Sunday, October 4th at Sundown in honor of the first days of the Festival of Sukkot.

Between Friday, October 9th at sundown and October 11th at sundown in observance of the end of Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.

Curious how to greet your Jewish loved ones throughout these holidays and festival?  (This is ESPECIALLY important this year because so many of us feel alone-- wish your friends a happy holiday!)  Hebrew and English variations are all appropriate.

“Shana Tova!” (”Happy New Year!”) -- especially appropriate on Rosh Hashanah, but appropriate throughout the High Holy Day season.

“l’Shana Tova u’metuka!” (”Have a sweet and happy new year!”)  Similar to the above, especially appropriate on Rosh Hashanah, but appropriate throughout the High Holy Day season.

“Chag Sameach” (“Happy Holiday”) -- appropriate on Rosh Hashanah, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah

“Have a Meaningful Day”  -- appropriate for Yom Kippur

“Have an easy/meaningful fast”  -- appropriate for Yom Kippur, but only if you know that the person is choosing to fast this year.  O

#jewish high holy days #high holy days #jewish #judaism #jumblr #rosh hashanah #yom kippur #sukkot #simchat torah #shmini atzeret #chag sameach #hag sameach #jewish prayer #scheduling #jewish events #jewish services

[dianaraven]

Diana’s Guide to the Perplexed: Holidays

What is it?

Okay, this is going to be a little confusing to explain so take a seat.

So.

In the diaspora, Jews add an extra day for every ‘yom tov’ holiday. I’ve said this before. Because of this, the days of Hoshana Rabah, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat torah are all a little mushed into ‘one’ holiday.

In Israel, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are one holiday. In the diaspora, shmini atzeret is two days so the second day is called simchat torah.

The holidays are a usually known a celebration of finishing the torah. Every saturday Jews read a different parsha, section or story shall we say, of the torah (the five books of moses). The way we set it up (some shabbats doing more than one depending on what’s needed) we end up reading the last parsha on simchat torah.  After this we dance with the torah and sing and celebrate having finished it once more before reading the beginning of the first parsha in the torah and starting the cycle over.

Why do we do it?

In our tradition, during three holidays in the year all Jews (during the time of the Beit HaMikdash) take a sacrifice to the Beit HaMikdash, our greatest temple. On one holiday during the year, the non-Jewish nations are also to give a sacrifice. This holiday is sukkot. Every day during sukkot, we give for different nations, and on the day after sukkot—or the eighth day of sukkot for those not in Israel—we have Shimini Atzeret. The day that we, the Jews, give a sacrifice just for our people.

On Simchat torah we celebrate finishing another cycle of the torah! No special reason, it’s just a party :)

How many days?

One if in Israel, two if not.

Yom tov or not?

Yes.

What do we eat/what are our customs?

After we finish the last parsha in the torah, we say a chant ‘chazak, chazak u’nitchazek’--strong strong and strengthen yourself.

What is appropriate to say to my Jewish friends?

Because it is a holiday, you may say to us classic greeting such as:

“happy simchat torah!” or “happy holidays!” If you would like to go for Hebrew, “חג שמח" or “chag sameach” work.

#this starts tomorrow but its shabbat so im not gonna post it #diana's guide to the perplexed: holidays #judaism #simchat torah #shmini atzeret #jumblr

[teawithkpop]

🔮 October Update 🎃

tldr; I’ll be on a semi-hiatus until the end of the month + I am working on a spoopy story for you guys 🖤 + I might make a twitter?? more info below the cut

topic number one] semi-hiatus

ahh, autumn. that lovely time of year when my birthday falls (wink wonk), and spoopy events start to manifest...

every year around this time, certain events take place. certain... holidays.

that’s right, you guessed it.

the HIGH HOLIDAYS are in FULL SWING

which means I will be on and offline like a frickin yoyo until they are over~ I am very grateful for your patience with me as I rest and pray and chow down on that GOOD FOOD thank you uwu much love 💖💖💖

xox ~ RaRa

FAQ

Q: what are the high holidays?

A: the high holidays are celebrated by Jewish people all over the world, every year, and they consist of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. even though these two events are considered the “high holidays”, most people also include the days of Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah when using the phrase.

Q: lmao what the heck are those gibberish words

A: those are the names of the holidays lmaooooo

Rosh Hashana - the Jewish new year Yom Kippur - the Jewish day of atonement, to cleanse our spirits for the upcoming year Sukkot - the week-long harvest festival, very happy, lots of food Shmini Atzeret - the day following Sukkot, sort of like an after party for the soul Simchat Torah - the celebration of finishing reading the Torah, and starting it all over again to make a continuous loop

Q: okay so that’s like... five days. why do you need a hiatus?

A: oh you sweet young fool. you innocent spring chicken. clearly you have never experienced the high holidays in all their glory. you see, because of the time difference, if you live outside of Israel, then each holiday is celebrated for TWO days instead of one. (much the same way that you celebrate kpop birthdays if you live outside of Korea: once when it’s their birthday their time, and again when it’s their birthday your time... wait that’s how everyone celebrates kpop birthdays right;;?)

Q: okay but that’s only like... ten days... what’s the biggie?

A: this. this is the biggie. each holiday is only like two or three days apart from each other.  it’s madness. completely bonkers.

Q: oh... is it like that every year?

A: YES. YES IT IS LIKE THAT EVERY YEAR on and off back and forth and dammit it always throws my internal clock completely out of whack TTuTT like can you imagine if, for example, halloween, thanksgiving, christmas and new years were all within thirty days of each other??? chaos. society as we know it would crumble under the pressure. but not the high holidays. oh no. the high holidays go HARD man 😤

Q: alright, so you’ll be busy this month... why are you explaining so much? why did you make a whole FAQ? you don’t really need to give a reason.

A: *sighs* man, I dunno. I’ve had some shitty people in my life that made me feel like sharing things about myself would only push other people away and alienate me from potential friends. I’ve always given the glossed over version of my life to anyone who asks, and I always told myself it was to avoid awkward questions or funny stares. But I don’t want to do that anymore. So, in the spirit of the new year, I’m being completely candid. I won’t be online this month because I’m celebrating the high holidays with my family. My devices will be shut off. I’ll be cooking food and reading and praying and taking blissful 5+ hour naps and ya’ll should be jelly B)

Oh! And in the spirit of the new year, as is tradition, if I have done anything to upset or hurt you - yes, YOU reading this - in any way in the past year, whether it be intentionally or unintentionally, I sincerely apologize, and I hope we can start fresh! I will work harder to be a better RaRa this year and to share more care and kindness with every person I encounter 😌🍎🍯

topic number two] spoopy story

that being said, even though I’ll be on and offline, I will be writing in between holidays and 8 hour shifts;;; I have come up with some ideas for some new stories, and the lovely Spex [@bang-to-the-tan] has been dumping gasoline on the garbage fire of my writing brain... 😈 go give her a hug from me please <3

one of these ideas is... a bit scary, and kinda sexy... and has some domestic fluff as well as demon/ghost!BTS members.. and at least a threesome, maybe more... 🤔 we shall see~ it’s all in the early stages, but! since it’s a oneshot, hopefully?? I’ll have it ready for that time of the month?? 👀 hopefully like don’t quote me on it but also look forward to it!! ^^ I’ll post some more updates about it once the draft is a bit more complete

topic number three] twitter??

I want to make a twitter to interact with you guys more!! sometimes I still feel lonely on here even though I have all you wonderful people who read my stories :((

also this is a secondary blog, which is great for some reasons, but also terrible for others,,, I can’t reply to replies as teawithkpop, I can’t follow blogs as teawithkpop, I can’t send in asks as teawithkpop... the limitations can get a bit frustrating sometimes,,

so I thought hey!! why don’t I make a twitter in junction with this blog? you guys can vote on polls and I can reply to your replies and whatnot~ we can make our own hashtags and freak out over kpop content and I think it’ll be a grand old time all around 😊💓

please let me know if you’d be interested in chillin on twitter with me! <3

I think that’s about it for updates! have a lovely october babes and please enjoy the spoop of it all >U< 🎃🔮👻

#writing updates #updates in general really #rara is talking far too much #About Rara #i'll be happy to answer any questions or concerns~ love y'all <3

[dfroza]

we live these lives, temporarily, in a physical body

where life begins at the genesis spark of conception to be protected in a mother’s womb.

and so murder is the taking of an innocent life from this earth at any point thereafter.

yesterday’s message from The Temple Institute in Jerusalem:

"Choose life!"

(Deuteronomy 30:`9)

Elul 26, 5781/September 3, 2021

"You are all standing this day before HaShem, your G-d the leaders of your tribes, your elders and your officers, every man of Israel, your young children, your women, and your convert who is within your camp both your woodcutters and your water drawers... " (Deuteronomy 29:9-10)

"You are all" - all of you - all of us - each and every one of us - standing upright, equal, from the greatest to the least, the oldest to the youngest, the most powerful to the most vulnerable...

"Standing this day before HaShem, your G-d" - this day - today - the only day! Yesterday is gone and is no more. When tomorrow arrives it will be today. Today is the only day! When we stand before HaShem our G-d there is only one day - today - the here and the now. When we stand and share our presence before G-d's presence, there is no past, good, bad or otherwise, and the future will only amount to the strength and integrity of our intentions today.

"You are all" - all of you - all of me, the individual! All of me is standing before HaShem my G-d this day - the best of me and the least of me. Me at my finest and me at my least fine, standing and being accounted for, standing and saying to G-d, "I am whom You have created, I am a work in progress, steadily working to improve and perfect my being, my north star being the Me that You intended when You first breathed life into the dust of my earthly being."

The Torah reading of Nitzavim - Standing - is read every year just before Rosh HaShana, and its soaring message of accountability, of the potential for teshuvah - repentance and return to G-d - of the accessibility and nearness of G-d's requirements, and of the open path toward life and happiness in the presence of HaShem, serves as a guide book for the day of Rosh HaShana and for the entirety of the holidays, (Rosh HaShana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Shmini Atzeret), which make up the month of Tishrei, the first month of the new year.

We are all G-d's children, equal in His eyes, we all have the honor and distinction, the privilege and responsibility, of standing directly before G-d. We are all granted the limitless opportunities of standing before G-d today, with no past to weigh us down and a future that is ours to shape.

"For this commandment which I command you this day, is not concealed from you, nor is it far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, 'Who will go up to heaven for us and fetch it for us, to tell it to us, so that we can fulfill it?' Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, 'Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us and fetch it for us, to tell it to us, so that we can fulfill it?' Rather,this thing is very close to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can fulfill it." (ibid 30:11-14) So close! So accessible! So achievable! G-d only asks of us what He knows we can fulfill, if only we set our hearts, our minds and our souls to it, if only we persist!

"I command you this day to love HaShem, your G-d, to walk in His ways, and to observe His commandments, His statutes, and His ordinances." (ibid 30:16) To love, to walk and to observe! "To love HaShem, your G-d, to listen to His voice, and to cleave to Him. For that is your life and the length of your days" (ibid 30:20) To love, to listen, to cleave to!

Our Torah reading ends with a dramatic crescendo, a daunting challenge, and then - an insider's tip from HaShem! "Behold, I have set before you today life and good, and death and evil!" (ibid 30:15) What will we choose? The choice is ours, and on Rosh HaShana G-d opens up before us our Book of Life, opens it to a blank page, and hands to us the pen with which to write our own fate, our own destiny, our own purpose. And as G-d hands to us His pen, He whispers in our ear, each and every one of us, "Choose life!" (ibid 30:19)

•

Tune in to this week's Temple Talk, as Yitzchak Reuven talks about the wordless sound of the deepest prayer, standing before HaShem today - every day - and Rosh HaShana, and celebrating the birthday of Man with our Father & Creator!

Rosh HaShana - the birthday of Man - is right around the corner, and all we need to do is show up and make ourselves heard through the sounding of the shofar. It is we, ourselves, who write our names into the Book of Life, and it is we, ourselves, who determine who we are going to be in the upcoming year. Choose life and attachment to HaShem - and have a sweet and blessed year!

[funkymonkeyjunkie]

SUKKOT TIME!

🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯 Guess what, friends? ANOTHER Jewish holiday starts tonight!! At sundown tonight we will be celebrating the holiday of SUKKOT! Fast facts: -Sukkot is the Hebrew word for "booths". This holiday commemorates the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the desert, living in temporary booths/huts. It is also a festival celebrating the bountiful harvest! - The pilgrims actually based the holiday of Thanksgiving off of Sukkot! -Sukkot lasts for 7 days, with the first two days being "Yom tov" or holy days (in Israel it is only the first day) during which work and school are prohibited. - WHAT IS A SUKKAH? On Sukkot we eat (and sometimes sleep) in the Sukkah. A Sukkah is a temporary hut we build in our backyard. And sometimes we build it on the roof of our building if we live somewhere with no space like NYC. Bigger Jewish spaces like synagogues or Jewish schools often build their own as well. Sukkahs are often decorated with paper chains, hanging fruits/veggies, and other pretty things. One of my favorite Sukkot memories from when I was a kid was making super duper long paper chains with my brother that would wrap around our Sukkah multiple times. If you have a chance to visit a sukkah I highly encourage it! - We are commanded/instructed to be happy on Sukkot, which is a big difference from the previous somber holiday/fast day of Yom Kippur. - We shake the "lulav" (palm) and "Etrog" (citron) around our heads (towards all the corners of the earth) every day during Sukkot (except on Shabbat) for agricultural and historical reasons. Not because we are crazy tree people. I promise. I can make a separate post about that later. - The day after the last day of Sukkot is a separate holiday called "Shmini Atzeret" ("The 8th day of assembly"). On Shmini Atzeret we say the memorial prayers and pray for rain. - The day after Shmini Atzeret is a holiday called Simchat Torah (it's a lot, I know). On Simchat Torah we finish reading the Torah (end of Deuteronomy) and we start over again (beginning of Genesis). We dance around with the Torah and put on skits and party all night. It's a wild and crazy time. In Israel they celebrate Simchat Torah and Shmini Atzeret on the same day. - Feel free to wish your Jewish friends a "Chag Sameach" (Happy Holiday) when you see them over the next week. It's pronounced"Chag" rhyming with dog starting with a phlegm sound. And then "Sah-may-ach" ending with the phlegm sound again. חג שמח!! 🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯🔯

[coffeeshoprabbi]

Happy About Anything, as the Holidays Come to a Close?

Image: Sunset. Photo by Ruth Adar.

The fall holiday cycle is almost done. We have Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah to go, and then Jewish life will settle down for a bit.

FYI: Your clergy are almost certainly exhausted from the past couple of months. This is a great time to write them a note about the sermon you liked, or the beautiful music, or something that went right. They have worked…

View On WordPress

#gratitude

[dwil59-blog]

What Sukkoth The Tabernacles Feast) Why do we sit in the Sukkah (Tabernacles Feast booth)? What do the four varieties mean? What is the connection between Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement) and Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah)? The wisdom of the Kabbalah describes the sequence of situations the creature experiences in the complex relationship between him and the Creator. These situations evolve one after the other because they lead the creature from one degree to the next, just like a chemical or a physical process that must evolve gradually, step by step. The Creator-creature relationship is experienced by man in a very tangible manner, no less than the reality we live in. It is not about fantasy or delusions, but about the discovery of a beautiful world where the changes that occur follow strict and well-defined laws. These laws are discovered by anyone who climbs the spiritual ladder, and he knows it because he can read in the holy books that his predecessors came to the exact same places that he sees before him right now. There is nothing new under the sun. Each of us is different and unique, but we all comply with the same rules, and advance from darkness and confusion to clarity and vision through the same degrees. These degrees are described by the great kabbalists in the holy books and it is by them that they set the sequence of holidays in our world. We must point out that the names of all the holidays that will be mentioned in this article describe internal situations that a person undergoes in the process of correction, and that the holidays we celebrate simply mark the sequence of corrections. This means that a kabbalist can experience the holidays internally on a regular day as well. Let us remember for a minute the order of the holidays: the Jewish New Year starts the holidays of Israel. After ten days we come to Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement) and after that we celebrate Sukkoth for seven days. Finally we come to Simchat Torah. If you ask yourself what is the meaning of these holidays, the Kabbalah explains that they describe the sequence of revelation and correction of one complete degree. At the beginning of the spiritual revelation the creature feels that the Creator gives him perfect bliss, but he is incapable of giving anything back. More than anything, the creature wants to overcome the shame that he feels toward the Creator, and bring Him some sort of pleasure. It is like a person who is suffering from an illness. First he must discover how ill he is and that he cannot heal himself but by turning to a physician. Once he has done that, he is given a medicine and begins to heal, until he attains health and happiness. Only then can he appreciate the greatness and the kindness of the physician. On the Jewish New Year the creature begins to understand his situation as opposed to the Creator. Over the course of the next ten days, until the Day of Atonement he realizes more and more how incapable he is of equalizing with His degree and bringing Him delight (that is his illness). The process lasts ten days because each spiritual vessel is revealed in ten degrees called Sefirot. On the Day of Atonement, which is the tenth day of the inquiries, when it is clear to the creature that he hasn’t any power of bestowal toward the Creator, he can pray, fast and ask from the bottom of his heart to be endowed with life. The meaning of spiritual life is the ability to resemble the Creator and delight Him, but in order to receive that life he needs to be corrected. At that point the creature begins to receive the lights that are called the ”surrounding lights.” These lights enable him to gradually correct his vessel and acquire the ability to bestow. During the four days between the Day of Atonement and Sukkoth the creature gets a chance to begin the correction. The building of the sukkah is a crucial stage in the correction because the sukkah symbolizes one’s faith. Its thatch defends from the heat of the sun, but it is made of waste, of leaves and stalks that have no other use to man. The meaning is that precisely those desires that man has decided that are superfluous and useless now form his shield from the intensity of the pleasure that comes to him. By giving up those wishes he defends himself from excessive greed for self-indulgence. After he has discovered his inability to bestow, he now receives the strength to protect himself from his egoistical desires. The danger is that if he is enslaved by those desires, he will forget who gives them and will take the pleasure for himself. The defense that he gets renders him the strength to believe in the Creator and see His greatness, despite the tempting pleasures he is faced with. For that reason we try to be as much as possible inside the sukkah during the holiday and even sleep in it. The fact that he built and decorated the sukkah by himself gives him the confidence that he can protect himself from his excessive desires. That defense is the light of faith that fills him with endless bliss. But that defense is not enough to bring contentment to his Maker. We must not forget that the Creator loves him and wants to render him with pleasure and not prevent it from him. Therefore he needs to learn how to receive pleasure, in order to please the Creator. Now he needs a means by which he can receive the pleasure. That means is the connection that he makes between the citron, the palm branch, the myrtle and the willow. The four varieties mark the four degrees of the will that one discovers in the course of his spiritual work. Sometimes he finds in it a good taste and a good scent, and he calls it a citron; sometimes it has taste, but no scent, so he calls it a palm branch; sometimes it is fragrant but tasteless and is thus called myrtle, and when it has no taste and no scent he calls it willow. The ability to join all types of work in one direction, in order to delight the Creator, gives the creature the ability to receive genuine delight under any condition and under any circumstances, because under any situation he remembers what he lives and whom he works for. It is marked in Sukkoth by rocking the palm branch and the encircling of the altar. The seven days of Sukkoth mark the correction of his seven lower sefirot, which must be unified and connected, until on the eighth day the corrections are finished. That is why that that day is called Shmini Atzeret (the stopping eighth). On that day, after he has completed the corrections, the creature gets to unite with his Creator and receive from Him the true pleasure called Torah. The Torah is a means that gives the creature the ability to bring endless delight to his Maker, just as his Maker delights him, and unite with Him in everlasting love. Author: G. Shadmon Translator: C. Ratz Proofreading: J. Kersen