Shelter and strength when our vulnerability is exposed.
Sitting in our sukkot, we are transported in time. Mine from last year stood for many months before we had the strength to take it down. Many of those in the southern communities attacked on Simchat Torah are still standing even today, in the ghost towns of once vibrant joyous Jewish lives. While Sukkot is the holiday called “The Time of our Joy” ( זמן שמחתינו ), singled out in particular by the Torah (D’varim 16:15): “You shall be altogether/only joyful.” (והיית אך שמח), can we ever be “altogether” joyful at a time like this?
Fighting on all fronts, fallen soldiers, no respite from the attacks from every direction, when our nation is so polarized that the unity we felt early in the war now seems far away. Thousands of families still displaced from their homes, thousands of homes destroyed by the relentless attacks on our North by Hezbollah, and no certainty as to when "home" will be found again for all those traumatized by the massacre and its aftermath, the war and its indelible scars. The significance of our Sukkot this year must not be taken for granted.
The two most essential physical needs for human survival are food and shelter. Our essential physical needs always remain at God's mercy. Passover and Sukkot serve as twin reminders of that. Passover reminds us not to take the former for granted, Sukkot the latter. On Pesach, we refrain from the sophisticated, fermented bread of civilization for the simple, haphazard, portable bread of the nomad. On Sukkot, we withdraw from the sophisticated, permanent buildings of civilization to the simple, haphazard, portable dwellings of the nomad.
On both, we recall our origins, recognize how precarious our comfort is, and celebrate our redemption by God.
However comfortable our lives are now, we all started as downtrodden slaves. And we all remain enslaved to the same physical needs for food and shelter. However successful we are at providing for them, we never fully escape the need for them and the fear of losing them. The ultimate manifestations of our vulnerability, and our faith - whatever we eat the rest of the year, wherever we live, for seven days of the year we share a taste of the same poverty, the same suffering.
The sukkah (perhaps paradoxically, perhaps not) symbolizes both impermanence AND joy. How can we experience joy when we know that all this beautiful craft will someday be erased? Kohelet provides the answer... there is nothing better in this absurd world than living IN it, and sharing it with the ones we love.
The Zohar refers to the sukkah of a place of emunah. So the halachot of asiyat sukkah, building a Sukkah, may be perceived as correlated with building emunah. A prominent principle informing halachot of asiyat sukkah is taaseh velo min ha’asui. A sukkah must be actively constructed and not pre-existing. So too our emunah must be actively worked on and not merely inherited or pre-existing.
We sat in sukkot to show we trusted Hashem in the midbar, the desert... These days we sit outside despite threats of rockets... and our vulnerability is exposed since October 7 and every day since. Yet we retain The same faith all these years later. We built, we dance, we celebrate Torah even amidst pain. We respect the broken hearts just as we seek to heal them. And we channel our prayers towards hope. This is a function of our resilience, and something we can learn from even in our fog of confusion and concern while seeking the very joy the Torah asks of us.
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The requirement to take the four species - the lulav, etrog, hadassim, and aravot - express the beauty of the land of Israel, expressing our thanks to Hashem for the blessing of this small slice of earth in which Jews were destined to live, prosper and celebrate. While the mitzvah of dwelling the sukkah commemorates the wandering in the desert and the protection we received, the arba minim is the celebration of actually entering our home, eretz Yisrael - we take the best fruits with the most pleasant aroma, and the most beautiful branches and leaves, in stark contrast to our time in the desert where there was no water or vegetation. And it also represents our people - the unity of all the elements of our nation in all our diversity that only withstand the vulnerability of life through our collective strength.
As you shake your lulav and etrog these final nights, try to envision the initial excitement that the Jews had as they performed this mitzvah in the land of Israel for the first time - reaching their home, promised and destined to them from God. And then return to the present moment and appreciate how lucky we are that nearly half of the worlds Jews dwell in this great land once again, and every other Jew has access and a right to return, after thousands of years wandering in strange lands.
And as we reach the coming conflicted day of Simchat Torah, we hope you find some strength in the balance of our continued pain and our hope for peace and joy. Let us carry the memory of the victims of the Simchat Torah Massacre, let us live in their honor, pray for our soldiers of this war against evil, on the frontlines and in campuses, communities and chambers of echo everywhere, and let us all find ways to do more, give more, and support one another.
Blessing the children by writing a letter in a Torah in each of their names at the Nova Memorial site.
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Amidst the chaos and endless headlines, where do we stand? Have we done enough? Have we used our voices as we should, or have we become comfortable scrolling, sharing, and reacting? We cannot afford another year of passive activism. This war, both physical and ideological, demands more from every one of us.
As an organization that has been creating content, providing programming, resources and consulting services, and actively standing on the front lines of the truth since the war began, we see the harsh realization: We are not winning the narrative battle against Hamas and their globalized community of jihadists. Their lies and hate-filled agenda are drowning out our truth. We need you, our global community of Virtual Citizens of Israel, to help expand the impact we can be making through the personal activism that we have always focused on as a goal. Here’s what you can do to make a difference:
- Fight Against Silence: Don’t wait for someone else to speak up. Use your platform—whether it’s social media, local communities, or professional networks—to call out Hamas and expose their genocidal agenda. The world must know the truth. Find ways you can impact those who are silent.
- Educate those around you: Our children, our communities—are they prepared to stand up for Israel? Take this time in Elul to ensure that those around you are equipped with the facts and strength to counter the lies being spread. Share resources, articles, and information to empower them.
Organize and mobilize: Whether it’s organizing events, leading discussions, or joining activism groups, find tangible ways to mobilize those around you. Don’t let the pro-Palestinian movement continue to monopolize the streets and media.
- Speak out about the media lies: Write letters, make calls, post on social media, and correct the misinformation where you see it. If we don’t fight back, these narratives will take root, and Hamas will continue to control the story.
- Spread the truth about Hamas: They are terrorists who thrive on the world’s silence. They have positioned themselves as leaders, dictating the terms of ceasefires, and no one is calling them out. We need to demand that the world sees them for who they truly are. Don't just share—speak. Talk to people, engage in conversations, and don't let the lies go unchecked.
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Today we have every opportunity to address and combat the prejudice and hate surrounding the increasing rise of the worldwide anti-Semitic and anti-Israel movements. We each can do more to find the unity we seek, to conquer the apologeticists, and find our faith renewed in our national destiny and homeland. We can do more to deny the right of those who lie and those who try to tear us apart. We can do it by empowering and inspiring each other through this time of pain.
Right now, Hamas and pro-Palestinian extremists are louder, more organized, and more focused than ever—and we are losing this battle. They’re spreading lies and fueling hatred, and they’re getting away with it. If we don’t step up and match their energy, we risk letting them tarnish Israel’s name, erase Jewish history, and endanger the Jewish future.
Are you ready to do more?
Are you ready to transform your activist spirit and step into the role of an active defender of truth and Israel?
Now is the time. Now is the moment to reflect, recommit, and act.
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