1.The (Other) Fab Four

Some of us may have already begun building a sukkah last night. I did not, instead reading potentially Sukkot-relevant Bulletin items like this one by Lisa J. Wise. I liked how she beautifully combines ruminations on the holiday, her family, health and HGTV. I hope you find a few minutes to read the Tablet piece "Glamping With God." Below is an excerpt.

"Which brings us, mercifully, to the holiday of Sukkot, immediately following Yom Kippur. This festival celebrates all that is impermanent, inside and out. Leaving the safety and comfort of our homes—just as the days shorten and sunlight wanes—we step outside to sit in a flimsy hut providing no real protection from the elements. We are instructed to live in this booth for a week, to clearly see the starry skies through the branched roof. Out in the darkness of night, we face the cold, unsafe, utter unknown. But we are taught to look upward, illuminated by stars, and embrace our own fragility while still feeling joy. Sukkot is literally the 'holiday of our happiness,' but it is also the festival of frailty. Anxiety tends to fade beneath the sukkah’s canopy of coziness, an ultimate glamping with God."

2.Question Marc

For the past few weeks I’ve had this (pictured) children’s book on my coffee table and when I read this piece I read it again. My kids liked this book and I’m having a hard time giving it away. Are people having a similar experience with his house that is not too far from here? What do you think? Tear it down? Renovate? Flip for a profit? These are the questions facing the next owner of Mark Chagall's Catskills house that is for sale for $240,000.

The two-bedroom, one bath "hillside cottage" was home to "the world's pre-eminent Jewish artist" and his lover between 1946 and 1948. He created more than 100 paintings, lithographs and sketches while living here.

3.In Mahsa Amini's Name

Clearly an American-Israeli conspiracy if ever there was one. People around the world are taking to the streets, cutting their hair and burning their hijabs. I love when that happens; I almost wish I had a hijab to burn. Then I could be part of the conspiracy that Iran's supreme leader blames on Israel and the U.S as he offered when finally addressing the fact that there are protests.

“I openly state that the recent riots and unrest in Iran were schemes designed by the U.S.; the usurping, fake Zionist regime; their mercenaries; and some treasonous Iranians abroad who helped them,” Khamenei said Monday in a speech to police cadets in Tehran, remarks which were later posted in English on his official Twitter account.

4.Fast Walkin' - Not a Bee Gees Song

"Stories of people under extremis appeal to the 12-year-old boy in me, but I also read them hoping their authors’ suffering and triumphs will cough up some sort of wisdom about the human condition," wrote Andrew Silow-Carroll in anticipation of the holiday just past. "What do they learn about themselves when they push their bodies to the limits?

"I am not always glued to the comfy chair, but probably the most physically punishing thing I do all year is the Yom Kippur fast. The 25-hour fast and synagogue marathon is its own endurance event. I hear echoes of the endurance athlete when rabbis describe the day as a test of 'our willingness to submit to discipline' or 'whether we are made of that same tough stuff that allowed Judaism to survive for thousands of years'.”

For the full story read "The loneliness of the long-distance Yom Kippur faster" in JTA. Who knows? You too might be inspired to consider taking a 12-hour walk. And since this is the "day after" I hope your fast and holiday was meaningful.

5.Be My Guest

Now let’s eat. And for that we start with the video below - "7 Nights of Stuffed Sukkot Foods" - for inspiration before checking out Jamie Geller's sukkot recipes and Tori Avey's recipes for Sukkot.

Looking to change up your space? The New York Times has you covered (pun intended) with "Bless This Hut: The Rise of the Prefab Sukkah"

Fall programming by Bristol Community College Holocaust and Genocide Center:

Wednesday, October 19, Time TBA

Discussion of the PBS Ken Burns documentary The United States and the Holocaust

In collaboration with the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Salem State University

Location: Zoom

Wednesday, October 26, 5:30 PM

Children of the Shoah: World Premier Concert

Annual Fundraiser for the Holocaust and Genocide Center

Jackson Arts Center

Wednesday, November 9, 12:00 PM

Journaling Down the Danube and Into a New Life: A Young JewFlees Eastern Europe for Palestine

Location: L-101

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January 29, 2023

"The Elephants in the Room: Israel, Palestine, Zionism, and the Role of Religion in America 

Can we talk about them? We can, and we do."