TORAH READING FOR 15 Tishri 5786 September 25-26, 2026
TORAH READING FOR 15 Tishri 5786 September 25-26, 2026
NO SHAZOOM SEP 25, 2026
CHAG Z’MAN SIMCHATEINU SAMEACH – Happy ‘time of our rejoicing’ Holiday
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur” CCAR, New York 2007, p.180
Oseh shalom bimromav, hu ya’aseh shalom alëinu,
v’al kōl Yisraël, v’al kōl yoshvëi tëvël, v’imru. Amën.
May the One who makes peace in the high heavens
make peace for us, for all Israel and all who inhabit the earth. Amen.
PARSHA
From Reform Judaism
Yom Rishon shel Sukkot
יוֹם רִאשׁוֹן שֶׁל סֻכֹּת
1st Day of Sukkot
Holidays Leviticus 23:33-44
The Eternal One spoke to Moses, saying: Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths to the Eternal, [to last] seven days. – Leviticus 23:33-34
SUMMARY
In these verses, we are instructed to observe the festival of Sukkot for seven days. The first of the seven days is a sacred day, one on which we refrain from work. Our ancestors brought sacrifices to the Temple on each of the days and lived in a booth. Why would we be expected to dwell in a fragile booth, exposed to the elements? Perhaps it is so that we do not take our possessions for granted. Anyone who has experienced a hurricane or a fire in their home knows just how fragile our dwellings really are. We are told of the lulav and the etrog and we are commanded to rejoice on each of the seven days. How wonderful to be commanded to celebrate!
HAFTARAH
Zechariah 14:7-9, 16-21 [historic: Zechariah 14:1-21]; The Book of Ecclesiastes is read
STRUGGLING WITH TORAH
We will NOT meet THIS Friday for Shazoom. Please see the Shazoom and Observances schedule through December 2026 below. Read this week’s Torah Portion at https://www.sefaria.org/Leviticus.23.33-23.34, and Haftarah at https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.14.7-9 and https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.14.16-21 or https://www.sefaria.org/Zechariah.14.1-21.
RECOMMENDED READING
From Reform Judaism https://reformjudaism.org/torah/portion/yom-rishon-shel-sukkot
By: Rabbi Andy Gordon
SUKKOT 2026 / 5787 סוכות
Feast Of Booths
Sukkot for Hebrew Year 5787 begins at sundown on Friday, 25 September 2026 and ends at nightfall on Friday, 2 October 2026.
Sukkot (Hebrew: סוכות, sukkot, also called the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths) is a Biblical holiday beginning on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (late September to late October). It is one of the three Pilgrimage Festivals (Shalosh Regalim) on which Jews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. The holiday commemorates both the autumn harvest season and the Israelites’ forty-year journey through the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. Modern observances include festive meals in a sukkah (a temporary booth) and rituals with the four species: palm, myrtle, willow, and etrog.
Read more from Judaism 101 or Wikipedia
LULAV AND ETROG SYMBOLISM
From My Jewish Learning https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/lulav-and-etrog-symbolism/
Taste and Fragrance
Taste represents learning. Smell represents good deeds. The etrog has both taste and smell. The lulav has taste but not fragrance. The myrtle has smell but no taste. And the willow has neither. Each represents a different type of [person]. Some have both learning and good deeds; some have one without the other; and some have neither. Real community is found in their being bound together and brought under one roof.
SOME SUKKOT GREETINGS besides Chag Sameach (Happy Holiday):
Yom Tov or Gut Yontiv (“a good [holy] day”)
Chag Sukkot Sameach (“happy Sukkot holiday”)
Chag Z’man Simchateinu Sameach (“happy ‘time of our rejoicing’ holiday”)
Chag HaAsif Sameach (“happy ‘Ingathering’ holiday”)
PRAYERS
From “Mishkan T’filah / A Reform Siddur”:
WEEKDAY T’FILAH – Al HaRishah – עַל הָרִשְׁעָה p.88
AND FOR WICKEDNESS, let there be no hope, and may all the errant return to You, and may the realm of wickedness be shattered. Blessed are You, Adonai, whose will it is that the wicked vanish from the earth. Amen.
FOR OUR COUNTRY p.376
THUS SAYS ADONAI, This is what I desire: to unlock the fetters of wickedness, and untie the cords of lawlessness; to let the oppressed go free, to break off every yoke. Share your bread with the hungry, and take the wretched poor into your home. When you see the naked, give clothing, and do not ignore your own kin.
O GUARDIAN of life and liberty, may our nation always merit Your protection. Teach us to give thanks for what we have by sharing it with those who are in need. Keep our eyes open to the wonders of creation, and alert to the care of the earth. May we never be lazy in the work of peace; may we honor those who have [served, suffered or] died in defense of our ideals. Grant our leaders wisdom and forbearance. May they govern with justice and compassion. Help us all to appreciate one another, and to respect the many ways that we may serve You. May our homes be safe from affliction and strife, and our country be sound in body and spirit. Amen.
PRAYER FOR THE STATE OF ISRAEL p.552
O HEAVENLY ONE, Protector and Redeemer of Israel, bless the State of Israel which marks the dawning of hope for all who seek peace. Shield it beneath the wings of your love; spread over it the canopy of Your peace; send Your light and truth to all who lead and advise, guiding them with Your good counsel. Establish peace in the land and fullness of joy for all who dwell there. Amen.
FOR HEALING – El Na R’fa Na Lah!
We recite MI SHEBËRACH for the victims of abuse, brutality, conflicts, fear, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds especially directed at individuals and specific communities including us, and war; for all those at home alone or lonely; for all those in need of physical, emotional, and mental healing. “R’fuah sh’lëmah” – a complete recovery!
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
We say KADDISH YATOM for those of our friends and families who have died and been buried this last week; those in the period of Sh’loshim (30 days since burial); those who have died in the last year; and those whose Yahrzeits/Anyos occur at this time; as well as the victims of brutality, conflict, disease, natural disasters, pandemics, tragedies, violence of all kinds, and war.
YAHRZEITS/ANYOS
This coming week, 15 Tishri through 21 Tishri, we lovingly remember:
Dr. Eleanor Gould
Friend of Judah Maccabee
John McKinnon
Husband of Elizabeth Bernstein
Hyman Steinberg
Father of TKH member Iris Adler
Those victims of the Sho’ah (Holocaust) who died at this time of year.
“ZICHRONAM LIV’RACHAH” – MAY THEIR MEMORIES BE FOR BLESSING.
NO SHAZOOM SEP 25, 2026
We will NOT meet for Shazoom this, Friday, September 25, 2026. Please see the Shazoom and Observances schedule through December 2026 below.
An early Shabbat Shalom – Buen Shabbat – Gut Shabbos
v’Chag Sukkot Samëach!
–Ruben
PS – Shazoom and Observances schedule through December 2026 (Arizona Time Zone):
September 25, 2026 – Erev Sukkot (NO SHAZOOM)
[September 26-October 2, Saturday-Friday – Sukkot]
October 2, 2026 – Erev Shabbat – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[October 2-3, Sh’mini Atzéret (Eight Day of Assembly) and Simchat Torah (Rejoicing in the Torah); Reform Movement combines as in Israel]
October 9, 2026 – Erev Shabbat – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm)
[October 10-12, Saturday-Monday – Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan]
[October 12, Monday – Columbus/Indigenous Peoples’ Day]
October 16, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
October 23, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
October 30, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
November 6, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[November 8-9, Sunday-Monday – Sigd (Ethiopian Jewish holiday occurring 50 days after Yom Kippur)]
[November 9-11, Monday-Wednesday – Rosh Chodesh Kislev]
[November 11, Wednesday – Veterans Day]
November 13, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
November 20, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[November 26, Thursday – Thanksgiving Day]
November 27, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
December 4, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm (Erev Chanukah, First Candle)
[December 5, Friday – Chanukah on Shabbat]
[December 5 to 12, Saturday-Saturday – Chanukah]
[December 9-10, Wednesday-Thursday – Chag HaBanot–North African Chanukah Festival of Daughters]
[December 9-11, Wednesday-Friday – Rosh Chodesh Tevet]
December 11, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm (Chanukah Eighth Candle)
[December 12, Saturday – Chanukah on Shabbat]
December 18, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[December 20, Sunday – Asara B’Tevet – Fast, Siege of Jerusalem]
December 25, 2025 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[December 31, Thursday – Secular New Year’s Eve]
January 1, 2026 – Shazoom ONLY at 6:30 pm
[January 1, Friday – Secular New Year’s Day 2027]