Rabbi Howard Morrison

Dear Congregational Family,

As with the High Holy Days, the current Festival of Sukkot has felt very different. In part, the difference has been felt by not encircling the sanctuary during the recitation of Hoshanot. Nevertheless, I am grateful that we had a full service in the sanctuary on the first two days of Sukkot, and that many people participated via livestream.

I anticipate a strange feeling on Simchat Torah this coming Saturday night and Sunday. Normally, we dance with the Torah scrolls and encircle the sanctuary. For obvious safety concerns, there will be no group dancing this year. Nevertheless, the most important feature of Simchat Torah is the annual transition from completing the fifth and last book of the Torah to staring anew with the first book of the Torah. The cycle of endings and beginnings defines the chapters of our lives and the chapters of our people's history.

Two weeks ago on Rosh Hashanah, I was spiritually and emotionally overwhelmed when over 150 people filled the parking lot to hear the Shofar live in person after indoor services were completed. Weather permitting, after indoor services are completed this coming Sunday on Simchat Torah, we will read the entire last portion of the Torah followed by the first chapter of the Torah outside in the parking lot for those who wish to celebrate the ending and beginning of the Torah reading cycle in person in an outdoor setting.

Inside or outside, the message of the Torah is that our values come with us wherever we are. By reading the ending and the beginning indoors and outdoors, we celebrate the complete immersion of Torah in our lives.

Rabbi Howard Morrison