Super Sukkahs!

First of all.... WHAT is a sukkah??

A sukkah is a sort of tent. The plural for sukkah is "sukkot." Sukkot is also the name of a Jewish holiday which commemorates the time that the ancient Israelites wandered in the desert, sleeping in... none other than... sukkot!

And exactly why were they wandering in the desert? Well, they had just fled from being slaves in ancient Eygpt, where Moses, the leader of the Israelites, convinced Pharoah (after a number of very disturbing plagues) to "let my people go."

Once in the desert (Sinai) they slept and ate in temporary tents, or sukkot.

Today, Sukkot is a week long holiday which was celebrated just last week. For fun, families build sukkahs of their own, and sometimes sleep and eat inside of them during the week.

Pictured here is a my nephew Jackson is a minature sukkah I built for him.

Note that there is no fully covered roof on the sukkah... only branches. This is to remind people inside of the sukkah, as they look up and gaze at the stars, not only of the temporary outside shelters of their ancient ancestors, but also that life itself is temporary. Therefore, we should be thankful and joyful for all of our blessings.

Yom Kippur II: A Surprise Attack Breaks the Silence

On the holiest day in Judaism known as "Yom Kippur" (see Yom Kippur Part I in September archives), Syria and Egypt launched a surprise attack against Israel on October 6th, 1973.

It was a very strategic move for Egypt and Syria. Israeli men and women in the army reserves were home with family and friends, and most of them were fasting for the holiday. This left them with little energy to fight off not one, but two invading armies.

But miraculousy, they did.

Within three weeks, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) had sucessfully pushed back its attackers- crossing the Suez Canal on the Egyptian side, and advancing to within 20 miles of Damascus on the Syrian side.
(Note: At this time Israel already had control over the Sinai peninsula as a result of a previous war in 1967).

Though Israel was able to defend itself, the war remains a painful memory in Israeli society making the Yom Kippur holiday especially somber.