Ron and I enjoy decorating our sukkah each year in anticipation of the Festival of Sukkot. Traditionally, people put photos of ushpizin/ “special guests” that typically include the biblical and rabbinic ancestors in Judaism. Often hosts will add pictures of generations gone by.
We also make the opportunity to take advantage of the open nature of the sukkah – and we invite family, friends, and neighbors to join for a meal.
All this makes me think…. If you could invite one person (in our time or historically) to join you for a meal as a special guest, who would it be? What would you discuss? And for how long would that person stay?
After a week, the sukkah comes down. It’s a reminder that things in life change – and that we therefore have opportunities to nurture a moment in time to harness an important conversation.
The thing with labels is that they stick. That is a good thing for a group like the Nazis, but to nonchalantly slap the “genocide” label on Israel and its supporters is criminal.
These are among the themes of Rosh Hashanah: Who will live and who will die? Who will suffer and who will prosper? And if I may add a couple of questions of my own: Who will be grateful and who will be ungrateful? Who will complain and who will create?
One thing I am sure of: Judea is inarguably a proud Jew, a steadfast member of this multimillennial Jewish Peoplehood. The other is that I love the man, plain and simple.
Daniela Gerson’s “The Wanderers” is all that you can ask for from a book. Meticulously researched, exquisitely told, it is an adventure story spanning more than 80 years, even a love story.
The project was organized by the Nova Tribe Community Association, the nonprofit created after Oct. 7, by producers of the Nova festival to support survivors and bereaved families and commemorate those murdered.
OBKLA has welcomed more than 80,000 volunteers, including students, synagogue and church groups, corporate organizations, top leadership teams from companies such as Netflix and Amazon and, of course, celebrities.
Through poetic reflections, Torah wisdom and personal stories, Salem explores the shofar as a tool for mindfulness, healing, surrender and inner transformation.
Islamist terrorism remains a threat to the United States, the West, and the Jewish people. We cannot allow the history of September 11 to be twisted into an indictment of the society that was attacked.
This ideological pogrom eerily mapped out the antizionism mania that has now hit America’s shores, using the noble fights against racism, colonialism and oppression for ignoble ends.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.
A Moment in Time: “Inviting Guests into the Sukkah”
Rabbi Zach Shapiro
Dear all,
Ron and I enjoy decorating our sukkah each year in anticipation of the Festival of Sukkot. Traditionally, people put photos of ushpizin/ “special guests” that typically include the biblical and rabbinic ancestors in Judaism. Often hosts will add pictures of generations gone by.
We also make the opportunity to take advantage of the open nature of the sukkah – and we invite family, friends, and neighbors to join for a meal.
All this makes me think…. If you could invite one person (in our time or historically) to join you for a meal as a special guest, who would it be? What would you discuss? And for how long would that person stay?
After a week, the sukkah comes down. It’s a reminder that things in life change – and that we therefore have opportunities to nurture a moment in time to harness an important conversation.
With love and shalom,
Rabbi Zach Shapiro
Did you enjoy this article?
You'll love our roundtable.
Editor's Picks
Israel and the Internet Wars – A Professional Social Media Review
The Invisible Student: A Tale of Homelessness at UCLA and USC
What Ever Happened to the LA Times?
Who Are the Jews On Joe Biden’s Cabinet?
You’re Not a Bad Jewish Mom If Your Kid Wants Santa Claus to Come to Your House
No Labels: The Group Fighting for the Political Center
Latest Articles
High Schoolers Spend Summer in Israel with NCSY/JSU’s Next Step Internships
Requiem for 9/11
On the First Night of Rosh Hashanah, We Remember Shabbat
Chosen Links by Boaz – Ep 19 | 9/11: Remembrance and Resilience, 25 Years Later (Part Two)
Let’s Create Real Support for Our Nation’s Jewish College Students
The Slow “I Do”: Why Portugal Is Becoming the Destination Wedding Couples Are Choosing Over Tuscany
Avinu Malkeinu — A New Poem
Our Parent, our Sovereign – I’m embarrassed to tell You we have not been great.
The Genocide Lie: When a Libel Becomes a Label
The thing with labels is that they stick. That is a good thing for a group like the Nazis, but to nonchalantly slap the “genocide” label on Israel and its supporters is criminal.
Hosting Hillel Fuld
A Bisl Rosh Hashana ~ Not Your Typical New Year
Rosh Hashana is reserved for soulful transformation: Resolving to be something different in the Jewish new year.
The Chapter Ahead
Rosh Hashanah is Like Time and Isaac When Both Come to Life
Print Issue: Confronting Personal Tragedy: A Rosh Hashanah Reflection | September 11, 2026
These are among the themes of Rosh Hashanah: Who will live and who will die? Who will suffer and who will prosper? And if I may add a couple of questions of my own: Who will be grateful and who will be ungrateful? Who will complain and who will create?
L’Shana Tova: In the Spirit of the Jewish New Year
Happy Birthday, Judea Pearl
One thing I am sure of: Judea is inarguably a proud Jew, a steadfast member of this multimillennial Jewish Peoplehood. The other is that I love the man, plain and simple.
Exiled from Zamosc, Survival in the Far-Off Lands
Daniela Gerson’s “The Wanderers” is all that you can ask for from a book. Meticulously researched, exquisitely told, it is an adventure story spanning more than 80 years, even a love story.
At 6:29 A.M., to Honor Nova, the Music Stopped at Burning Man
The project was organized by the Nova Tribe Community Association, the nonprofit created after Oct. 7, by producers of the Nova festival to support survivors and bereaved families and commemorate those murdered.
9/11 Didn’t Make America Immune to Strategic Surprise
Assume the next surprise attack is only a matter of time, and use that time to make it harder to carry out and less catastrophic when it comes.
More Than Just a Meal: Bringing People Together at OBKLA
OBKLA has welcomed more than 80,000 volunteers, including students, synagogue and church groups, corporate organizations, top leadership teams from companies such as Netflix and Amazon and, of course, celebrities.
The Shofar Blower
Through poetic reflections, Torah wisdom and personal stories, Salem explores the shofar as a tool for mindfulness, healing, surrender and inner transformation.
Political Activists Are Erasing September 11 in K-12 Education
Islamist terrorism remains a threat to the United States, the West, and the Jewish people. We cannot allow the history of September 11 to be twisted into an indictment of the society that was attacked.
Table for Five: Rosh Hashanah
God Remembers
Dating, DMs & Lie Detectors ft. Zach Margs
Confronting Personal Tragedy: A Rosh Hashanah Reflection
Sweet Devotion: An Apple Cake Recipe
I’m telling you that there’s something special about this apple cake and the way that it just melts in your mouth.
Beware: the Durban Delirium Trumped the Essential Lessons of 9/11
This ideological pogrom eerily mapped out the antizionism mania that has now hit America’s shores, using the noble fights against racism, colonialism and oppression for ignoble ends.
More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.