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Jewish Holidays and Commemorations

Sukkot: (Sundown on Friday, Sept 25 to sunset on Friday, Oct 2)    

The festival of Sukkot is one of the three great pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish year. Beginning five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot is named after the booths or huts (sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell during this week-long celebration. Here is some background.  

• 🧿 Host a ghostly meal in the sukkah and invite in ushpizin, ancestral guests to dine with you.  
• 🧿 Celebrate Sukkot AND National Cookies Day on October 1 by hosting a kabbalistic cookie decorating party in the Sukkah 
• 🧿🌱 Host an edible Sukkah making Tikkun Olam event 
• 🌱 Learn about social justice issues and how they relate to Sukkot  
• 📖 Enjoy Sushi in the Sukkah and learn about Jewish-Japanese Fusion 
• 🧿 Make your own local lulav with this program 

Hoshanah Rabbah: (Sundown on Thursday, Oct 1 to sunset on Friday, Oct 2)

Hoshanah Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, is a semi-holiday in its own right. Still counted among the days of Hol Hamoed (intermediate days of the festival), it is the day during which the entire Jewish community is judged by God to be worthy or not of the seasonal rains. 

• 📖 Gather at a cemetery to learn about Hoshana Rabbah as a day of the dead  
• 🧿 Host a song circle singing songs that relate to the theme of water 

Shemini Atzeret: (Sundown on Friday, Oct 2 to sunset on Saturday, Oct 3)

Shmini Atzeret is mentioned in the Bible, but its exact function is unclear. Practices include the official start to the rainy season and praying Yizkor. Note that Reform Jews observe Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on the same day (Oct. 2-3). 

• 🧿 Now that the etrog is no longer being used, turn it into etrog curd or jelly and try it on some baked goods. (More ideas here.)  
• 📖 Host a final gathering in a sukkah and embrace the spirituality of just hanging out or the beauty of being in-between 
• 🧿 Host a Shofar Reflection Program to mark the end of the high holiday season 

Simchat Torah: (Sundown on Saturday, Oct 3 to sunset on Sunday Oct 4)

Simchat Torah is a celebration of the conclusion of one and the beginning of another annual cycle of readings from the Torah. Note that Reform Jews observe Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on the same day (Oct 2-3). 

• 🧿 Partner with a local synagogue or other community to host a Simchat Torah celebration – you can even pregame with some Torah-themed cocktails at home before you head out (ask your JLS!) 
• 📖 Host a PowerPoint night showcasing photos from your Bat/Bar/Bet/B’nei Mitzvah and teach a little bit about whatever Torah portion you read from. If you didn’t have a B’Mitzvah, show photos of yourself from middle school and look up what Torah portion would align near your 13^th birthday, and teach about that! 
• 🧿 Host an Alternative Simchat Torah Dance Party by celebrating other books you love as much as Torah – have everyone dress up as a favorite book character and play secular and Jewish music to dance the night away! 

Anniversary of October 7^th: (Wednesday, Oct 7)

On October 7, 2023, Hamas led a coordinated attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip which tragically resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and over 240 hostages being taken – the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. This attack initiated the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, which has culminated in approx. 75,000 total deaths to date. 

• 🧿 Host a vigil honoring the lives lost and traumatized on October 7^th and since 
• 📖 Explore this booklet of eulogies and speeches compiled on the one-year anniversary of 10/7 for reflection on the past and a future of peace and justice for all in Israel-Palestine. 
• 📖 Read Israeli poetry written since October 7^th grappling with themes of loss, grief, trauma, and relationship to the land 
• 📖 Use these texts on Memory and Resilience to explore what it means to carry forward loss without letting it become the whole story. 

Anniversary of the Tree of Life Shooting in Pittsburgh: (Mon, Oct 27) 

On October 27th, 2018, an extremist attacked Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during Shabbat morning services. The perpetrator was motivated by antisemitism and anti-immigrant sentiment. He killed eleven people and wounded six, in the deadliest attack on a local Jewish community in American history.  

• 🌱 Volunteer with HIAS (The shooter was partially motivated by HIAS and the congregation’s work with refugees)  
• 📖 Learn about the Torah’s theology of border-crossing  
• 📖🧿 Explore the stories of the congregants who lost their lives    
• 📖 Learn about Jewish perspectives on firearms and gun violence prevention 

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Torah Portions

Shabbat Oct 9-10: Parashat Breishit – “When Beginning” 

God creates the world. After Eve and Adam eat a fruit from the Tree of Knowledge, they are banished from the Garden of Eden. Eve conceives children, Cain and Abel. After God’s rejection of his offering, Cain kills Abel, resulting in Cain asking God, “am I my brother’s keeper?” God then considers destroying all of Creation. 

• 📖 Celebrate Creation by going for a hike in nature and using one of these Hiking through a Jewish Lens resources  
• 🌱 Partner with a local social action partner to do direct service, as a positive answer to the question “am I my brother’s keeper?”  
• 🧿 Host a photography event exploring what it means to be created in God’s image. Perhaps later in the month you could host a follow up gallery show to display the awesome photos taken!  

Shabbat Oct 16-17: Parashat Noach – “Noah” 

Humankind all speaks one language and uses that communication to attempt to build a tower all the way to the heavens. God punishes the wicked in the world by causing a giant flood to wipe out nearly all of Creation. God saves Noah and his family, and two of each animal, who will repopulate the world. We are also introduced to Abram and his wife, Sarai.  

• 🌱 Partner with a local animal shelter to host an animal adoption event in honor of the animals who survived the flood 
• 📖 Learn about The Tower of Babel and discover different universal language attempts like Esperanto and Interlingua 
• 📖🌱 Use resources from Dayenu – A Jewish Call to Climate Action to inspire programming that explores the climate crisis as a Jewish issue. Here is a specific resource on Parashat Noach that could inspire a Jewish Learning event.   
• 🧿🌱 Consider hosting a song circle using songs from Rising Tides, Rising Voices to educate participants on Dayenu, a Jewish call to climate action. 

Shabbat Oct 23-24: Parashat Lech Lecha– “Go Forth” 

God sends Abram forth to a “land that I will show you,” and makes a covenant with Abram promising to make his descendants a great nation. God changes Abram’s name to Abraham. Abraham has a child with Hagar and names him Ishmael. God then promises Abraham’s barren wife, Sarah, that she will have a child, even in her advanced age. 

• 📖 Learn about the different naming traditions in Judaism 
• 🧿 Take the command of “Lech-Lecha” seriously and venture outside of your Moishe House with Hitbodedut for Heshvan!   
• 🌱 Pair venturing outside with a hike and trail clean up    
• 🧿📖 Explore the role of blessings in Jewish tradition by hosting a “Blessing-Bee” (basically the equivalent of a spelling bee just with Hebrew blessings)!   
• 🧿 Lech Lecha Travel Guide Gathering (RSS to provide) 

Shabbat Oct 30-31: Parashat Vayera – “And [God] Appeared” 

Three guests arrive at Abraham and Sarah’s tent. They inform Abraham that God will give the elderly Sarah a child. Sarah, as a result, laughs. The prophecy comes true, and they name their son Isaac after Sarah’s laughter. God informs Abraham that Sodom and Gomorrah will be destroyed, though Abraham attempts to convince God otherwise. God then tests Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. Abraham agrees, but is stopped at the last moment offers a ram to sacrifice instead. 

• 📖 Host a Torah Study diving into the different interpretations of one of our most disturbing Torah stories – the akedah, the Binding of Isaac 
• 📖 Host a Queer Torah Study that interprets the story of Soddom and Gomorrah through a queer lens  
• 🧿 In honor of Isaac, whose name means laughter, host a Jewish comedy movie night 

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Secular Celebrations and Remembrances

Thursday, Oct 1: National Homemade Cookies Day 

• 🧿 Host a kabbalistic cookie decorating party in your Sukkah  
• 🧿 Host a Jewish cookie cookoff and decide which holiday has the best cookies! (RSS to provide) 

Saturday, Oct 3: National Mean Girls Day 

• 🧿 Throw a watch party for the OG Mean Girls movie, the Mean Girls Musical, or Mean Girls: The Musical: The Movie and, with the help of this HeyAlma article, discuss the complicated representation of sometimes-Jewish Gretchen Wieners.

Tuesday, Oct 6: National Mad Hatter Day 

• 🌱 How does the phrase Mad Hatter connect to mental health?   Where did the phrase “mad as a hatter” come from? | HISTORY Focus on mental health and neurodivergence and invite a mental health professional to come talk about mental health, or write letters advocating for mental health rights.

• 📖 Learn about Jewish self-care practices while doing a spa night
• 📖 Host a poetry writing workshop mimicking the style of Jewish poets such as Leah Goldberg, Yehudah Amichai, or Rachel 
• 🫂📖 Explore the poetry of Black Jewish writers like Aaron Samuels, Tovah Ricardo, Raphael “Hebro” Fulcher, Camonghne Felix, and Rhys Langston 

Thursday, Oct 8: National Hero Day, National Pierogi Day 

• 🧿 Invite people over to make different types of dumplings from different Jewish communities around the world! In addition to pierogis, try empanadas, bao, gyoza, and more! 
• 📖 Host a Coca Cola Taste Test Program and learn about the hero rabbi who made coke kosher! 

Saturday, Oct 10: National Walk to a Park Day 

• 📖 Go for a WOW Walk in a nearby park (or around the grounds at Natty Con)!

Sunday, Oct 11: National Coming Out Day 

• 📖 Host a queer Torah study with resources from Keshet 
• 📖 Host a drag brunch and learn about Jewish ideas around drag and gender presentation 
• 📖 Explore homoerotic poetry by Jewish writers from Medieval Spain 
• 🫂📖 Read about the Torah of coming out and write letters to your younger selves 

Monday, Oct 12: Indigenous People’s Day 

• 📖🫂 Watch Intersections of Identity, a 1-hr program on the Jewish Indigenous experience  
• 🌱📖 Read an excerpt from “The Stolen Beam,” an essay by a South Dakotan Jew reckoning with her family’s history or listen to the audio essay.  
• 🌱  Learn about tribal sovereignty and indigenous governance over food ordered from a local Native-owned business  
• 🌱📖 Learn about the indigenous communities in your area and reflect on the experience of exile with these program ideas. 

Monday, Oct 12: National Farmer’s Day 

• 📖 Host a farm-to-table meal and learn about Jewish farming movements like Adamah 
• 🧿 Head to a Farmer’s Market and try this scavenger hunt. 

Thursday, Oct 15: National Shawarma Day 

• 🧿 Invite people over and make Shawarma for dinner Israeli style! 

Friday, Oct 16: National Sports Day 

• 🧿📖 Partner with your local JCC and host a basketball, pickleball, flag football or krav maga program.  Learn about Jews and Sports,  Wanna Play Pickleball, Krav Maga and Israel Connections, Jews in Football

Saturday, Oct 17: National Pasta Day 

• 🧿 Learn about the Jews of Italy while hosting a pasta-making (or just pasta-eating!) event! 

Wednesday, Oct 21: Back to the Future Day 

• 📖 Watch Back to the Future and learn about Jewish futurism!  

Friday, Oct 23: National Horror Movie Day 

• 📖 Host a Jewish horror movie night!  
• 📖 De-mystify the horror by talking about Jewish views of the afterlife. 

Monday, Oct 26: National Pumpkin Day 

• 📖 Host a Jewish-themed pumpkin carving party  
• 🧿 Host an all things pumpkin food night. 

Tuesday, Oct 27: National Beer Day 

• 📖 Host a Craft Beer and Jewish Crafts Night  
• 📖 Host a tasting party with local beers and learn about the history of Jews as tavern-keepers 

Wednesday, Oct 28: National Chocolate Day, National Wild Foods Day 

• 📖 Go on an edible tour through the Jewish history of chocolate with this Jewish learning program  
• 🌱 Fair Trade Chocolate Tasting or make your own fair trade chocolate and explore fair trade and Jewish values. Program guide and resources HERE 

Friday, Oct 30: National Wicked Day 

• 📖 Screen Wicked: The Movie and learn about Jewish ideas of evil and wickedness.  See the Wicked 2 For Good Source Sheet and Wicked through a Jewish lens

Saturday, Oct 31: Halloween! 

• 📖 Host a Shabbat Halloween dinner and learn about Jewish spooky folklore!  
• 🧿 Host a Halloween party in which everyone comes in a Jewish-themed costume (with explanations prepared!) 
• 🧿 Have a Challah-ween bake-off  
• 📖 Create a Golem with this Golem-o-ween program! 
• 📖 Learn about Jewish monsters such as the Behema, Leviathan, and Golem 
• 📖🧿 Celebrate Halloween by hosting a Shabbat dinner and sharing Jewish Ghost stories! 

Compiled by Rabbi Rachael Pass, with contributions made by Annie Prusky, Rabbi Shari Shamah, and Abbey London.