Sukkot Wednesday, October 16 – Wednesday, October 23
Sukkot is the last of the three pilgrimage festivals. Like Passover, and Shavuot, Sukkot has a dual significance: spiritual and agricultural. Spiritually, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival.
Sukkot lasts for seven days. The two days following the festival, Sh’mini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, are separate holidays but are related and commonly thought of as part of Sukkot. On Sh’mini Atzeret we begin to pray for rain and also commemorate those who have died in the past year with Yizkor services. Simchat Torah is the holiday where we begin reading the Torah anew.
Kiddush | Wednesday, October 16 | 6:30 p.m. | CBE Sukkah (Rain location: Lobby)
Festival Morning Service | Thursday, October 17 | 9:30 a.m. | Park Sukkah (Rain location: Chapel)
Shabbat Evening Service w/ former hostage Liat Atzili| Friday, October 18 | 6:30 p.m. | Chapel
Sukkot Block Party | Saturday, October 19 | noon – 2 p.m. | Garfield Pl (Rain location: Ballroom)
At CBE, many of our small groups gather on various nights in our Park Sukkah:
LGBTQ+ Individuals and Families Celebration | Thursday, October 17 | 5:30 – 7:30 p.m.
Sephardi and Mizrachi Members Celebration | Saturday, October 19 | 2 – 4 p.m.
Interfaith Families Celebration | Saturday, October 19 | 6 – 8 p.m.
Neurodiverse Families Celebration | Sunday, October 20 | 10 a.m. – noon
Jews of Color and Multiracial Families Celebration | Sunday, October 20 | 12:30 – 2:30 p.m.
Sukkot “FamJam” Sing-Along | Sunday, October 20 | 3 – 5 p.m.
In the case of inclement weather, these groups will meet in the CBE Boardroom.
Sukkah Locations:
Our “CBE Sukkah “is located outside the CBE Sanctuary on 8th Avenue.
Our “Park Sukkah” is nestled beneath the trees in Prospect Park.
From the Garfield Place entrance: turn left at the first stone path, before the park’s main drive. Go past the first arch on your right (Meadowport Arch) and continue on the path. At the top of the hill, make a right at the fork, and you’ll see the CBE Sukkah on your right.
From Grand Army Plaza: with your back to the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument, use the entrance to the right of the main drive. Follow the stone path and the CBE Sukkah will be on your left just before you get to Meadowport Arch.
Sh’mini Atzeret/Simchat Torah Wednesday, October 23 – Friday, October 25
Simchat Torah, שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה, “Rejoicing of Torah” is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Sh’mini Atzeret (“Eighth Day of Assembly”), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei.
The Simchat Torah festivities begin with the evening service. The synagogue’s Torah scrolls are removed from the ark and carried in a series of seven hakafot (circuits). Although each hakafa need only encompass one circuit, the dancing and singing with the Torah often continues much longer, and often overflows from the synagogues onto the streets.
Yizkor for Sh’mini Atzeret | Wed 10/23 | 6:30 p.m. | Chapel
Simchat Torah Across Brooklyn | Thursday, October 24 | 8 p.m. – 12 a.m. | Grand Army Plaza
Youth and Family Simchat Torah | Friday, October 25 | 5:30 p.m. | Sanctuary
Altshul Service | Friday, October 25 | 9 a.m. | Chapel, Social Hall, Lobby
Kabbalat Shabbat | Friday, October 25 | 6:30 p.m. | Sanctuary, Ballroom