Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Summary
In its account of the festivals, this week’s parsha says:
“For seven days you shall live in huts [succot]. All those native-born in Israel must live in huts, so that future generations may know that I had the Israelites live in huts when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.”
What does this mean? Two great Sages, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva, disagreed. Rabbi Eliezer said the huts or shelter (succot) refers to the Clouds of Glory that protected the Israelites in the desert. By contrast, Rabbi Akiva said itis literal, the succot were the huts that sheltered us in the midbar.
This debate continues among commentators. Rashi and Ramban favour the Clouds of Glory, seeing Succot as a reminder of miracles. Ibn Ezra and Rashbam take it literally. Rashbam explains that Succot comes at harvest time, when people feel secure and successful. At that moment, the Torah reminds them of their past, of the time when they had no homes, only temporary shelters. This creates gratitude and prevents pride. As Moshe warned: when you have plenty, you may forget God and say, “My power has brought me this wealth.”
According to Rashbam, Succot is a reminder of humble beginnings and a protection against the dangers of affluence. The real test, Moshe said, is not hardship but success. People remember God in times of trouble but forget Him in times of comfort.
But a question remains. If the succot were just huts, where is the miracle? Pesach recalls dramatic signs and wonders. Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah. What does Succot celebrate, if it is only about simple shelters?
A beautiful answer comes from Yirmiyahu:“I remember the devotion of your youth, how – as a bride – you loved Me and followed Me through the desert, through a land not sown.”
Most accounts of the wilderness focus on the people’s complaints. Yirmiyahu sees something else: their faith. They left a known land and followed God into an unknown future. They travelled through danger, trusting that God would guide them. This was not a miracle of what God did for them, but of what they did for God.
Perhaps this is Rabbi Akiva’s insight. The greatness of the wilderness years was not the Clouds of Glory, but the courage of a people without a home, exposed and vulnerable, who continued their journey in faith.
Succot later came to symbolise Jewish history itself. For centuries, Jews lived without permanent security. They were often forced to move, never fully at home. Yet they held onto their faith. Even when they could have escaped suffering by giving it up, they did not.
That is why Succot is called zeman simchatenu, “the season of our joy.” Despite uncertainty, Jews celebrated life. With no protection other than faith, they affirmed hope and meaning.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev explained that Pesach has two names: one praising God, the other praising Israel. So too with Succot. Rabbi Eliezer saw God’s miracle. Rabbi Akiva saw the miracle of Israel – their willingness to follow God into the unknown.
Why celebrate this at harvest time? Yirmiyahu gives the answer: “Israel is holy to God, the first fruit of His harvest.”
Just as, during the month of Tishrei, the Israelites celebrate their harvest, so God celebrates His too – and His harvest is us, the people who, whatever else their failings, have stayed loyal to Heaven’s call for longer, and through a more arduous set of journeys, than any other people on earth.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
1. Why do we need faith to embark upon a journey without knowing the destination?
2. As a people, do you think we turn to God more when times are hard or when things are working out? Is this lamentable?
3. How can sitting in a flimsy succah make us feel safe?
A Takeaway Thought
Faith is not only about miracles from God, but the courage to follow Him into the unknown. Like the succah, Jewish life teaches trust, humility, and loyalty even in uncertainty.
Exploring the Parsha
With Sara Lamm
The Parsha in a Nutshell
Parshat Emor contains the Jewish calendar's complete cycle of festivals, mapping out the sacred rhythm of our year. It begins by outlining the special laws of purity and marriage for the Kohanim, the priests, ensuring they maintain the highest level of sanctity for their service in the Mishkan. The Torah then transitions into the festivals, starting with the weekly holiness of Shabbat. It details Pesach in the spring, Shavuot seven weeks later, and the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the autumn. Finally, it describes Succot, commanding us to dwell in temporary huts for seven days to remember the wilderness journey.
Emor concludes with the laws of the eternal light in the sanctuary, the showbread, and a sobering narrative about a man who blasphemes God's name, reminding us that words have immense power and that the sanctity of speech is just as vital as the sanctity of time and space.
Parsha Activity
The Masked Journey
Clear a safe path across the room. One person is blindfolded while another acts as their guide. The guide cannot touch the blindfolded person; they can only use their voice to give directions around obstacles. Time just how long it takes to cross the room.
Now switch roles and see who is the most trusting traveller and who is the clearest guide. This game is a fun way to experience what it feels like to step into the unknown, relying entirely on someone else's voice to keep you safe.
A Story for the Ages
The Nail of Faith
Many years ago, a young Rabbi Sacks got married and was excited to build his very first succah in his new home. There was just one problem. He had never built anything before. Not knowing where to start, he felt lucky to have a friend who knew all about construction, who had built many succot before. Together, they went to the timber yard.
The friend had drawn up architectural plans, measured everything perfectly, and bought an impressive pile of heavy beams, planks, hinges, and screws. Rabbi Sacks watched his friend in awe. But with no woodwork experience with woodwork, he decided to simplify things. He bought a few sheets of hardboard, some wooden supports, and a bag of nails. The two friends went to their respective homes and each began to build a succah.
Rabbi Sacks would chuckle as he told this part of the story, for as his friend was busy constructing a magnificent, sturdy summer house. Rabbi Sacks managed to nail three simple walls together. Then he leaned them against the back wall of his house, securing the corner with another nail. It looked, he thought, like a large packing case. But it would fulfil the mitzva, and he and his wife would be able to eat there on Succot.
On the second night of the chag, a massive storm blew through England. The wind howled and wailed as trees were toppled all over the country. It was the hurricane of the decade! The next morning in shul, everyone was discussing the damage that they had woken up to find. But Rabbi Sacks was sure that his friend’s succah must have survived. After all, it had been constructed so well, so beautifully. Sadly, his friend admitted that his study, elaborate succah had completely collapsed. He would have to rebuild.
“Would you like me to help rebuild your succah too?” asked the friend. “Thank you, but my succah is still okay!” Rabbi Sacks replied.
The friend could not believe it. How could any succah have survived, let alone that built by a beginner? Rabbi Sacks wasn’t sure either. The two men walked home together to investigate, and the friend soon found the answer.
“My beautiful structure stood independently, and took the full force of the wind. Yours was attached to the solid brick wall of your house by this one nail. This nail is what made all the difference. Do you see?” Rabbi Sacks smiled. “Now I understand Succot. You can build the most sophisticated structure, but if it stands alone, a storm will destroy it. On the other hand, if an improvised, frail shelter is joined to something immovable, it will hold fast. It’s just like faith. This nail is faith.”
Cards & Conversation
Cards & Conversation: Chumash Edition is a new resource. On one side of every parsha card, you’ll find an interesting question to think about and discuss, based on the Torah portion. Flip it over, and you’ll discover an idea from Rabbi Sacks that shines a new light on the parsha.
We are pleased to offer a weekly sample of these cards on these pages, and you can also download the full set, request a pack of your own, andfind out more by visiting Cards & Conversation.
A man publicly curses God – and it becomes one of the most serious moments in the Torah.
Why do you think using God’s name with disrespect matters so much?
“Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.”
- Rabbi Sacks’ translation of Vayikra 24:14
Rabbi Sacks on Vayikra 24:14 (in the Koren Sacks Humash) continues his commentary, and offers an answer:
“Life itself is holy: people, not just priests; the whole of life, not just edited parts of it. So we have to be holy in the way we eat, the way we conduct our... relationships, and the way we use language. We must not curse even the deaf, let alone our parents, let alone God, because verbal abuse leads to physical abuse.When human beings lose respect for God, they eventually lose respect for humanity.”
The Torah commands us to live in huts for seven days to remember the wilderness journey. According to Rabbi Akiva, the succot were huts, not the miraculous Clouds of Glory. Therefore the miracle they symbolise is the extraordinary faith of Bnei Yisrael, who followed God into a desert without homes or provisions. Building a succah, and dwelling within it reminds us to step out of our secure houses and experience that same vulnerability. The biggest lesson to learn from this is that our ultimate security comes only from our faith in God.
“And do these things because, being human, we are bound by a covenant of human solidarity, whatever our colour or culture, class or creed. These are moral principles... ” - Rabbi Sacks
Practically Speaking
How will flex your faith?
Faith is a muscle that needs stretching and flexing. This week, try doing something slightly outside your comfort zone that requires trusting the process. It could be having a difficult conversation you have been avoiding, or simply letting go of the need to plan every single detail of your day. Step into the unknown, just a little bit, and notice how it feels to rely on faith.
Rabbi Sacks notes that people often remember God in times of distress but forget Him in times of plenty. When we have fine houses and full bank accounts, we start believing our own strength produced our wealth. The succah forces us to leave our solid homes and sit in a vulnerable hut, reminding us that everything we have is a gift.
Try it Out
Young students
Build a fort in your living room with just blankets, pillows, and chairs. Then sit in it, look around, and see how flimsy the walls are. If someone pushed a chair, the whole thing might fall down! Think about how Bnai Yisrael lived in basic tents for forty years in the desert. They were unafraid, for they knew God was protecting them!
Advancing students
This week, look around your bedroom or your own home. Pick three things you use every day and take for granted, like your bed, the fridge, or the heating. Take a moment to genuinely thank God for each of them!
Learning in Layers
Guiding you through Torah step by step, with insights from the Koren Sacks Humash with translation and commentary by Rabbi Sacks. Each step takes us a little deeper and invites ‘Torah as Conversation,’ just as Rabbi Sacks taught.
“There shall be one law for you, for migrant and for native born alike, for I am the Lord your God.”
The laws of injury and murder are placed directly after the story of the blasphemer, a man who committed a sin against God. Why does the Torah suddenly shift to crimes against other people? What does this tell us about the connection between how we treat God and how we treat each other?
“Sacred and secular, spiritual and physical offenses against God and crimes against human beings are indissolubly connected. Sacred order and social order go together. Lose one – either one – and you will eventually lose the other. A sense of the sacred is what lifts us above instinct and protects us from our dysfunctional drives. That is the message with which the book of Leviticus draws toward its close.”
Rabbi Sacks explains that an offence against God eventually leads to assaults against humans. Spiritual sins lead to physical crimes. We cannot separate our religious lives from our social lives. Disrespecting boundaries in one area will inevitably cause a breakdown in the other.
1. Do you think it is possible to be a good person without a sense of the “sacred”? 2. How does treating God's name with respect help us treat other people with respect? 3. What is one way you can bring a sense of the sacred into your everyday interactions with others?
Faith as a Journey
Family Edition
Emor
Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Summary
In its account of the festivals, this week’s parsha says:
What does this mean? Two great Sages, Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Akiva, disagreed. Rabbi Eliezer said the huts or shelter (succot) refers to the Clouds of Glory that protected the Israelites in the desert. By contrast, Rabbi Akiva said itis literal, the succot were the huts that sheltered us in the midbar.
This debate continues among commentators. Rashi and Ramban favour the Clouds of Glory, seeing Succot as a reminder of miracles. Ibn Ezra and Rashbam take it literally. Rashbam explains that Succot comes at harvest time, when people feel secure and successful. At that moment, the Torah reminds them of their past, of the time when they had no homes, only temporary shelters. This creates gratitude and prevents pride. As Moshe warned: when you have plenty, you may forget God and say, “My power has brought me this wealth.”
According to Rashbam, Succot is a reminder of humble beginnings and a protection against the dangers of affluence. The real test, Moshe said, is not hardship but success. People remember God in times of trouble but forget Him in times of comfort.
But a question remains. If the succot were just huts, where is the miracle? Pesach recalls dramatic signs and wonders. Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah. What does Succot celebrate, if it is only about simple shelters?
A beautiful answer comes from Yirmiyahu:“I remember the devotion of your youth, how – as a bride – you loved Me and followed Me through the desert, through a land not sown.”
Most accounts of the wilderness focus on the people’s complaints. Yirmiyahu sees something else: their faith. They left a known land and followed God into an unknown future. They travelled through danger, trusting that God would guide them. This was not a miracle of what God did for them, but of what they did for God.
Perhaps this is Rabbi Akiva’s insight. The greatness of the wilderness years was not the Clouds of Glory, but the courage of a people without a home, exposed and vulnerable, who continued their journey in faith.
Succot later came to symbolise Jewish history itself. For centuries, Jews lived without permanent security. They were often forced to move, never fully at home. Yet they held onto their faith. Even when they could have escaped suffering by giving it up, they did not.
That is why Succot is called zeman simchatenu, “the season of our joy.” Despite uncertainty, Jews celebrated life. With no protection other than faith, they affirmed hope and meaning.
Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev explained that Pesach has two names: one praising God, the other praising Israel. So too with Succot. Rabbi Eliezer saw God’s miracle. Rabbi Akiva saw the miracle of Israel – their willingness to follow God into the unknown.
Why celebrate this at harvest time? Yirmiyahu gives the answer: “Israel is holy to God, the first fruit of His harvest.”
Just as, during the month of Tishrei, the Israelites celebrate their harvest, so God celebrates His too – and His harvest is us, the people who, whatever else their failings, have stayed loyal to Heaven’s call for longer, and through a more arduous set of journeys, than any other people on earth.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
1. Why do we need faith to embark upon a journey without knowing the destination?
2. As a people, do you think we turn to God more when times are hard or when things are working out? Is this lamentable?
3. How can sitting in a flimsy succah make us feel safe?
A Takeaway Thought
Faith is not only about miracles from God, but the courage to follow Him into the unknown. Like the succah, Jewish life teaches trust, humility, and loyalty even in uncertainty.
Exploring the Parsha
With Sara Lamm
The Parsha in a Nutshell
Parshat Emor contains the Jewish calendar's complete cycle of festivals, mapping out the sacred rhythm of our year. It begins by outlining the special laws of purity and marriage for the Kohanim, the priests, ensuring they maintain the highest level of sanctity for their service in the Mishkan. The Torah then transitions into the festivals, starting with the weekly holiness of Shabbat. It details Pesach in the spring, Shavuot seven weeks later, and the high holy days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur in the autumn. Finally, it describes Succot, commanding us to dwell in temporary huts for seven days to remember the wilderness journey.
Emor concludes with the laws of the eternal light in the sanctuary, the showbread, and a sobering narrative about a man who blasphemes God's name, reminding us that words have immense power and that the sanctity of speech is just as vital as the sanctity of time and space.
Parsha Activity
The Masked Journey
Clear a safe path across the room. One person is blindfolded while another acts as their guide. The guide cannot touch the blindfolded person; they can only use their voice to give directions around obstacles. Time just how long it takes to cross the room.
Now switch roles and see who is the most trusting traveller and who is the clearest guide. This game is a fun way to experience what it feels like to step into the unknown, relying entirely on someone else's voice to keep you safe.
A Story for the Ages
The Nail of Faith
Many years ago, a young Rabbi Sacks got married and was excited to build his very first succah in his new home. There was just one problem. He had never built anything before. Not knowing where to start, he felt lucky to have a friend who knew all about construction, who had built many succot before. Together, they went to the timber yard.
The friend had drawn up architectural plans, measured everything perfectly, and bought an impressive pile of heavy beams, planks, hinges, and screws. Rabbi Sacks watched his friend in awe. But with no woodwork experience with woodwork, he decided to simplify things. He bought a few sheets of hardboard, some wooden supports, and a bag of nails. The two friends went to their respective homes and each began to build a succah.
Rabbi Sacks would chuckle as he told this part of the story, for as his friend was busy constructing a magnificent, sturdy summer house. Rabbi Sacks managed to nail three simple walls together. Then he leaned them against the back wall of his house, securing the corner with another nail. It looked, he thought, like a large packing case. But it would fulfil the mitzva, and he and his wife would be able to eat there on Succot.
On the second night of the chag, a massive storm blew through England. The wind howled and wailed as trees were toppled all over the country. It was the hurricane of the decade! The next morning in shul, everyone was discussing the damage that they had woken up to find. But Rabbi Sacks was sure that his friend’s succah must have survived. After all, it had been constructed so well, so beautifully. Sadly, his friend admitted that his study, elaborate succah had completely collapsed. He would have to rebuild.
“Would you like me to help rebuild your succah too?” asked the friend. “Thank you, but my succah is still okay!” Rabbi Sacks replied.
The friend could not believe it. How could any succah have survived, let alone that built by a beginner? Rabbi Sacks wasn’t sure either. The two men walked home together to investigate, and the friend soon found the answer.
“My beautiful structure stood independently, and took the full force of the wind. Yours was attached to the solid brick wall of your house by this one nail. This nail is what made all the difference. Do you see?” Rabbi Sacks smiled. “Now I understand Succot. You can build the most sophisticated structure, but if it stands alone, a storm will destroy it. On the other hand, if an improvised, frail shelter is joined to something immovable, it will hold fast. It’s just like faith. This nail is faith.”
Cards & Conversation
Cards & Conversation: Chumash Edition is a new resource. On one side of every parsha card, you’ll find an interesting question to think about and discuss, based on the Torah portion. Flip it over, and you’ll discover an idea from Rabbi Sacks that shines a new light on the parsha.
We are pleased to offer a weekly sample of these cards on these pages, and you can also download the full set, request a pack of your own, and find out more by visiting Cards & Conversation.
A man publicly curses God – and it becomes one of the most serious moments in the Torah.
Why do you think using God’s name with disrespect matters so much?
“Bring forth him that hath cursed without the camp; and let all that heard him lay their hands upon his head, and let all the congregation stone him.”
- Rabbi Sacks’ translation of Vayikra 24:14
Rabbi Sacks on Vayikra 24:14 (in the Koren Sacks Humash) continues his commentary, and offers an answer:
“Life itself is holy: people, not just priests; the whole of life, not just edited parts of it. So we have to be holy in the way we eat, the way we conduct our... relationships, and the way we use language. We must not curse even the deaf, let alone our parents, let alone God, because verbal abuse leads to physical abuse.When human beings lose respect for God, they eventually lose respect for humanity.”
Parsha in Practice
Mitzva of the Week
Dwelling in the Succah
(Vayikra 23:42)
The Torah commands us to live in huts for seven days to remember the wilderness journey. According to Rabbi Akiva, the succot were huts, not the miraculous Clouds of Glory. Therefore the miracle they symbolise is the extraordinary faith of Bnei Yisrael, who followed God into a desert without homes or provisions. Building a succah, and dwelling within it reminds us to step out of our secure houses and experience that same vulnerability. The biggest lesson to learn from this is that our ultimate security comes only from our faith in God.
“And do these things because, being human, we are bound by a covenant of human solidarity, whatever our colour or culture, class or creed. These are moral principles... ” - Rabbi Sacks
Practically Speaking
How will flex your faith?
Faith is a muscle that needs stretching and flexing. This week, try doing something slightly outside your comfort zone that requires trusting the process. It could be having a difficult conversation you have been avoiding, or simply letting go of the need to plan every single detail of your day. Step into the unknown, just a little bit, and notice how it feels to rely on faith.
Rabbi Sacks notes that people often remember God in times of distress but forget Him in times of plenty. When we have fine houses and full bank accounts, we start believing our own strength produced our wealth. The succah forces us to leave our solid homes and sit in a vulnerable hut, reminding us that everything we have is a gift.
Try it Out
Young students
Build a fort in your living room with just blankets, pillows, and chairs. Then sit in it, look around, and see how flimsy the walls are. If someone pushed a chair, the whole thing might fall down! Think about how Bnai Yisrael lived in basic tents for forty years in the desert. They were unafraid, for they knew God was protecting them!
Advancing students
This week, look around your bedroom or your own home. Pick three things you use every day and take for granted, like your bed, the fridge, or the heating. Take a moment to genuinely thank God for each of them!
Learning in Layers
Guiding you through Torah step by step, with insights from the Koren Sacks Humash with translation and commentary by Rabbi Sacks. Each step takes us a little deeper and invites ‘Torah as Conversation,’ just as Rabbi Sacks taught.
Find out more about the Koren Sacks Humash >
One Law for All
“מִשְׁפַּט אֶחָד יִהְיֶה לָכֶם, כַּגֵּר כָּאֶזְרָח יִהְיֶה: כִּי אֲנִי ה‘ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם.”
“There shall be one law for you, for migrant and for native born alike, for I am the Lord your God.”
The laws of injury and murder are placed directly after the story of the blasphemer, a man who committed a sin against God. Why does the Torah suddenly shift to crimes against other people? What does this tell us about the connection between how we treat God and how we treat each other?
“Sacred and secular, spiritual and physical offenses against God and crimes against human beings are indissolubly connected. Sacred order and social order go together. Lose one – either one – and you will eventually lose the other. A sense of the sacred is what lifts us above instinct and protects us from our dysfunctional drives. That is the message with which the book of Leviticus draws toward its close.”
Rabbi Sacks explains that an offence against God eventually leads to assaults against humans. Spiritual sins lead to physical crimes. We cannot separate our religious lives from our social lives. Disrespecting boundaries in one area will inevitably cause a breakdown in the other.
1. Do you think it is possible to be a good person without a sense of the “sacred”?
2. How does treating God's name with respect help us treat other people with respect?
3. What is one way you can bring a sense of the sacred into your everyday interactions with others?
Of Love and Hate
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