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TFTW Archive 2025 October

Shabbat Bereshit

Dear Members and Friends,

I share with you the words we spoke just a few days ago as we celebrated Simchat Torah - the festival at which we conclude our reading of the Five Books of Moses with the death and burial of Moses, and begin again with the story of creation in Genesis.

The return of the living hostages to Israel and to their families is a source of joy and immense relief. The return of some of the dead must also bring a sense of coming home for their loved ones now that they are able to give them a proper burial and say a final farewell to them. But there are still hostages no longer alive, whose whereabouts are unknown, among them Dror Or, a resident of Kibbutz Be’eri, murdered on October 7th with his wife, Yonat. The LJS had the honour of ‘adopting’ Dror in the months before we knew of his death. His body has still not been returned to his family. May we hold his and Yonat’s memory and the anguish of his children, parents and siblings in our hearts.

There is a longing to rejoice and to celebrate the return of the hostages, but as we saw in the faces of those in Hostages Square on Monday, there is also acute pain at the losses that have been sustained over these past years – Israeli and Palestinian. And we are deluded if we believe that our joy is complete and absolute. For beyond the repair and renewal of a devastated landscape in Gaza, beyond the slow return of Israeli residents to their burnt-out kibbutzim and homes which are slowly being rebuilt, and Gazans to their razed villages and towns, are broken bodies, broken hearts and minds and a single, faint thread of hope that the fragile peace process will hold, that a second phase will not be held back, that sense will triumph over madness, compassion over revenge, and human yearning for an ordinary, peaceful life over violence and terror.

Never have our prayers felt more earnest, more pleading than over these last two years; never have we yearned more for God’s intervention in the human drama of war and brutality. Can we trust our own free-will, the choices we make for ourselves? Can we put our faith in a God who longs for our faithfulness, but who is saddened and disappointed in our alienation and estrangement from a covenant which requires a universal ethical imperative of love and righteousness.

‘It is with a mixture of joy, relief and grief that we celebrate Simchat Torah this morning. Joy that the remaining living hostages have been released and reunited with their families, relief that the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas is holding and grief for the loss of life that has occurred over these past years on all sides of the war.

We ask God to bring healing and strength to the men who have returned home today and all the hostages who endured captivity for days and months and the two long years of this war. Grant them comfort and health, strength and peace. May they return to active life together with all whom they live, together with all those injured, wounded and bereaved in the attack on Simchat Torah 2023 and in the war that followed.

We mourn all those who died in the massacre on October 7, those who have died in captivity and the tens of thousands who have died in the two-year war. May their souls be bound up in the bond of everlasting life and their families find consolation in the memories they cherish of loved ones.

And we pray that the strength and determination of the world’s leaders will help to bring an enduring peace to Israel and Palestine. We know that fear and hatred will not be dispelled until there is a process of truth and reconciliation for both peoples.

Then, in the words of the prophet: ‘Each person shall sit under their vine and under their fig tree and none shall make them afraid’ (Micah 4:4).

Let that time come soon, and in our time, so that with Kohelet we shall affirm the hope that the time ahead will be eit shalom - ‘a time for peace.’ Keyn yehi ratzon. Amen.

Shabbat Shalom,

Alexandra Wright

The prayer is based partly on words written by MK Rabbi Gilad Kariv, former Executive Director of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism.

Shabbat Ha'azinu

Dear Members and Friends,  

We now find ourselves in a beautiful moment of transition between the conclusion of the serious days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, and the joyous days of the holidays of Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, recalls the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness, reenacting the booths they built to shelter themselves along the way.  

Sukkot has always been one of my favourite holidays. I love sitting out in the sukkah and enjoying the crisp autumn air, all the harvest-themed foods, and the opportunity to invite friends and family to gather for a festive meal.  

Our classical texts go into extensive detail about how to construct a sukkah. While these endless pages of debates on height and materials may seem arduous to sort through, I believe there are deeper messages that hold relevance to us today. For example, the Talmud (Sukkah 5a) says that a sukkah must be at least ten handbreadths tall, based on the height of the Ark of the Covenant which held the Ten Commandments. The rabbis imagine that the Presence of God hovers ten handbreadths above the ground, and thus, to include God in our sukkah, we cannot build it too short. Simultaneously, another rabbi argues that a sukkah which is shorter than ten handbreadths is simply too small for someone to reasonably sit inside and eat.  

I love this passage because it highlights two important aspects of inclusion and accessibility. The first answer gives us a spiritual and emotional reason to build our sukkot in a particular way: if we want to include the Divine Presence in our celebrations, then we have to be willing to build an accommodating structure. If we apply this same perspective to inclusion in the broader community and world, we find ourselves asking exactly what needs to be done to make our spaces accessible. The first answer reflects an emotional approach to ensure that our communities are inclusive.  

The second answer is equally important, as it speaks to the logistical questions that arise when we strive to create an inclusive space. It is not enough simply to want to be accessible, we must consider the physical and practical steps needed to achieve accessibility and inclusion. The rabbis do not say to build a sukkah in whichever way we please and then make accommodations, rather, they challenge us to build a space that is accessible to both people and God from the beginning.  

As we move into this new Jewish year, let us be inspired to build our communities and homes with a focus on inclusive thinking, let us challenge ourselves to consider whose voices we may still not hear and how to ensure they are included, and may we build open doors to welcome one another.  

Shabbat Shalom, 

Lily  

Wed, 22 October 2025 30 Tishrei 5786