SUKKOT
You want to connect to Sukkot this year.
We're here to help.
With Aleph Beta’s animated videos, delightful podcasts, and easy-to-read printable guides, it’s easy and fun to show up for Sukkot feeling spiritually prepared.
Our Favorite Videos for Sukkot
How And Why Do We Celebrate Sukkot?
Rabbi David Fohrman - 30 min video
Why do we even celebrate Sukkot? Sukkot doesn’t seem to commemorate an important historical event, unlike other Jewish holidays. What should Sukkot mean to us – and why on earth do we celebrate by sleeping in huts?Compared to Passover and Shavuot, Sukkot celebrations seem to be missing a big event to commemorate. We know the Sukkot story about how the Israelites slept in the desert in small huts, or booths, after fleeing from Egypt. But we also see that Sukkot refers to the place where they first slept. Why call a place "Sukkot" – basically, the Hebrew equivalent of "shantytown”? Are these clues about the importance of Sukkot?The Torah tells us one more detail about the Sukkot food – unleavened dough – that they ate on their first night in these makeshift booths. But we also connect that matzah with Pesach, which commemorates the very same event. So how is the meaning of Sukkot different? There still seems to be a missing reason why we celebrate Sukkot.Rabbi Fohrman takes a deeper look at the Torah readings surrounding the story of Sukkot and explores the real meaning of celebrating this holiday, as well as the reason we build and sleep in sukkah huts.Want more Sukkot insights? Check out the epilogue to this episode here. Discover other great Sukkot videos at Aleph Beta, including ‘Understanding Jewish Holidays”, “Is Hoshana Rabba the Key to Understanding Sukkot” and more!
Epilogue: Three Questions We Didn't Answer About Sukkot
Rabbi David Fohrman - 78 min video
In this premium webinar, Rabbi Fohrman goes into more detail about the fascinating Biblical language and themes surrounding the holiday of Sukkot.For more on Sukkot, be sure to watch the main episode in this series, How and Why Do We Celebrate Sukkot?
What Do the Arba Minim (Four Species) Represent?
Ami Silver - 4 episodes - 41 min video
Sukkot is referred to as the “Festival of Joy”, but it’s not so obvious why. Through a closer look at the mysterious mitzvah of the Four Species, Ami Silver and Imu Shalev share new understandings that can allow us to access a deeper and more fulfilling sense of happiness.
An Epic Understanding Of The Jewish Holidays
Rabbi David Fohrman - 11 min video
What does the Bible say about celebrating holidays? How does the Bible develop our understanding of what Jewish holidays really mean? This video takes a careful look at the Parshat HaMoadim, the section of the Torah that describes all of the biblical holidays. In it, Rabbi Fohrman notices that there are two major interruptions, two things that just don't seem to belong. What are they, why do they invade the laws of the holidays, and how does this help us understand Biblical Jewish holidays in a new light?Get ready to unravel the Torah's secret about the true meaning of Sukkot, Pesach, and Shavuot.
The Deep Connection Between The Biblical Holidays
Rabbi David Fohrman - 5 episodes - 271 min video
There are several holidays mentioned in the Bible, including the Three Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Sukkot and Shavuot. What makes these days more significant than any other holiday? The Bible seems almost elusive when describing these holy days. Join Rabbi Fohrman as he uncovers the secret theme that permeates these days, allowing a deeper understanding of the holiday cycle to emerge.
The Meaning of Hallel
Rabbi David Fohrman - 7 episodes - 407 min video
We add the prayer service of Hallel on holidays, but what exactly are we saying? Is it just a collection of Psalms? In this course, Rabbi Fohrman argues that not only are we learning what it is to be a servant of God, but we are also discovering the origins of the nation of Israel.
Let us introduce ourselves
Not just a library to watch —
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Rabbi Fohrman
Our lead scholar
Rabbi David Fohrman is the founder and lead scholar at Aleph Beta. Over the last two decades, he’s pioneered a way of reading Biblical text that feels both rigorous and revelatory. Through Aleph Beta, he’s given expression to that, developing what is now a vast library of content, spanning all types of media: animated videos, podcasts and books. He’s also embarked on an effort to train a team of Torah scholars adept at the close-reading methodology he’s pioneered – and their work can be found at Aleph Beta, too.
Prior to his founding of Aleph Beta, Rabbi Fohrman served as a senior editor and writer for the ArtScroll Talmud Project. He also taught Biblical themes as adjunct faculty at Johns Hopkins University, where he had earlier received a Master’s degree in Western intellectual history. Rabbi Fohrman received his rabbinical and Talmudic training at the Ner Israel Rabbinical College, but some of his earliest and most profound exposure to Biblical text analysis came from his encounters with Rabbi Yosef Leibowitz, in his childhood years in Northern California.
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