Shemini Atzeret-Simchat Torah starts before sunset on Friday evening (Oct. 2), and continues through nightfall, Sunday (Oct. 4).
B”H
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
You do not need a grand title to make a great difference.
You need to care. You need to act.
That is the message of the humble willow. And on Hoshana Rabbah, it is a message for every one of us.
First, We Say Thank You
Before we ask G-d for more blessings, let us thank Him for the blessings we have seen.
As Hoshana Rabbah drew near this year, a flight from Dubai to Israel faced a terrible attack. The terrorist copilot stabbed the captain, and the plane plunged toward the ground.
The wounded captain managed to open the cockpit door. Passengers rushed to help. Among them was a Jewish plumber who grabbed the controls. A dentist helped care for the captain. Other pilots on board helped bring the plane to a safe landing in Saudi Arabia.
Thank G-d, all 182 people on board survived.
The plumber did not wait for a title or a perfect plan. He saw a need and acted. The captain, passengers and crew each did their part.
We see G-d’s kindness in their courage and in this rescue. It reminds us of the sukkah: a shelter of peace, where we feel G-d’s care.
And we remember another reason to give thanks. Last Hoshana Rabbah, the last living hostages came home. After two long years, families could hold their loved ones again.
Our joy does not erase our pain. We remember those who did not return alive and all those who were murdered. We hold gratitude and grief together.
We thank G-d for each life saved. We honor each life lost. And we turn those feelings into good deeds.
A Phenomenal Month of Jewish Life
What a phenomenal month this has been!
Through Chabad around the world, millions of Jews heard the shofar in synagogues, in homes and on the streets. Here too, we shared sukkah gatherings, Torah classes and the joy of the holidays.
Close to 400 young people joined our Chabad Young Professionals Sukkot party, held with other Chabad houses.
Each person is a whole world. Each has a family, a story and a Jewish soul.
The Torah calls Sukkot “the Time of Our Joy.” That joy can give us strength for the whole year.
Before Sukkot, we marked 144 years since the passing of the Rebbe Maharash, the fourth Chabad Rebbe. His teaching, “Lechatchila Ariber,” calls us to rise above obstacles from the start.
Do not let a hard task stop you. Take the first step with faith and trust in HaShem.
As Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah approach, we also mark three years since the October 7 2023 terror attack that changed our lives. We honor the holy souls who were murdered by adding Torah, prayer, charity and good deeds.
Our Family in Israel: Yasam Negev
For Chabad Maimonides of Larchmont, this bond is deeply personal.
Together with our generous friends and partners, we have adopted Yasam Negev, the special police unit based in Be’er Sheva.
On the day of the attack, these officers faced a far larger force of thousands of terrorists. They bravely fought to protect people in southern Israel, including at the Nova festival and nearby communities.
Ran “Rani” Gvili, HY”D, is one of their heroes. He is the last of the hostages to be brought home from Gaza. His funeral took place on Yud Shevat, when we mark the passing of the Previous Rebbe and the start of our Rebbe’s leadership.
Please join us in remembering all of our Kedoshim, our holy souls. You can watch the Kel Malei Rachamim prayer recited for them as Rani Gvili HY”D was being brought to Jewish burial in our Holy Land this past Yud Shevat:
We are honored to share in supporting his unit and family through this painful chapter.
Our care continues. With your help, we provide gift cards and baskets for grieving families, widows, orphans and families of wounded heroes. We help arrange medical care and needed medicine.
We also share a warm weekly Chassidic gathering. We learn Torah, say “L’chaim” and remind one another that we are one family.
These officers did not wait until life felt easy. They stepped forward to protect our people. Their courage brings “Lechatchila Ariber” to life.
We have seen what it means to a family in Israel to know that friends across the world care about them.
No hero, widow, orphan or family should feel alone.
Chabad centers across Israel and around the world share this mission: to be there for every Jew. Each community can help carry that care further.
Hope for Teens, Too
The officers of Yasam Negev also help teens who are living on the streets. They guide them toward safer, healthier lives.
Here in Los Angeles, we share that goal. We help teens find a life free from drugs and alcohol, with purpose, dignity and hope.
A young person who feels lost needs someone who believes in them.
Your support helps us be that caring hand.
The Final Seal—and the Simple Willow
In Elul, we learn that “the King is in the field.” G-d is close and welcomes each of us.
On Rosh Hashanah, we are written for a good and sweet new year year. On Yom Kippur, we are sealed for this. Then comes the joy of Sukkot.
Hoshana Rabbah is the day of the final sealing.
On this holy day, we take five willow branches and strike them on the ground five times, following the custom of the prophets.
Why the willow? Why choose the plainest of the Four Kinds for such a special moment?
Four Kinds. One People.
The Torah tells us to take the Four Kinds on Sukkot, except on Shabbat.
The etrog is a citron fruit. It has taste and a pleasant smell.
The lulav is a palm branch. Its tree grows dates, which have taste but no smell.
The hadasim are myrtle branches. They have a pleasant smell but no taste. We use at least three.
The aravot are willow branches. They have neither taste nor smell. We use two with the lulav.
Our Sages explain that taste stands for Torah learning. Smell stands for good deeds.
The etrog stands for a Jew with both. The lulav stands for one strong in learning. The myrtle stands for one strong in good deeds. The willow stands for one who has not yet grown in either.
Yet G-d asks us to bring all four together.
If one kind is missing, the mitzvah is not complete.
Every Jew belongs. Every Jew matters. We need one another.
Together, the Four Kinds point to G-d’s oneness. They help us carry the blessings of the shofar, Yom Kippur and the sukkah into our daily lives. Our unity also prepares us for the full gathering of our people with Moshiach.
Give G-d Your Whole Self
The Four Kinds also look like parts of the body.
The etrog is like the heart: use it to love what is good.
The lulav is like the spine: stand tall with Jewish pride.
The myrtle leaf is like an eye: look at others with kindness, and look to G-d with trust.
The willow leaf is like the lips: speak kind words, pray and share Torah.
We serve G-d with our whole selves.
On Hoshana Rabbah, the willow reminds us of the power of our words and prayers.
Do One Good Thing—Even When It Is Hard
Some days, a mitzvah feels sweet. We understand it. We love it.
Other days, we feel tired. We do not feel inspired. We may not understand.
The willow teaches us that we can still act.
Deep inside every Jewish soul is a simple bond with G-d. We do a mitzvah because He asks us to.
No taste. No smell. No grand speech.
Just a good deed.
That quiet choice reveals the deepest part of who we are. It makes room for G-d even when our feelings are not strong.
Torah learning and warm feelings are precious. Simple faith and trust gives us strength when those feelings are hard to find. That faith and trust has helped Jewish families pass their love of G-d from one generation to the next.
So choose one mitzvah that feels hard. Take one step today.
Make the call. Learn a few lines of Torah. Help someone. Give charity.
Like the willow, your simple act may hold far more power than you know.
Today: Share the Lulav and Etrog
Today is the last day this year to make the blessing on the lulav and etrog. Please do it before sunset, when Shabbat and Shemini Atzeret begin.
Then help another Jew do it, too.
When you share your set, you can give it as a gift on condition that it is returned. This lets the other person own it while doing the mitzvah, and then return it to you.
One small act can bring another Jewish soul into the joy of the holiday.
Before the Holiday, Help One More Jew.
Hoshana Rabbah is a special time to give extra tzedakah, charity.
The Rebbe encouraged giving charity on this day. He taught that charity brings the Redemption closer, and that joy breaks through barriers.
The Tanya explains why charity reaches so deep. We put our time and strength into earning money. When we use it to help someone else, we give part of our life’s work.
Like the willows, charity is linked with sweetening harsh judgments.
If this message has touched your heart, please turn that feeling into one good deed.
Join our friends and partners in caring for Yasam Negev families, widows, orphans, wounded heroes and the people we help here in California.
Please give today, before Shabbat and the holiday begin. Give what you can, with joy, also in advance for the holy days ahead.
Your gift helps us keep showing up. It helps a family know: “You are part of our family. We care about you.”
Thank you for the kindness that makes this work possible.
Carry the Willow’s Lesson Into the New Year
You do not have to do everything. But you can do something.
One mitzvah. One gift. One person helped.
May Hashem grant each of us a good final seal and a sweet year filled with health, joy, nachas, success and revealed blessings.
May our gratitude lead to action, our unity bring healing, and our good deeds bring the full Redemption now.
With warm blessings,
Rabbi Mendy Cunin
Chabad Maimonides of Larchmont
We Want Moshiach Now!
P.S.
As we experience the pulsating joy of Sukkot, we look forward to it culminating in the uber-joyous holiday of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah.
“On Simchat Torah,” goes the chassidic adage, “we rejoice with the Torah, and the Torah rejoices with us; the Torah, too, wants to dance, so we become the Torah's dancing feet.”
So this Simchat Torah be sure to join us. Your dance partner, the Torah, will be waiting for you, along with a congregation full of new and old friends.
And to help you get ready for this most thrilling climax of the High Holiday season, we’ve collected 10 things for you to do now in preparation for the holiday.
With two names (“Shemini Atzeret” is in the Torah, and the term “Simchat Torah” was introduced in the Middle Ages) and a range of emotions (we say Yizkor one day and dance with abandon on the next), this holiday must be unpacked and understood.
In addition to challah (dipped in salt, not honey), your Simchat Torah meals should be festive and delicious. A Simchat Torah classic in many communities is stuffed cabbage (here’s
why).
On Simchat Torah we complete the annual cycle of reading the Torah and immediately start it again. This is an ideal time to rededicate ourselves to daily Torah study, completing the entire Torah in a year’s time.
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