Sukkot is one of the three ancient Jewish pilgrimage festivals and one of Judaism’s most joyful holidays. Beginning just five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot brings a striking change in mood. After the introspection and solemnity of the High Holy Days, we are commanded to rejoice. Sukkot begins on the evening of September 25 and continues until sundown on October 2, 2026. Learn about Sukkot

Join The Little Temple with The Big Heart for Friday Shabbat Service led by our talented spiritual leader, Cantor Star Wahnon. Dessert Oneg to follow. This is also Erev Sukkot. The service will be held as scheduled. The outdoor Oneg in the Sukkah has been canceled due to the likelihood of storm. We plan to celebrate next week, with an outdoor Oneg in the Sukkah, and a musical Shabbat. Check your email, and the website for updates.

We stand at Ne'ilah, the closing service, as the day wanes and the gates of Heaven are imagined to be closing. And yet - they are still open. This is our last opportunity in these Days of Awe to turn, to speak honestly, to ask for forgiveness, and to choose a better way forward.

The Weight of Our Words Promises • Integrity • Commitment • Truth Sometimes we keep them. Sometimes circumstances make them impossible. Sometimes we forget. Kol Nidre does not release us from our obligations to other people. Wrongs and harms between people still require attention, repair, and action. sometimes our intentions are sincere, but our actions never quite catch up with our words. The Days of Awe do not ask us to make grander promises. Perhaps they ask us to make te

Compassion: Seeing Others and Ourselves With Mercy We often see another person's mistake without seeing the fear, grief, exhaustion, loneliness, or history behind it. We see our own shortcomings and may forget that we, too, are unfinished human beings. Compassion does not mean pretending that everything is acceptable. Mercy and accountability can exist together. We can recognize harm, maintain boundaries, expect better - and still resist reducing a human being to the worst th

Reflections during the Days of Awe: On Judging. Judging is a difficult task and requires wisdom and a sense of justice tempered with compassion. During the Days of Awe, we are advised to carefully examine ourselves and to look within.

Forgiving Judaism teaches that forgiveness is possible - from God, from others, and from ourselves. Teshuvah assumes that we can change, and with change comes the possibility of self-forgiveness. We do not forgive because the past no longer matters. We forgive so that the past does not possess the future.

Repair Relationships, Make Amends, Restore Trust Jewish tradition teaches that for wrongs between one person and another - bein adam la-chaveiro - Yom Kippur does not simply erase them. We must turn toward the person we have harmed and seek to make things right. Not everything can be repaired completely. Another person is not obligated to reconcile with us. Some wounds take time. Some relationships require boundaries. But even when we cannot restore what was, we can still ask