I also think that, in some sense, forgiveness can be beside the point — the thing the looms largest for me is that we're the only ones who can do our own teshuva. *We* are the only ones who can do better, and that matters whether or not forgiveness is on the table. #ParshaChat

A1 To speak of plants, I'm noticing how the boughs of the trees that are gathered together contrast with the grain offerings. Both grains and orchards are represented at Sukkot as a harvest festival. #ParshaChat

Is there a Pokémon Go contingent? Shul is the only place I can trade Pokémon! #ParshaChat

A lot of folks use religion in a very disingenuous way, as if the rules don't apply to them. But this verse is unambiguous: if we want to be forgiven, there are things that WE must do; and one big thing is to take responsibility for our failings and strive to do better. #ParshaChat

A2: It can also be hard when the sukkah is super crowded and it's hard to move or understand anyone. And I'm not sure what there really is to be done about that. #ParshaChat

Brava! And do you know about the -ayim ending? #ParshaChat

Yay for learning! #ParshaChat

A2: Eg: A synagogue with a wheelchair-accessible building and a wheelchair-accessible bimah may have a sukkah built in a way that can only be entered by stepping over a support bar. #ParshaChat

Here, late, but exhausted. Learned something new about Hebrew yesterday: I knew words ending in -ot or -im were plural, but I didn’t know it was related to gender! #ParshaChat

A0: Our last couple of themes have been fairly abstract so I think it would be nice to circle back to doing something a bit more concrete for a while. #ParshaChat

I get that, but it also is typical Judaism because the solemn lives in the same place, at the same time, with the joyful. It's like breaking the glass under the chuppah (another open-sided structure!) #ParshaChat

A0 Hi all and Shabbat shalom! It's pleasant fall weather here. I like the idea of focusing on plants and animals this year. #ParshaChat

A2: I love Sukkot a lot, it's probably my favorite holiday.

I've also found that it's a time when accessibility tends to break down in a lot of communities, in ways that I think bear thinking about. #ParshaChat

That's a really good point! And it's making me think that maybe a core part of what it means to care about people is that we take responsibility for our own actions *and* we treat other people as having real moral agency and responsibility for their actions. #ParshaChat

Q2: From a caring about people lens: What problems can arise when we spend time in the sukkah on Sukkot? How can we be more careful about caring about people? #ParshaChat

For me, this an essential verse. In Judaism, nobody can make atonement for you and nobody can die on your behalf. It is up to each person to repent, to afflict themselves, and to then come before God to ask for forgiveness. #ParshaChat

Although thinking about all the unusually-large amounts of (eaten) animal offerings *does* kind of make me want to have a big Sukkot barbecue some year. #ParshaChat

Sukkot is, in present-day liturgy, called zman simchantenu, the time of our rejoicing. This description sounds a lot more solemn and less fun, somehow.
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I do hope you'll expand on this! #ParshaChat

Oof, yeah, I can imagine it being hard to be willing to build a sukkah the past few years. I hope theirs is nothing but joy this year. #ParshaChat