Weekly Message 09.25.2026 Parashat Vayikra
Parashat Vayikra 22:26 - 23:4
HafTorah Zachariah 14:1 - 21
Dear friends,
It has been an honor and a pleasure to share the High Holy Days with you. Thanks to all who made all of our activities and services so meaningful and enjoyable. And thanks to all who participated in yesterday's volunteer session at Metropolitan Ministries where we help fulfil the mitsvah of Tzedakah, part of the three-part requirement of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Teshuvah (return), Tefillah (prayer), and Tzedakah (good deeds). And we are just beginning!
We now begin the celebration of the festival of Sukkot, one of the joyous holidays of our Hebrew calendar. Thanks to the generous and hard work of volunteers in your congregation, we have a beautifully decorated Sukkah where we will have Kiddush tonight after services which begin at 7 pm and a Shabbat/Sukkot Kiddush with refreshments tomorrow after services which begin at 9:30 am.
Our lulav/etrog sets have arrived and have been put together. We will have them available in the office all of next week (Monday-Thursday, 10 am-3 pm) together with the appropriate prayers so that you can fulfill the mitzvah of handling and waving the lulav. Then a week from today (Friday, October 2) we will have our Hashana Rabbah service at 9:30 am and ritual which officially ends the High Holy Day observances. And after we have beaten the willow branches to remove the leaves to symbolically cast away our sins, we will have a celebratory meal at Panera's!
This Shabbat's Torah reading, Leviticus (Vayikra) 22:26-23:44) is a special one for the first day of Sukkot chosen for the instruction on 23:33-34 stating:
Hashem spoke to Moses saying, "Declare to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths to Hashem to last seven days."
דַּבֵּ֛ר אֶל־בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֵאמֹ֑ר בַּחֲמִשָּׁ֨ה עָשָׂ֜ר י֗וֹם לַחֹ֤דֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי֙ הַזֶּ֔ה חַ֧ג הַסֻּכּ֛וֹת
שִׁבְעַ֥ת יָמִ֖ים לַיהֹוָֽה
On Sukkot, we celebrate the harvest season, a season of in-gathering, and most of all, a season of gratitude for all we have been given together with the ability to help heal what is broken.
We also chant the words of the prophet Zachariah (chapter 14) which features the ultimate redemption of Jerusalem on Sukkot and the universal recognition of Hashem for all who live on earth.
Please join me for our Sukkot and Shabbat celebration this week and all of our services and activities during this wonderful season and beyond. See the calendar below for the schedule for the rest of 2026.
Shabbat Shalom! Chag Sukkot Sameach! !שבת שלום! חג סוכות שמח Ro
Ron Becker,
Spiritual Leader
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ZOOM LINK FRI & SAT
JCC is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
Topic: JCC Zoom Meeting
Time: Sep 25, 2026 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
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HIGH HOLY DAY SCHEDULE:
Erev Sukkot, Friday, September 25, 2026
Services followed by Kiddush in the Sukkah 7pm
Sukkot, Saturday, September 26, 2026
Services followed by Kiddush in the Sukkah 9:30 am
Hoshana Rabbah, Friday, October 2, 2026
Services 9:30 am followed by community brunch at Panera's
Erev Shemini Atzeret, Friday October 2, 2026
Services 7 pm
Shemini Atzeret, Saturday, October 3, 2026
Services 9:30 am including the Yizkor memorial service
Simchat Torah, Saturday, October 3, 2026
Social hour 7 pm
Services 8 pm
Friday, December 4, 2026 We will enjoy a joyous Shabbat/erev Hanukkah dinner, 6:30 pm
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COMING EVENTS
Saturday, October 10, 2026 Game Night and Havdalah, 7 pm
Tuesday, October 27, 2026 We will volunteer at Metropolitan Ministries bringing sustenance, clothing, and hope to those in need at the headquarters at 3216 US-19, Holiday, FL 34691, at 11am-2 pm. Please sign up BEFORE NOVEMBER 17TH to help at this link: https://vhub.at/1L1BLIK
Saturday, November 14, 2026, Game Night and Havdalah, 7 pm
Tuesday, November 24, 2026 We will volunteer at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent at Generations on 1540 Little Road in Trinity, 11:30 am-3 pm. Please sign up at https://vhub.at/1L1BLIK
Saturday, December 5, 2026 We will enjoy the annual holiday boat parade on the Banks of the Cotee River between Vermont and Kentucky Avenues in New Port Richey beginning with Havdalah and latkes, sufganyot (jelly donuts) and other Hanukkah treats while watching the decorated boats float by, 6 pm
Sunday, December 6, 2026 We will celebrate Hanukkah with the residents of the Trinity Place Assisted Living Center at 8684 Old Route 54 in New Port Richey, 1:30 pm
Sunday, December 6, 2026 We will enjoy a Hanukkah party, 5 pm
Saturday, December 12, 2026, Game Night and Havdalah, 7 pm
Tuesday, December 22, 2026 We will volunteer at the Metropolitan Ministries Holiday Tent at Generations on 1540 Little Road in Trinity, 11:30 am-3 pm. Please sign up BEFORE DECEMBER 15TH at https://vhub.at/1L1BLIK
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