I have spent most of my life studying American history and literature because of a deep if sometimes difficult affinity I would call love. Deeper, though, is a feeling like a love of family, a hope that whoever by whatever accident or choice falls under the definition of family will thrive and will experience even a difficult life as a blessing because his or her worth is a fact without conditions.

Since black holes first captivated the public imagination decades ago, they have garnered a certain reputation. They are labeled monstrous, destructive, bent on devouring anything that dares approach their cosmic maw. But without them, the cosmos, and our own planet, would be less dense with wonder.

Many of the critics of liberalism on the right feel that it has undervalued the nation and traditional national identity…There are parallel discontents on the left. Juridical equality before the law does not mean that people will be treated equally in practice. Racism, sexism, and anti-gay bias all persist in liberal societies, and those injustices have become identities around which people could mobilize.

Inside a sukkah you are encouraged to reflect on what matters most. You don’t neglect the outside world, but you keep it in perspective. You realize that no matter what societal turbulence is occurring, you have the power to surround yourself with forces that will nourish your spirit.

Oh, and one more thing. When you enter the sukkah, try to keep your mobile device inside the house. The storm outside can wait. I can assure you it isn’t going anywhere.

This existential tension between free will and determinism not only is the root of the human experience, but also of the Jewish experience. We are constantly asking questions about life that don’t always lead to finite or satisfying answers, creating a crushing, paradoxical cycle of philosophical curiosity and continual spiritual frustration. Whenever I have trouble parsing through the volatile mess of our world, I look to Joel and Ethan Coen’s 2009 sublime satire, “A Serious Man,” for guidance and comfort.

Although Orthodox services on Shabbat and holidays are never going Zoom, the pressures of COVID-19 have led to significant changes in the Orthodox world, including rabbinical sermons being available on YouTube or Zoom before Shabbat, and some services like the reading of Eicha (Lamentations) taking place on Zoom. Some Orthodox shuls are allowing vulnerable people to call into daily minyanim and even to say Kaddish via Zoom.

We now arrive at the apex of Jewish practice — a rich and beautiful theater of the absurd. This Simchat Torah, a Jew will take a book off the shelf, kiss it, dance with it, jump, twirl and holler with it. Alone… But what about dancing with a book? Is that typical human behavior? Scrolls are books, too.

“The joy is the culmination of the holiday season. We’re excited to finish, but we’re also excited that the cycle of Torah is never-ending. It begins again the very next moment. Our story continues evolving. The language in the Torah never changes, but we change.”

The theme of the autumn harvest that pervades Sukkot continues into Simchat Torah. Ashkenazi Jews have a tradition of making stuffed cabbage (when you put two together, they look like a Torah scroll). They also make kreplach, a dough stuffed with ground beef.

Click here for great Simchat Torah recipes!

“What happens when too much is happening? Our minds are on overdose. Our hearts are on overdose. Everything that has happened this year is converging right now and it’s really overwhelming.”

Shmuel Rosner and Rabbi Uri Regev discuss the new Israeli state and religion index published by Hiddush, and its implication on Israeli and world jewry.

“There is a change in support for separation of religion and state. Yes, it’s a small change, but it’s significant. And there is a much higher support for freedom of religion.”

Sheila Katz and Danya Ruttenberg, CEO and Scholar-in-Residence of the National Council of Jewish Women, join Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about the history and legacy of their organization, along with the work that they’re continuing to do today to build a more just, more liberated world. This episode is the fifth in a series of episodes exploring the history, and contemporary leadership, of America’s Jewish women.