CHAG SAMEACH!
SEPTEMBER 23, 2021 / 17 TISHRI 5782
GOOD SPORTS
The Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame will
induct two classes on Sept. 29.

PAGE 19
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM — WHAT IT MEANS TO BE JEWISH IN PHILADELPHIA —
$1.00 cc
OF NOTE
LOCAL Repairs Continue
After Ida Flooding
Progress steady at
Jewish Community
Services Building.

Page 4
LOCAL Confused About
Shemini Atzeret?
Inquire within for
an explanation of a
“hybrid holiday.”
Page 5
LOCAL Phils Acknowledge
Jewish Fans
Via Twitter
Team the only one
in MLB to mention
Rosh Hashanah.

Page 11
Volume 134
Number 24
Published Weekly Since 1887
Should We
Read More
Torah in Era
of Biblical
Events? JARRAD SAFFREN | JE STAFF
WE ARE LIVING THROUGH a period
of plagues, fl oods, wildfi res and other
biblical events. In the Torah, such catastro-
phes oft en follow poor human behavior
— times when we ignore the word of God.

You can take those stories literally or
metaphorically. And many rabbis argue
that such direct causation is a gross
oversimplifi cation.

And today we are both scientifi cally
advanced and inclined, so we can off er
credible, rational explanations for events
once considered biblical.

But as Simchat Torah approaches on
Sept. 28 and 29, the question remains:
During a time of chaos, as we fi nish
one annual Torah reading cycle and
commence another, can modern Jews
benefi t from doing a little more reading of
the good book?
It almost sounds like a joke: Ask rabbis
if Jews can benefi t from doing more Torah
reading. What do you think they are going
See Torah, Page 12
B’nai Abraham Chabad’s Sukkah in the Square in 2020
Courtesy of Yochonon Goldman
Sukkot Celebrations Make
Cautious Comeback
SASHA ROGELBERG | JE STAFF
ON SHABBAT, one is told to light Shabbat
candles 18 minutes before sundown, when
Shabbat actually begins. It’s a liminal
space between normal and diff erent times.

“In some ways, the time we’re in is
like that: We’re somewhat safe, but we’re
somewhat not safe,” said Charles Schur,
who organizes the Sukkot map on the
Jews in Center City Facebook page.

Th is year, fewer Jewish organizations
and synagogues have shared their sukkah
on the map than in pre-COVID years:
See Sukkot, Page 13