Sukkot & Simchat Torah
Continue your community High Holy Days experience with these special gatherings.
Friday, September 18
Making Sacred Space: Crafting for the Sukkah
5:00 pm
Jewish Experience Lab
As we prepare for Sukkot, join us for an evening of creativity, connection, and community before welcoming Shabbat together. Together, we'll create decorations for Emanu-El's sukkah while exploring the Jewish value of hiddur mitzvah, beautifying a mitzvah through intention and care.
Enjoy wine, cheese, conversation, and a chance to help create the space where our community will gather to celebrate the holiday.
Friday, September 25
Erev Sukkot Shabbat Celebration
6:00 pm
Martin Meyer Sanctuary
Celebrate Erev Sukkot with a joyful and welcoming evening of community and connection. Join us for a spirited and musical service led by our clergy, followed by a Sukkot buffet of delicious treats in the sukkah and courtyard as we mark this season of harvest, gratitude, and joy.
Saturday, September 26
Young Families Sukkot Bagel Brunch on the Roof
10:00 am
Ken and Debbie Novack Preschool Play Area
Join us for a joyful, family-friendly Bagel Brunch filled with festive spirit, live music with Jonathan Bayer, and a whole lot of community warmth! Led by Rabbi Madeline Budman, this lively morning will feature sing-alongs, surprise entertainment, and plenty of opportunities to shake the lulav, connect with friends, and soak in the magic of the season. We’ll be noshing on irresistible Wise Sons bagels, babka, and more — because what’s a celebration without great food? Come hungry, come curious, and come ready to celebrate Sukkot with your Emanu-El community. We can’t wait to see you under the sukkah!
Sunday, September 27
Shelter and Sanctuary:
A Sukkot Immigration Gathering with Theo Rigby
1:00 - 3:00 pm
Diller Hall
Gather with filmmaker Theo Rigby and Rabbi Rena Singer for a Sukkot Immigration Event focused on welcome, dignity, Jewish values, and action. Together, we will reflect on the Jewish call to welcome the stranger and consider how our community can respond with compassion and purpose.
We will be joined by Theo Rigby, a San Francisco–based director, cinematographer, and interactive storyteller whose work explores the immigrant experience in the United States. Theo is the founder of iNation Media, a production company dedicated to amplifying immigrant voices through nuanced, human-centered narratives. This gathering will focus on his documentary If I Could Stay, with additional credits including Waking Dream, Immigrant Nation, and Sin País. Through film, conversation, and shared learning, we will explore what it means to create shelter, stand with our neighbors, and take meaningful action during this season of Sukkot.
Tuesday, September 29
Tacos & Tequila Under the Sukkah
6:30 pm
Emanu-El Sukkah
Join us for evening of food, drinks, and connection! Enjoy a delicious spread of tacos paired with a curated tequila tasting experience led by congregant Barrett Cohn.
Come relax under the Sukkah, savor bold flavors, and connect with fellow members of the community in a warm and festive atmosphere. This event is geared towards male-identifying members.
Wednesday, September 30
A Sweet Sukkot With Cookbook Author Leah Koenig
6:30 - 9:00 pm
In-person at Emanu-El
Don’t miss the sweetest event of the season! Celebrated cookbook author Leah Koenig comes to Congregation Emanu-El to launch her beautiful new book, The Dessert Table: 100 Joyful Jewish Sweets. In conversation with Rabbi Sarah Joselow Parris, Leah will share the inspiration behind her latest recipe collection and lead a live demo of several irresistible desserts from the book. Afterward, we’ll continue the evening in our sukkah, where guests will enjoy tastings of the recipes they just saw come to life.
Tickets are $45 and include a signed copy of the book. Space is limited.
Leah Koenig is an IACP Award-winning author of seven cookbooks including the acclaimed The Jewish Cookbook and PORTICO: Cooking and Feasting in Rome's Jewish Kitchen, which was the IACP 2024 International Cookbook winner, and a finalist in the National Jewish Book Awards. Her forthcoming cookbook The Dessert Table: 100 Joyful Jewish Sweets will be published in September 2026.
Leah's writing and recipes can be found in The New York Times, New York Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Food & Wine, Epicurious, and Food52, among other publications.
Thursday, October 1
Sukkot Young Adult Trivia Night
For Young Adults in their 20s and 30s
6:30 pm
Emanu-El Sukkah
Enjoy a delicious spread of Mexican food, grab a drink, and put your Jewish knowledge to the test. You'll also have the opportunity to experience the mitzvah of shaking the lulav and etrog. It’s a night of fun, food, and festivities you won’t want to miss!
Friday,
October 2
Erev Simchat Torah Shabbat Celebration
6:00 - 7:00 pm
Diller Hall
Celebrate the joy of Simchat Torah with our community at a special Shabbat service filled with music, dancing, and tradition. As we mark the completion and beginning of the annual Torah reading cycle, the building comes alive with spirited hakafot and joyful singing!
A highlight of this service is our Consecration ceremony in which we warmly welcome our incoming first grade Youth and Family Education students into the covenant of Jewish learning and community. Surrounded by family and congregants, each child will receive a special blessing and a Torah gift, marking the beginning of their formal Jewish education and their lifelong connection to Torah.
Before the service, join us for a festive oneg featuring sweet treats, as we continue the celebration together. This is a joyful, multigenerational experience led by the entire clergy team that you won’t want to miss. Sermon by Rabbi Beth Singer.
Sunday,
October 4
Unraveling the Illustrated Torah
10:00 - 11:00 am
Emanu-El Ulam
Right on the heels of our community-wide Simchat Torah Shabbat Celebration on Friday, October 2, join Rabbi Madeline Budman in learning the history behind the Illustrated Torah Scroll hanging in our Ulam, designed and painted by Israeli artist Michal Meron. Michal will join us remotely from her studio in Venice to share the process that brought the Illustrated Torah to life as well as walk us through the history of the Venetian Jewish ghetto near her studio space.
Michal Meron was born in Haifa, Israel and received her education and training as an artist in Vienna and in Israel at the Tel Hai Art College. Michal has exhibited her works in Europe and the U.S. in Jewish Museums, institutions, and public and private galleries.
