Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays

Who can resist a holiday celebrating the harvest, sitting outdoors under the open sky and being with family and friends? I hope that all of you had an opportunity to experience the beauty of being in a Sukkah, breaking bread with friends and family, singing some bracchot and tasting new and familiar fruits.  At this time  of the year, when Jewish holidays flow one after another, I always feel closer than ever to my Jewish heritage and to my family. Unfortunately, I have spent all the holidays at my mother’s hospital bedside. She fell and broke her hip on Rosh Hashanah. Because of this, I have missed some days of school. I have missed my students and can’t wait to get back to teaching tomorrow, Monday October 1. My mother is making good progress and is being released from the hospital with full time home care. It looks like, if all continues to go well, she is survivng this tribulation. It’s really quite a miracle, as she is quite elderly. She is determined to get well and to walk and maybe, even, dare we hope, dance at her granddaughter’s wedding. Although I didn’t get to celebrate the holidays this year, I got the greatest gift I could ever receive.