RSS
The Sukkah Reminds Us That the Jewish People Will Always Rise Again
15-year-old Adin Stanleigh cleans palm branches used to cover a sukkah, or ritual booth, used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in Jerusalem, Israel, Oct. 11, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
If you’ve ever traveled through the countryside in the UK or across Europe, you’ve probably come across the hauntingly beautiful ruins of medieval castles. These ancient strongholds, with impressive moats and thick walls, were once the homes of powerful kings and aristocrats. They now stand in varying states of decay.
Take, for example, Corfe Castle in Dorset, England. I’ve been there. It was originally built by William the Conqueror and remained in the English royal family until Elizabeth I sold it to Sir Christopher Hatton in 1572.
Sixty years later, the Hatton family sold the sprawling 20,000-square-foot palace to Sir John Bankes, a loyal royalist during the English Civil War. Bankes’ allegiance to the monarchy led to the castle being targeted and eventually destroyed by parliamentary forces in 1645.
Corfe Castle was once a formidable fortress, the seat of kings, and a symbol of immense power. Today, its crumbling walls are a picturesque reminder of its former glory, a shadow of what it once was.
Then there’s Château de Chinon in France, where Henry II of England once held court. Much of its medieval grandeur still lingers despite the obvious signs of decay. Initially built in the 10th century, this expansive fortress became a critical political hub during the 12th century under Henry II, whose influence stretched across England and vast territories in France.
At its height, the château was a center of political intrigue and royal might, even playing host to Joan of Arc in 1429, when she convinced Charles VII to claim the French throne. But now, much of it lies in ruins, a sad, empty shell with towers and walls weathered by centuries of neglect. Despite restoration efforts, large sections of the château remain crumbling ruins, reminding visitors of the passage of time and the impermanence of power.
Schloss Heidelberg in Germany is another similar example. Once the majestic seat of the Electors Palatine, it was a symbol of wealth and influence in the region. Perched high above the Neckar River, the castle was originally constructed in the 13th century. Its architecture, a mix of Gothic and Renaissance styles, was expanded and extended over the centuries, reflecting the grandeur and opulence of the notables who resided there in different eras.
But the castle’s fate took a tragic turn in the late 1600s when it was repeatedly damaged during the Nine Years’ War and the War of the Palatine Succession. After being heavily damaged by French troops, most of Schloss Heidelberg was left in ruins, and it has never been fully restored.
Today, the castle remains a pale shadow of its former glory, with grand façades that lead to empty spaces and stairways that lead to nowhere — a reminder of the fleeting nature of human achievement and the virtual impossibility of restoring the past to its idealized perfection.
These castles were all once symbols of strength and permanence, but they now lie in ruins. Ironically, the very fortifications built to last forever couldn’t withstand the ravages of time and history.
In the lead-up to Sukkot, I found myself reflecting on these castle ruins and others I’ve visited over the years, in connection with the special addition we include in Birkat Hamazon during the festival: הָרַחֲמָן הוּא יָקִים לָנוּ אֶת סֻכַּת דָּוִד הַנּוֹפֶלֶת — “May the Merciful One restore for us the fallen Sukkah of David.”
The phrase “Sukkah of David” has always intrigued me. After all, King David’s dynasty is usually called the “House of David,” which suggests something solid and permanent. So how do we understand the reference to this glorious royal dynasty as a “Sukkah” — a structure that is temporary and fragile by its very nature?
The reference in Birkat Hamazon is based on a verse in Amos (9:11): בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא אָקִים אֶת סֻכַּת דָּוִיד הַנֹּפֶלֶת—“On that day I will restore the fallen Sukkah of David.” Amos was prophesying during the First Temple period, when the House of David was on the verge of collapse. The use of the word Sukkah in this context is significant. Why not call it a house, which signifies strength and permanence, particularly when discussing the fallen monarchy’s reestablishment?
The Maharal of Prague offers a fascinating explanation. The Davidic dynasty is deliberately referred to both as a “sukkah” and as a “house.” A house is a structure that has a powerful, material existence—because it is meant to last. Which is why royal dynasties are often referred to as a “house – a word that connotes permanence and stability.
But here’s the thing: is a house truly permanent? When a house falls, it doesn’t just crumble — it loses its essence. Even if you rebuild it, it’s not the same house — it’s something new. The original house is gone, negated by its destruction. What you’ve built is a new creation, not a restoration of the old. And the larger and grander the house — like a castle, for example — the less likely it is that it will ever be reconstructed at all.
But a sukkah is different. It’s not permanent to begin with. When it falls, it can easily be reconstructed. Its whole purpose is to be reconstructed when it falls. And what’s more — when you rebuild it, it’s not considered something new — it’s still the original sukkah, regenerated in its full essence. It retains its identity, no matter how often it has to be put back up.
Which is why the Kingdom of David is called a “sukkah.” As a royal dynasty, it may be fragile, but it is always ready to rise again. It doesn’t need to be replaced or reinvented—it can simply be reestablished and it will be as if it was never gone.
This idea of the sukkah as a symbol of reestablishment is also a perfect metaphor for the Jewish people. Like a sukkah, we may be vulnerable, exposed to the winds of history, but each time we fall, we rise again. And we rebuild, not as something new, but as a continuation of who we have always been. We are not like a castle that, once ruined, can never reclaim its former glory. Instead, we are like a sukkah — temporary yet eternal, fragile yet enduring.
That’s why, during Sukkot, we invoke the image of the fallen “Sukkah of David” — a reminder that, like the sukkah, the Jewish people and the Davidic dynasty may fall, but they will always rise again, renewed and reestablished, as they have throughout history, and as we will again in the Messianic age that is unfolding before our eyes.
The author is a rabbi in Beverly Hills, California.
The post The Sukkah Reminds Us That the Jewish People Will Always Rise Again first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US Urges China to Dissuade Iran from Closing Strait of Hormuz
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, April 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Nathan Howard
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz after Washington carried out strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
Rubio’s comments on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo” show came after Iran’s Press TV reported that the Iranian parliament approved a measure to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which around 20% of global oil and gas flows.
“I encourage the Chinese government in Beijing to call them about that, because they heavily depend on the Straits of Hormuz for their oil,” said Rubio, who also serves as national security adviser.
“If they do that, it will be another terrible mistake. It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. And we retain options to deal with that, but other countries should be looking at that as well. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot worse than ours.”
Rubio said a move to close the strait would be a massive escalation that would merit a response from the US and others.
The Chinese embassy in Washington did not immediately provide comment.
US officials said it “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites using 14 bunker-buster bombs, more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles and over 125 military aircraft. The strikes mark an escalation in the ongoing Middle Eastern conflict.
Tehran has vowed to defend itself. Rubio on Sunday warned against retaliation, saying such an action would be “the worst mistake they’ve ever made.”
He added that the US is prepared to talk with Iran.
The post US Urges China to Dissuade Iran from Closing Strait of Hormuz first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on US President Donald Trump’s budget request for the Department of Defense, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, June 11, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
The US strikes on Iran’s nuclear sites were not a preamble to regime change, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Sunday, adding that Washington sent private messages to Tehran encouraging negotiation.
Officials kept operation “Midnight Hammer” highly secret, limiting knowledge of the mission to a small number of people in Washington and at the US military’s Middle East headquarters in Tampa, Florida.
Seven B-2 bombers flew for 18 hours from the United States into Iran to drop 14 bunker-buster bombs, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, told reporters.
Hegseth warned Iran against following through with past threats of retaliation against the United States and said US forces would defend themselves.
“This mission was not and has not been about regime change,” Hegseth told reporters at the Pentagon. “The president authorized a precision operation to neutralize the threats to our national interests posed by the Iranian nuclear program.”
Caine said initial battle damage assessments indicated that all three sites sustained extremely severe damage and destruction, but he declined to speculate whether any Iranian nuclear capabilities might still be intact.
In total, the US launched 75 precision-guided munitions, including more than two dozen Tomahawk missiles, and more than 125 military aircraft, in the operation against three nuclear sites, Caine said.
The operation pushes the Middle East to the brink of a major new conflagration in a region already aflame for more than 20 months with wars in Gaza and Lebanon and a toppled dictator in Syria.
Tehran has vowed to defend itself and responded with a volley of missiles at Israel that wounded scores of people and destroyed buildings in its commercial hub Tel Aviv.
But, perhaps in an effort to avert all-out war with the superpower, it had yet to carry out its main threats of retaliation – to target US bases or choke off the quarter of the world’s oil shipments that pass through its waters.
Caine said the US military had increased protection of troops in the region, including in Iraq and Syria.
“Our forces remain on high alert and are fully postured to respond to any Iranian retaliation or proxy attacks, which would be an incredibly poor choice,” Caine said.
The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defense systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.
Reuters reported last week that the Pentagon had already started to move some aircraft and ships from bases in the Middle East that may be vulnerable to any potential Iranian attack.
The military had already moved aircraft that were not in hardened shelters from Al Udeid base in Qatar and its naval vessels from a port in Bahrain, where the 5th Fleet is located.
NOT OPEN ENDED
With his unprecedented decision to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites, directly joining Israel’s air attack on its regional arch foe, Trump has done something he had long vowed to avoid – intervene militarily in a major foreign war.
Trump, who insisted on Saturday that Iran must now make peace or face further attacks, could provoke Tehran into retaliating by closing the Strait of Hormuz, attacking US military bases and allies in the Middle East, and activating proxy groups against American and Israeli interests worldwide.
The Iranian parliament approved closing the Strait of Hormuz, a potential choke point for oil shipments, but the country’s top security body is required to make a final decision, Iran’s press TV reported.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Sunday called on China to encourage Iran to not shut down the Strait of Hormuz.
Hegseth, who said the Pentagon notified lawmakers about the operation after US aircraft were out of Iran, said the strikes against Iran were not open ended.
“As the president has directed and made clear, this is most certainly not open ended,” Hegseth said, adding that the US military would respond if necessary.
The post US Strikes Against Iran Not Aimed at Regime Change, Pentagon Chief Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
JD Vance Says US at War with Iran’s Nuclear Program, not Iran
US Vice President JD Vance delivers remarks at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, California, U.S., June 20, 2025. Phone: REUTERS/Daniel Cole/File Photo
Vice President JD Vance said on Sunday the US was not at war with Iran but at war with its nuclear program, adding the program had been pushed back by a very long time due to American strikes ordered by President Donald Trump.
Trump said he had “obliterated” Iran’s main nuclear sites in strikes overnight with massive bunker-busting bombs, joining Israel’s assault against its Middle East rival in a significant new escalation of conflict in the region.
“We’re not at war with Iran. We’re at war with Iran’s nuclear program,” Vance said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press with Kristen Welker” show
“I think that we have really pushed their program back by a very long time. I think that it’s going to be many, many years before the Iranians are going to be able to develop a nuclear weapon.”
Vance accused Iran of not negotiating in good faith, which he said served as a catalyst for US strikes. The US had been in diplomatic talks with Iran about Tehran’s nuclear program.
Tehran vowed to defend itself while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “gravely alarmed” by the US bombing of Iranian nuclear sites.
“We don’t want a regime change,” Vance added. “We do not want to protract this… We want to end the nuclear program, and then we want to talk to the Iranians about a long-term settlement here.”
Vance said Trump made the final decision to strike Iran right before the strikes took place and that Washington has received some “indirect” messages from Tehran since the strikes.
Vance said the US “had no interest in boots on the ground.”
Trump said on Friday he was going to decide in the next two weeks about direct US involvement in the Israel-Iran war which began with Israel’s attacks on Iran on June 13. The war has raised alarm in a region already on edge since the start of Israel’s war in Gaza in October 2023.
US ally Israel is the only country in the Middle East widely believed to have nuclear weapons and says it struck Iran to prevent Tehran from developing its own nuclear weapons.
Many Democratic US lawmakers said Trump’s actions were unconstitutional and that it was the US Congress that had the power to declare war on foreign countries.
Vance responded to that criticism by saying Trump had “clear authority to act to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
The post JD Vance Says US at War with Iran’s Nuclear Program, not Iran first appeared on Algemeiner.com.