Newsletter

October 7th & Sukkot

October 7, 2025

Chag Sukkot Sameach’ is the greeting Jews share during the seven day ‘Feast of Sukkot,’ which began yesterday evening. Almost ironically, today is October 7th and the two-year anniversary of Hamas’ horrific invasion into Israel.

Two years ago, at the conclusion of this feast, on an added celebration called ‘Simchat Torah,’ a day of great rejoicing, their joy—and ours—was turned into bitter sorrow and unspeakable horror by the worst attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust. October 7th, 2023, like ‘Pearl Harbor’ for America, is a ‘date which will live in infamy.’ It was supposed to be the conclusion of the ‘High Holy Days’ for Israel; holidays observed through the ages both in and outside of ‘the Land.’ Instead, Hamas launched a heinous assault on Jews living near the borders of Gaza. Men, women, children, and whole communities were murdered, tortured, raped, and beheaded. These ghastly and inhuman acts shocked and horrified the civilized world, even in an age familiar with violence and barbarism. There is no need here to recount all of the events which led to the brutal two year war between Israel and Hamas—a sovereign democratic ‘state’ vs. an evil terrorist entity. Suffice it to say — the world in which we currently live has been forever altered—and none of us knows exactly where we go from here.

In the midst of this October 7th remembrance arrives ‘Sukkot,’ literally ‘booths,’ which recounts the wandering of Israel in the wilderness after our deliverance from Egypt; a pilgrimage which, due to our peoples’ unbelief, took 40 years. On this feast, Jewish people gather with their families, friends, and neighbors, in a ‘Sukkah,’ a temporary, makeshift shelter, adorned with the fruits and produce of the earth. In it, they eat their meals and even sleep, dwelling in ‘tents’ like our forefathers, worshipping the LORD under a thatched roof, open to God’s heaven, through which they can see the stars; a stellar reminder of their father, Abraham, who once gazed upon them and received a ‘promise’ still being fulfilled in this age. The frail and temporary nature of the ‘sukkah’ reminds us of the frailty and brevity of our lives here on earth while also ‘sheltering’ us under the protection, provision and love of our faithful Father in Heaven. Even more importantly, Sukkot looks forward to the day when He who ‘tabernacled among us’ 2,000 years ago will return to BE our tabernacle in the ‘age to come.’ In that day, ‘the LORD will be ONE and His Name, ONE!’ (John 1; Zech. 14) Until that glorious Day, on which ‘Sar HaShalom,’ the ‘Prince of Peace’ returns to reign as ‘King of the Jews’ and LORD of ALL, we wait, as my wife said to our congregation this past Shabbat, ‘in horror—and in hope!’

Jenny and I have been marching since the beginning of this brutal conflict alongside Jews, Christians, Messianic believers and others with ‘Run for Their Lives,’ a group dedicated to telling the world to ‘never forget’ what has happened to the Jewish people and to remind them to remember the hostages, still being held against their will, in terrible and tortuous conditions by Hamas. Due to the peace negotiations being currently conducted, our march may soon be coming to an end. What will not end soon is the suffering, not only of Israel, but also by the Arab population in the Palestinian territory of Gaza, who have endured death, destruction and devastation — the blame for which must also be laid at the feet of the terrorists who started this horrendous war.

Let us pray for all those affected by the tumultuous events of these days. Let us remind ourselves that this age in which we live will one day end—the darkness of this present ‘night’ giving way to the ‘light’ of a new age, a new creation; an earth ‘in which righteousness dwells’—for He, Yeshua HaMashiach, the ‘Light of the World,’ will dwell again among us (2 Peter 3:13). Join us TONIGHT on this Tuesday, October 7th 2025 at 7 PM (CT), as we remember these things and look forward to seeing ‘greater things than these’ in the times to come; days He has planned ‘not for calamity but for good, to give (us) ‘a future and a hope!’

‘Chag Sukkot Sameach’—Have a joyful Sukkot as we wait for Messiah. And—for the hostages still in the tunnels and the torment of captivity—along with those who wait for THEIR return—‘Bring Them Home Now!’

Blessings and shalom,

From our family to yours,

Marty and Jenny