header
header

Sukkot 5785: Vulnerability and Joy

How can embracing vulnerability lead to a deeper sense of joy during Sukkot?

In this episode, Zvi Hirschfield and Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy delve into the paradox of Sukkot, exploring how vulnerability and joy are deeply intertwined in the festival. They discuss how the temporary nature of the sukkah highlights the fragility of life and how embracing that fragility can lead to a deeper connection with God and greater joy. Through poetry and classical texts, they uncover the spiritual richness that comes from living in the balance of uncertainty and divine protection.

Featuring:
Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy – Pardes Faculty
Zvi Hirschfield – Pardes Faculty and Host of Pardes from Jerusalem

Meesh Hammer-Kossoy

Rabbi Dr. Meesh Hammer-Kossoy is Director of the Year Program and Rosh Beit Midrash at Pardes, where she has taught since 1999. Originally from Washington, D.C., Meesh is a Pardes alumna herself, attending the Year Program in 1991-1992. Meesh holds degrees from Brandeis University and New York University, and received Orthodox ordination from Beit Midrash Har’el in 2015.

Meesh previously taught at NYU, Drisha, and Midreshet Lindenbaum. She has received multiple fellowships, including from ATID, the Memorial Foundation, and the National Foundation for Jewish Culture. Despite having written her doctoral dissertation about criminal punishment in the Talmudic period, Meesh is known by her husband and three children as a lover of mercy and kindness.