22 | SEPTEMBER 16 • 2021 

Y

ou don’t need a sukkah 
to celebrate the festival 
of Sukkot this year, just 
ask The Well. 
Sukkot Sounds (powered by 
The Well) is a grassroots initia-
tive to pair local musical artists 
and educators with hosts to 
co-create gatherings that enrich, 
diversify and revitalize the 
ancient Jewish cultural celebra-
tion of Sukkot.
There are many ways to par-
ticipate in Sukkot Sounds. 
People can host or attend a 
backyard concert featuring one 
of Sukkot Sounds’` registered 
musical artists, a backyard or 

in-home gathering with Sukkot-
inspired content, a Sukkot-
themed meditation or guided 
discussion, drum circle, folk 
dancing lesson, Lulav-making, 
or any Sukkot-inspired experi-
ence one can think of.
People can also host or attend 
a virtual gathering and celebrate 
Sukkot with friends near and far.
Marisa Meyerson, director 
of operations at The Well, says 

Sukkot Sounds is an idea The 
Well’s Executive Director Rabbi 
Jeff Stombaugh has had for a 
while.
“The Well has always been 
about coming up with ways to 
bring mainstream, fun things 
that are happening right now 
and finding a way to make them 
Jewish,
” Meyerson said. “Sukkot 
is about high-energy community 
gatherings, and another place 
we see that same sort of vibe is 
at a music festival. Something 
we’ve missed especially during 
COVID is live music, so it sort 
of seems like a natural progres-
sion of how we can reinvent 
Sukkot.
”
Sukkot Sounds is developing 
a directory of registered artists 
and educators that will continue 
to grow on the website leading 
up to the holiday.
Individuals and organizations 
looking to host gatherings for 
Sukkot can reach out to regis-

tered Sukkot Sounds artists and 
educators directly and inquire 
about them being a part of their 
gathering once they are book-
able on the website.
To Meyerson, missions of 
The Well, Sukkot Sounds and 
the holiday it celebrates align 
perfectly. 
“One of the taglines of Sukkot 
is actually about reinventing 
ritual and inspiring authentic 
connection, and that’s really 
what The Well is all about,
” 
Meyerson said. “We want to 
offer something fresh, exciting 
and relevant that gives young 
adults an opportunity to connect 
with a holiday they may not 
have connected with before or 
can connect with in a new and 
different way.
” 

Submissions to host an event or to join 

the team of registered artists are now 

available at sukkotsounds.com, along 

with further details. For further questions, 

reach out to hello@sukkotsounds.com.

Y

om Kippur has height-
ened meaning for 
those in recovery from 
alcoholism and drug addiction. 
For many people, the parallel 
between the pre-holiday tradition 
of asking those we 
have wronged for 
forgiveness and the 
amends process 
outlined in the 12 
Steps is especially 
significant.
In the days 
before Yom Kippur, also known 
as the Day of Atonement, Jews 
are encouraged to review their 
conduct of the past year and 
acknowledge any wrongdoings. 
Similarly, Step 4 calls for “a 

searching and fearless moral 
inventory,
” which includes taking 
responsibility for actions that 
caused others to be hurt.
And, because both Judaism 
and recovery are programs of 
action, it is not enough to ask 
God for forgiveness if another 
person was harmed. Before we 
say the final prayers on Yom 
Kippur, we must apologize to 
those whom our behavior affect-
ed. Likewise, Step 9 requires 
recovering addicts to make 
“direct amends” to people they 
harmed, knowingly or not.
However, the 12-Step pro-
gram makes a clear distinction 
between extending an apology 
and making amends. More 

important than apologizing is 
taking the necessary actions to 
set things right. 
“We are taught that the ninth 
step is not just about saying, “I’m 
sorry,
” says Frank, a longtime 
member of AA. “It’s about show-
ing them how sorry I am by how 
differently I act. 
“On Yom Kippur, we aren’t 
saying sorry to God; we’re say-
ing we will do our best to act 
differently. The Hebrew word 
for repentance is teshuvah, which 
means return. In the 12 steps, 
this means returning to aligning 
our behavior with God’s will.
”
In “
Atonement or 
Forgiveness?” at Chabad.org, 
Rabbi Ben A. explains the 
Hebrew word for atonement is 
kaparah, meaning “wiping up.
”
“If I spill my grape juice on 
your carpet, I can say sorry and 
be forgiven,
” he writes. “But the 
stain is still there. Atonement 
comes when I get the carpet 

cleaners to clean your carpet.
”
Rabbi Benny Greenwald, 
director of Daniel B. Sobel 
Friendship House, explains how 
the holiday of Sukkot provides a 
joyful transition from the solem-
nity of Yom Kippur. 
“On Yom Kippur, we acknowl-
edge our wrongdoings, and 
that is the first step of making 
amends,
” he explains. “But we 
don’t get stuck on that because 
following is Sukkot, the holiday 
of joy. It’s the joy that comes from 
learning from our mistakes when 
we reexamine what we did and 
learn how that can make us a 
better person. 
“
After we acknowledge our 
defects and make amends to 
those we hurt, then we can move 
forward and experience the joy 
of transformation, the holiday of 
Sukkot.
” 

For information, visit friendshipcircle.org/

friendshiphouse.

OUR COMMUNITY

Yom Kippur aligns with 12-step programs.
Making Amends

RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Rabbi Benny 
Greenwald

The Well’s Sukkot Sounds allows for 
in-person or virtual gatherings.

An Interactive 
Sukkot Experience

DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER

