The sad thing is that what will be already had been and is now. We have seen in the past and see today multiple “nations in disarray.” We see today the roaring of the sea and the waves in the hurricanes, typhoons, and floods coming with increasing frequency and doing increasing damage. We see people dying not only of fright, but of bombs and gunfire, of heart disease and cancer.  In the midst of suffering – ecological, military, bodily – what do we do? Jesus’s call is that we don’t turn from responsibilities to carousing and drunkenness; this is good advice. On that my mother would also agree. But simply telling us what not to do is insufficient.

In this Sunday’s Gospel reading we encounter a very rich image, one that occurs in all the synoptics, of the budding fig tree.

“From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as its branch becomes tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near.” – Mk 13, 28

Following this kind of mysterious image, the text continues, making it clear that this is somehow connected to the coming End Times: 

^“So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly I tell you, this generation will not pass away until all these things have taken place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” – Mk 12, 29-31

So why the fig tree image and its leaves? What does it add?

In today's Gospel, Jesus contrasts the attitudes of the scribes and the poor widow. The scribes, known in the literature as scribes or doctors of the Law mainly were Pharisees. Representing the intellectual and spiritual elite, they were engaged in the study and explication of religious questions. They were well-versed in the 613 rules of the Torah and sought to implement them carefully.

In today’s Gospel both of the commandments that Jesus quotes are straight from the Torah. The first, “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your might” comes from Deuteronomy chapter 6 and the second “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” comes from Leviticus 19. Obviously Jesus as a Jew immersed in Torah would have seen these as foundational and fundamental commandments.

But…as the age-old question goes: what is love?

Kaddish is a short, special prayer in Aramaic that has one very single and specific point: the sanctification of God. But while the words of the prayer are very focused on this single theme, the prayer is put to many different liturgical uses. In fact there are five different “kinds” of kaddish, even though the words are almost exactly the same for all of them.  So it’s a prayer that is repeated multiple times in the course of a single prayer service. One of its best-known roles is that the kaddish prayer is recited by first degree relatives of someone who has recently passed away.

The Gospel of the Feast of All Saints leads us to a mountain where Jesus, beginning his sermon, delivers eight beatitudes. This text is certainly one of the most famous parts of his teaching. Here Jesus lists eight groups, whose members are called blessed, happy - these are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, and those who suffer for justice's sake. Additionally, in the ninth and most extensive beatitude, Jesus addresses his disciples directly, calling them blessed when they are reviled, persecuted, and all kinds of evil are falsely said against them because of him. The disciples are to rejoice and be glad, because their reward in heaven is great.

Sukkot, Z'man Simchateinu, the "Season of our Rejoicing", is one of the three pilgrimage festivals we are grateful to observe. All three festivals are connected with the agricultural seasons of the year.  As it is mentioned in the Torah [Deuteronomy 16, 16]: "Three times a year shall all thy males appear before the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose; in the feast of Matzot [unleavened bread - Passover], and in the feast of Shavuot [Weeks - Pentecost], and in the feast of Sukkot [booths]:  and they shall not appear before the Lord empty".

The three Mitzvot, the commandments, we are instructed to observe on Sukkot are unique as they require wholeness and entirety.

Humility should begin with the great people: the understanding of humility in the New Testament and in the Jewish sources.

We see that humility is a concept that occupies a prominent place in the New Testament. In the Gospel of Mark (10, 43-45), Jesus tells his disciples: "Whoever wants to be great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be the slave of all. For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many".

Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar – Day of Atonement is the peak of the period of repentance. Forty days which include the month of Elul and the ten days of Awe, starting with Rosh Hashanah (New Year) and ending up with Yom Kippur.

In the Torah, following the sin of the Golden Calf, Moses pleaded with God to forgive the people. Finally on Yom Kippur, atonement was achieved and Moses brought the second set of Tablets down from Mount Sinai.

In today's Gospel, Mark recounts an event that occurred during Jesus' journey to Jerusalem, already within the borders of Judea. He presents two scenes of dialogue with Jesus: an unnamed wealthy man who comes to Jesus with a question about eternal life and a conversation between Jesus and his disciples that follows this first event.