A number of you have reminded me in the last few days that, in my sermon on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, I promised to send out the specific details regarding the book that had made such a strong impression on me. It is Alan Weisman's The World Without Us, published earlier this year by the Thomas Dunne Press and available widely in bookstore and on-line. The book even has its own website: www.worldwithoutus.com , where you can find a lot of background information and links to some very interesting reviews. But the book itself is the thing, and the experience of reading it, and not just about it, is what I recommend to you all. Personally, I couldn't stop reading it, and I think that most of you will respond in just the same way. And I look forward to discussing it more in the future, both in public and in private conversation.

Next, the link to the New York Times website that I directed you all towards in my letter last week turned out only to be operative for a couple of days. But the pictures I wrote about, and then made reference to in my remarks at Yizkor on Yom Kippur, are easily available at the Holocaust Museum and Memorial website. Go to www.ushmm.org, then find the column on the right side of the screen headed "What's New." The first item is about the photographs I was discussing. Click on the words "special on-line display" and you'll be directed to a whole panel of options. Choose "View All Photos from Karl Höcker's Auschwitz Album" and you'll see the whole thing. There's also a link to the Lili Jacob album, the other album I mentioned from the bimah, the one featuring pictures of the victims, not their tormentors. The Jacobs album is much larger than the Höcker one--and it is incredibly painful to look at. Still, if we don't remember these poor people...who will?

Finally, it's hard to imagine, but a new festival is upon us: Sukkot begins tonight. Our sukkah at Shelter Rock is justly famous and it is truly exceptional--exceptionally large and exceptionally beautiful--and eating in it in the company of friends and family is a real treat. There's a whole different feel to Sukkot than there is to the High Holidays, I think, a different feel rooted far more in the effort to develop a sense of deep, abiding appreciation for all we have than in the effort to undertake the kind of ruthless self-evaluation that is the hallmark of Rosh Hashanah and, especially, Yom Kippur. So this is a festival truly to relax on: to enjoy the beauty of the sukkah, to enjoy the company of friends and family, to eat just a bit too much (my personal specialty!), to enjoy an afternoon nap...and to come to shul imbued with a deep sense of beholdenness and gratitude for the bounty of this earth, for the prosperity of our land, and for the many gifts God has given to all of us and to our families. I've always loved this holiday...and I'd love to see all of you in synagogue and in our sukkah. May you all have restful, satisfying days ahead, and may the feeling of being truly blessed by God that is at the core of Sukkot observance stay with you not only for this coming week, but for all the days of long and happy lives free from want!

Cordially, and with best wishes for a chag sameach,

Rabbi Martin S. Cohen