This week, the Fresno Jewish community celebrates Sukkot, a lesser known of the High Holidays, that marks, among other things, the end of 40 years of wandering in the desert.

“We’ve had a significantly higher security presence than we had previously. And people are on edge. Some people are less comfortable coming to Jewish public space, while other people have felt the need to come to public Jewish space. So it’s an interesting variety.” — Rabbi Rick Winer, Temple Beth Israel

Members of Temple Beth Israel will also meet in the sukkah — the traditional gathering place for Sukkot, a three-sided hut with a thatched roof — praying for the return of the estimated remaining 20 living hostages in Hamas captivity, kidnapped in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

“We are paying respect to Israel and the

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