Tikvah Seminar: Sukkot and the Symbol of the United States

Join us for a pre-Sukkot lunch and study session with Rabbi Meir Soloveichik on the meaning of the holiday and the faith it takes to follow God into the wilderness.

As a window into that theme, Rabbi Soloveichik will share a little-known chapter of American history: on July 4, 1776, right after approving the Declaration of Independence, the Second Continental Congress formed a committee to design a seal for the newborn nation, and two of its members — Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson — proposed designs inspired by the stories and symbols of the Hebrew Bible, including the Exodus. Rabbi Soloveichik will unpack these forgotten seals and what they reveal about Sukkot itself.

Lunch will be served.