For the holiday of Sukkot, we build and assemble huts or booths to dwell in known as sukkot. These structures remind us of the time the Israelites spent traveling across the desert, as well as bring us closer to nature during a holiday that marks the beginning of the rainy season and the harvest. Rabbi David led a workshop for all on how to build a sukkah. Thanks to the sukkah project, we received a “klutz free” sukkah to assemble. Within less than an hour, we had poles attached, canvas walls assembled, and slats for a roof. Never mind that we had missed a page in the directions and it was upside down. 😉We then stood inside the sukkah and talked about what makes a sukkah a sukkah: the impermanence of it, the requirement for 2.5 walls, enough skhakh (ceiling) to have more shade than sun, and needing to see the stars. Some of us resolved to try and eat as many meals as we could in our sukkah this year.
Later that same day, we did sukkah building with Nitzanim (Sprouts), for our kids ages 3-5. We read a story called Tamar’s Sukkah in which we learned about everything a sukkah needs: walls, roof, decorations, blessings, food, and friends. We then went into the Ya’ar and looked for sukkot that already existed in nature. We found a tiny one for a mouse, a hole in a log that could have been for a squirrel, and a shelter from Shorashim that one kid thought “could be for a lion.” We then made our own sukkah out of natural materials. It featured a ramp, rock tables, hanging fake fruit, leaf chairs, and maple keys for our “food.” While we built, we talked about what a sukkah needs and who we might invite into our sukkah. We found a trail of ants and a pill bug who we think might use our little sukkah in the woods.
So whether you are 5 or 95, don’t forget the most important requirement to have in your sukkah this year: friends.
