by Mistie Collette-Shaar – JDCC Intern
Quickly after Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur comes Sukkot, as everyone knows. This year it began on Monday evening, October 1- right after the weekend, right after Shabbat. How much time could anybody possibly have to build a sukkah between Yom Kippur and the first night of Sukkot? When Sharon told me she had the materials to put up her sukkah, there was the idea to have a sukkah-building party at JDCC! On September 30, we were delighted when five families came to join us in the building of the sukkah. Many children came, and drew, colored and decorated pictures while some of us put up the frame for the sukkah. It was a hot, hot day- but we had pink lemonade and punch to drink and a fabulous shade to stay cool. Some of us met for the first time, but all of us were friends, working together and playing together.
Soon, the walls were built for the sukkah, and the children all put up their pictures and fake fruit around the sukkah. It was a pretty sight to see. Then the pizza came, and we all ate our fill while I told a brief Sukkot story.
This story represented the temporary-ness of “living in the sukkah”, and how we as a Jewish people are given a chance to appreciate the experience of dwelling in one. As our ancestors traveled in the desert on their way to Eretz Israel (the land of Israel), the one thing that kept them going was their belief in God. Many times people would bring danger to them, and further generations would suffer for their beliefs, but we as a people are still here, both across the world and in Eretz Israel. My story represented a modern-day version, set in the Deep South during the early 1900s where a lot of country folk (non-Jews) had distaste for the Jewish people. A sukkah was built behind the local synagogue; the town council did not appreciate it and demanded it be taken down- thinking it was a permanent building. The rabbi asked the town judge for only ten days before it is taken down, agreeing that if it was not, then he would be put into jail. Of course, it was gone ten days later- and there the story ends. Only eight days is needed for Sukkot; the town council did not know this. Therefore, by tricking the judge and the town council, the Jewish people of that town in the Deep South were able to celebrate the holiday with their sukkah!
This celebration we call Sukkot is a wonderful autumn ceremony, where we can appreciate the cooler weather under the stars in the sukkah, the new fruits and vegetables of the season, and time together to celebrate the new Jewish year. The children love it, and it is always a memory to cherish. May you all have a sweet and prosperous New Year, and may each one of you receive wonderful blessings.
