Sukkot, Part I
First, it was Rosh Hashanah (the first of the month of Tishri), then it was Yom Kippur (the 10th of Tishri), and on Friday it's Sukkot (the 15th of Tishri). At the end of Sukkot (a seven-day holiday) is Hoshanah Rabbah (21st) and Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah (22nd)! But, then nothing happens until Hanukkah. Nonetheless, the holidays are wild and crazy and Sukkot is no exception.
Today is the first day of our nice and long 11-day Sukkot Break. This is a time for many people not to work and government offices are closed or on reduced hours. Everyone is celebrating Sukkot. And how does one celebrate Sukkot?
Well, the primary ingredient in a nice Sukkot holiday is a Sukkah, a.k.a. "booth." Sukkot (plural of Sukkah as well as the name of the holiday so pay attention here!) are built outside, to remind us of our time in the desert after being released from Egyptian slavery. Thus, we live in a Sukkah during the week-long holiday to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.
Sukkot must be built outside and a Sukkah must be exposed to some of the elements. You should be able to see sky and stars through the roof of the Sukkah and the roof must be made entirely of material that is a) grown from the ground, b) no longer attached to the ground, and c) material not able to become impure (i.e. items of wood that have been turned into wood boards are no longer natural and can "receive impurity.")
Unfortunately, our apartment does not have a balcony that can be converted into a Sukkah. A Sukkah balcony has a removable roof so that you can place the natural material (skackh) over the balcony as the roof of the Sukkah. It doesn't matter what the sides are made of.
However, Jean has a Sukkah balcony so we're helping to build hers. This morning, I went to a hardware store and bought the requisite amount of tied-together bamboo for the roof of Jean's Sukkah for when her landlord arrives Friday morning to remove her balcony's roof. Then, we'll have a Sukkah-making party.
As part of Sukkot, it is important to eat meals and sleep in the Sukkah whenever possible. Thus, our Sukkot (and Shabbat) dinner is going to be in Jean's brand-new Sukkah tomorrow night. Then, on Saturday, we're going to have lunch in another friend's Sukkah. Sukkot are popping up everywhere and I'm planning to explore the Sukkot of the city and take a ton of photos to share here.
In addition to personal Sukkot, restaurants build Sukkot so that their customers can fulfill the mitzvah of eating in a Sukkah at every meal. Jen and I are looking forward to eating out as much as possible during the Sukkot week in order to meet the requirements of the holiday.
In addition to a Sukkah, there are other agricultural requirements for Sukkot. One must acquire four species of plant for special synagogue services during the week. These include branches of myrtle tree, branches of willow tree, branches of date palm, and the etrog fruit. The branches are held together in one hand and the etrog fruit is held in another.
Our last day of classes at the yeshiva yesterday was devoted to learning about Sukkot. We learned about the requirements for building a Sukkah and how to buy and use the four species. Then, after classes, one of the rabbis of the yeshiva took a large group of students to the shuk to shop for our four species.
There was a large area of the shuk that was covered by blue tarp where a plethora of species vendors were selling any or all of the species. Unfortunately, we discovered that willow branches were not for sale yesterday due to their fragile nature but we were told to expect them to be sold on every street corner on Friday, right before the holiday of Sukkot begins.
A group of four of us found a vendor willing to give us a deal on the three species along with a nice carrying case. Thus, I purchased my first almost-complete set of four species yesterday for the mere price of 70 shekels (about $16)!
The most difficult and most expensive part of the set to purchase is the etrog. One must try to find a beautiful yellow etrog for the holiday. I found the nicest one I could from my package deal vendor. Here's our magic etrog...
One student spent 150 shekels on his etrog ($34) alone! That's dedication!
Your homework is to see the movie Ushpizin, which I mentioned here before. It's all about Sukkot. See it!
Today is the first day of our nice and long 11-day Sukkot Break. This is a time for many people not to work and government offices are closed or on reduced hours. Everyone is celebrating Sukkot. And how does one celebrate Sukkot?
Well, the primary ingredient in a nice Sukkot holiday is a Sukkah, a.k.a. "booth." Sukkot (plural of Sukkah as well as the name of the holiday so pay attention here!) are built outside, to remind us of our time in the desert after being released from Egyptian slavery. Thus, we live in a Sukkah during the week-long holiday to commemorate the Exodus from Egypt.
Sukkot must be built outside and a Sukkah must be exposed to some of the elements. You should be able to see sky and stars through the roof of the Sukkah and the roof must be made entirely of material that is a) grown from the ground, b) no longer attached to the ground, and c) material not able to become impure (i.e. items of wood that have been turned into wood boards are no longer natural and can "receive impurity.")
Unfortunately, our apartment does not have a balcony that can be converted into a Sukkah. A Sukkah balcony has a removable roof so that you can place the natural material (skackh) over the balcony as the roof of the Sukkah. It doesn't matter what the sides are made of.
However, Jean has a Sukkah balcony so we're helping to build hers. This morning, I went to a hardware store and bought the requisite amount of tied-together bamboo for the roof of Jean's Sukkah for when her landlord arrives Friday morning to remove her balcony's roof. Then, we'll have a Sukkah-making party.
As part of Sukkot, it is important to eat meals and sleep in the Sukkah whenever possible. Thus, our Sukkot (and Shabbat) dinner is going to be in Jean's brand-new Sukkah tomorrow night. Then, on Saturday, we're going to have lunch in another friend's Sukkah. Sukkot are popping up everywhere and I'm planning to explore the Sukkot of the city and take a ton of photos to share here.
In addition to personal Sukkot, restaurants build Sukkot so that their customers can fulfill the mitzvah of eating in a Sukkah at every meal. Jen and I are looking forward to eating out as much as possible during the Sukkot week in order to meet the requirements of the holiday.
In addition to a Sukkah, there are other agricultural requirements for Sukkot. One must acquire four species of plant for special synagogue services during the week. These include branches of myrtle tree, branches of willow tree, branches of date palm, and the etrog fruit. The branches are held together in one hand and the etrog fruit is held in another.
Our last day of classes at the yeshiva yesterday was devoted to learning about Sukkot. We learned about the requirements for building a Sukkah and how to buy and use the four species. Then, after classes, one of the rabbis of the yeshiva took a large group of students to the shuk to shop for our four species.
There was a large area of the shuk that was covered by blue tarp where a plethora of species vendors were selling any or all of the species. Unfortunately, we discovered that willow branches were not for sale yesterday due to their fragile nature but we were told to expect them to be sold on every street corner on Friday, right before the holiday of Sukkot begins.
A group of four of us found a vendor willing to give us a deal on the three species along with a nice carrying case. Thus, I purchased my first almost-complete set of four species yesterday for the mere price of 70 shekels (about $16)!
The most difficult and most expensive part of the set to purchase is the etrog. One must try to find a beautiful yellow etrog for the holiday. I found the nicest one I could from my package deal vendor. Here's our magic etrog...
One student spent 150 shekels on his etrog ($34) alone! That's dedication!
Your homework is to see the movie Ushpizin, which I mentioned here before. It's all about Sukkot. See it!
posted by Matt | 3:26 AM
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