Holiday in the Hut
I "survived" Yom Kippur and actually did a little "thriving" too. We had our break-fast at my sister's house amongst a very diverse crowd of people, many of whom did not fast. So for them it was a "dinner of honor" for those of us who fasted. My sister always makes it a nice occasion for everyone. We make it a point (well my husband is the appointed interrogator) to inquire about the various foods, there whereabouts, from where they came, how they were cooked, who made them, etc, to ensure we don't have to return to shul to beat our chests again (not that that would be the only reason we needed to repent less than an hour after Yom Kippur).
So now we are on to Sukkot (the holiday in the hut). There are VERY specific laws (one would expect no less) regarding the sukkah (how many walls, what they can be made of, the roof, etc). Our hut happens to be a full flight of stairs DOWN (and one must come back up at some point) in our backyard. This means about 100 trips up and down the stairs (carrying food, plates, tables, chairs, etc)making the "stair master" seem like a walk in the park. But, you see, this is THE ONLY SPOT with clear sky near our home and unless we want to put our sukkah at the bottom of our driveway (which will send the homeowners association at us before we eat our first meal), we have to put it in the only other clear spot. It is imperative that one does NOT place their sukkah under a tree branch (smart rabbis figured it was not wise to sit under a falling branch amongst an entire Gemara of other reasons). My dog loves this holiday as she can run in and out of the sukkah finding food scraps in between hunting for chipmunks. She is happy that we have finally figured out where we are suppose to eat.
This week we will finish building our sukkah and decorating it. Each year our walls get filled with posters, pictures that our children have made, hanging fruit and yes, more and more rabbis.
Anyway, this year we are planning to have many guests. For one dinner we have invited our friends who own a catering service. I mean what was I thinking trying to cook for a caterer? I do make a killer soup (which I managed to pour over my hand last year....by the way aloe really works) and chocolate chip cookies, which his son LOVES, so chances are we will be in good shape. We will sing and talk until midnight. Our neighbor will wonder why the "crazy people next door" have moved their dinner table outside into a hut covered with bamboo. You see he doesn't realize that we are dining with G-d this week... and a few bugs, mosquitoes and other insects we will get to know much better. He doesn't know that Sukkot is an intense time of joy and is for sure one of my favorite holidays. I am fortunate to have grown up with parents who built a sukkah each year, filled it with decorations, people and yummy foods. We were the only ones in our neighborhood and it is a memory that I cherish. So we sit in the sukkah whether it is cold or hot, rainy or clear. We celebrate, sing and eat. My husband will try to sleep in the sukkah. That will last about an hour. At the end of the week, we will pack this all up and go inside to our "regular" home and truth be told, we will miss the sukkah.
So now we are on to Sukkot (the holiday in the hut). There are VERY specific laws (one would expect no less) regarding the sukkah (how many walls, what they can be made of, the roof, etc). Our hut happens to be a full flight of stairs DOWN (and one must come back up at some point) in our backyard. This means about 100 trips up and down the stairs (carrying food, plates, tables, chairs, etc)making the "stair master" seem like a walk in the park. But, you see, this is THE ONLY SPOT with clear sky near our home and unless we want to put our sukkah at the bottom of our driveway (which will send the homeowners association at us before we eat our first meal), we have to put it in the only other clear spot. It is imperative that one does NOT place their sukkah under a tree branch (smart rabbis figured it was not wise to sit under a falling branch amongst an entire Gemara of other reasons). My dog loves this holiday as she can run in and out of the sukkah finding food scraps in between hunting for chipmunks. She is happy that we have finally figured out where we are suppose to eat.
This week we will finish building our sukkah and decorating it. Each year our walls get filled with posters, pictures that our children have made, hanging fruit and yes, more and more rabbis.
Anyway, this year we are planning to have many guests. For one dinner we have invited our friends who own a catering service. I mean what was I thinking trying to cook for a caterer? I do make a killer soup (which I managed to pour over my hand last year....by the way aloe really works) and chocolate chip cookies, which his son LOVES, so chances are we will be in good shape. We will sing and talk until midnight. Our neighbor will wonder why the "crazy people next door" have moved their dinner table outside into a hut covered with bamboo. You see he doesn't realize that we are dining with G-d this week... and a few bugs, mosquitoes and other insects we will get to know much better. He doesn't know that Sukkot is an intense time of joy and is for sure one of my favorite holidays. I am fortunate to have grown up with parents who built a sukkah each year, filled it with decorations, people and yummy foods. We were the only ones in our neighborhood and it is a memory that I cherish. So we sit in the sukkah whether it is cold or hot, rainy or clear. We celebrate, sing and eat. My husband will try to sleep in the sukkah. That will last about an hour. At the end of the week, we will pack this all up and go inside to our "regular" home and truth be told, we will miss the sukkah.
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