Sukkot & Simchat Torah

 “You shall live in booths seven days, all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I am the Lord your G-d.”
(Lev 23:42-3)

Sukkot reminds us of our shared history by physically dwelling in these small fragile structures. And spiritually it reminds of G-ds Divine protection as we’ve entered a new year following the High Holy Days. The sukkah is designed in such a way as inspire trust, or bitachon as the trait in referred to in Hebrew. It is an impermanent structure, its “roof” is required to be largely open. We can decorate it with things that remind of harvests and also of the four species that make up the lulav and Etrog that we can shake in the sukkah. We can eat and sleep in the sukkah, great for kids, and there is a blessing for dwelling in the sukkah: Baruch attah Adonai elohainu melech ha’olam aher kidshanu b’mitsvotav v’tzivanu lay’shev ba’sukkah, Blessed are you, Lord our G-d, King of the Universe, who has sanctified us with his commandments and commanded us to dwell in the Sukkah.

Websites that may be helpful for building your sukkah:
https://www.instructables.com/id/Sukkah-PVC-Freestanding/ 
https://www.simplifiedbuilding.com/projects/how-to-build-your-own-diy-sukkah 
http://www.neohasid.org/sukkot/a_simple_sukkah/ 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MrWmAEEAow 
 
Sukkah building can be a great family project and learning experience, particularly during this pandemic.

Resources compiled by Steve Birch