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At left, Dr. Hillel
Rosenfeld sprays
the finishing
touches on his
sukkah mural.
Above, Susi
Rosenfeld helps
complete
construction.
They aren't just
canvas and
wooden walls
anymore. A look
at some unusual
local sukkahs.
PHOTOS BY GLENN TRIEST
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Assistant Editor
0
ne local sukkah in-
cludes carpeting
and a chandelier.
Another has a cuckoo clock.
A third boasts dozens of
multicolored suncatchers
hanging from the roof.
Hardly the stuff the an-
cient Israelites might have
had in their temporary
homes. But then, sukkahs
have never been boring. In
18th century Amsterdam,
Jewish families built elab-
orate structures complete
with ornate lighting fix-
tures and candleholders
affixed to the walls. In
Israel today, even the most
irreligious family is likely
to build a sukkah on their
balcony.
Sukkot begins each year
26
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 1991
on the 15th of Tishrei and
commemorates the
"booths" where Israelites
lived while wandering in
the wilderness after the
Exodus. The holiday lasts
for seven days, beginning
with two yom tovim (when
one is not permitted to
work), followed by five days
of hol ha-moed, when work
is allowed.
One is obligated to spend
as much time as possible in
the sukkah, some rabbis go
so far as to sleep in theirs.
A number of local boys and
girls do spend quite a few
afternoons going to neigh-
borhood sukkahs, which is
known as the popular
pastime of "sukkah hopp-
ing." Families place bags
of pretzels or cookies or
candy in the sukkahs for
the visiting children.
Lest an opportunity be
missed for teaching good
manners, Yeshivah Beth Ye-
hudah passes out "sukkah
guidelines" for the
hoppers. Children are ad-
vised to first compliment
their hosts on sukkah dec-
orations, then take ONE
food treat and depart with
a gracious "thank you."
Sukkah decorations
range from children's
drawings to laminated
posters of ancient and
modern rabbis. And what
sukkah from Southfield to
West Bloomfield would be
complete without a wasp
trap, a special surprise for
those unwanted sukkah
hoppers?
Halachah is flexible
about what goes on the
walls of a sukkah, but
offers definite rules as to
how the booth should be
constructed. This year's
Messenger, the Temple
Israel bulletin, included
complete instructions on
the exact shape and size.
Among the requirements:
that the structure's roof com-
prise straw or leaves; that it
have three walls and be
beneath the open sky; that
the sukkah be covered
enough that it has more
shade then not, though not so
much that the rain cannot
enter.
Tradition also calls for
extending invitations to
biblical heroes, including
Abraham and Isaac, Jacob,
Moses, Aaron, Joseph and
David. Each of these
"guests," ushpizin, signify
the ideals of kindness,
power, beauty, victory,
splendor, foundation and
sovereignty.
An essential part of
observing the holiday is
the use of the lulav and
etrog, which represent the
arba'ah minim, the four
species (olive, myrtle, palm
and thick tree branches).
One is directed to hold the
lulav and etrog while reciting
the Hallel.
The final day of Sukkot is
Hoshanah Rabba, a day of
prayer and study when
God's plans for the upcom-
ing year are said to be
finalized. It is followed by
Shemini Azeret, "the
eighth day of solemn
assembly" described in the
rIbrah, and then by Simchat
Torah, when the annual
cycle reading of the Torah
is completed. ❑