There's no place like home inside a sukkah.

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM
Apple Tree Editor

I is home for the holidays.
On Sukkot, we live in little
huts that recall the sukkot in
which our ancestors lived
while they roamed in the desert.
Families eat and play in the sukkah,
and some even sleep there, under the
stars.
Susan Kraus of Oak Park looked
forward to this Sukkot, which began
Monday night and runs seven days.
She's joined by two of her sons (there
are four children altogether: two in
New York, two in New Jersey) —
and that means grandchildren.

Each Sukkot, Susan and husband
Eugene Kraus adorn their sukkah
with gourds and posters of rabbis
and the Kotel (Western Wall) and
art projects. \_
"I grew up in Israel," she said.
"We always made our own decora-
tions for the sukkah. We would go
to the art supply store and pick up
all those shiny papers. We just
kept saving all those decorations.
"We've been collecting for more
than 35 years."
The sukkah itself is made of
waterproofed plywood and a
unique touch: sheets hung on the
walls. Susan explains: "Many years
ago, my mother would put white
sheets on the sukkah walls." (Note!

These are not sheets otherwise used
on the beds, but sheets set aside
specifically for the sukkah.) She
hangs her sheets with thumbtacks
and they give the sukkah "a warm
feeling."
The Kraus sukkah also has the
distinction of being heated. "The
sukkah is supposed to be nice, just
like home, that's what it's all
about," Susan says. "No one enjoys
freezing in his house. That's why

Above: The Lichterrnan family
in their Huntington Woods
sukkah: Mark and Susan with
their children, Allie, 7, Yossi,
10, and Eden, 2.

Left: The Kraus family sukkah
in Oak Park.

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