Spirituality

HOLIDAY 101

The Sweet Life

Talk about yummy! Family invites hundreds over
for a party filled with tasty treats.

Sukkot

'The Time Of
Our Gladness:

Elizabeth Applebaum

Elizabeth Applebaum

Special to the Jewish News

Special to the Jewish News

N

obody could argue that the
Cranis family sukkah parties
don't take the cake — and the
brownies, and the cookies, and the pies
and the cream puffs and the tortes.
Each year, the family serves up a
Sukkot event at their West Bloomfield
home that can only be described as deli-
cious, with literally hundreds of desserts
prepared by Scott Cranis — businessman
by day, pastry chef by night.
It all began in high school, when
Cranis began working part-time at
Baskin-Robbins in Oak Park, where he
grew up. His job included making and
decorating the ice-cream cake delicacies.
Clearly, he had discovered a recipe for
success. It wasn't long before Cranis was
being asked to help make birthday cakes
for all his relatives.
Soon after Cranis married his sweet-
heart, Jodi, his parents gave the couple a
sukkah as a housewarming gift. Then the
partying began.
That was 17 years ago, and it started
out as just a small, private get-together.
The couple invited a few friends and
family for dinner in the sukkah.
Then the few friends became a lot
of friends. Next, the Cranises had
two daughters: Mara, now a fresh-
man at Frankel Jewish Academy in
West Bloomfield, and Jordyn, who is
in sixth grade at Hillel Day School of
Metropolitan Detroit in Farmington Hills.
"We wanted our kids' friends to be able
to come Cranis says. "And then their
parents would come. Then, as we got to
know more and more people, they would
come. Then our kids would make new
friends and we would invite those kids
and their families."
Camp friends. Friends from school.
Friends from work. Neighbors. Soon,
the guest list was reaching well into the
hundreds.
Preparation for the big event starts
several weeks before the holiday. That's
when Cranis begins baking literally doz-
ens of desserts and finger foods. He often
creates the recipes himself and he likes to
experiment with new dishes, though for
certain he'll be serving his popular carrot
cake squares and fudge marble bars. The

hen: The first day of
Sukkot is the 15th day
of Tishrei, which this
year begins at sundown Wednesday,
Sept. 22. The holiday lasts for
seven days (with one extra day for
Shemini Atzeret — see below);
but outside of Israel, for eight days
(plus one extra day). For us, the
holiday (with Shemini Atzeret and
Simchat Torah) ends on Friday eve-
ning, Oct. 1.

Name of the Holiday: In Hebrew,
sukkot means "booths" or "huts"
(sukkah is the singular form). In
English, the holiday usually is called
Booths or Tabernacles. In the prayers
of Sukkot, the holiday is referred to
in Hebrew as z'man simchataynu, the
"time of our gladness."

Why We Celebrate: A divine man-
date as expressed in the Torah. See
Leviticus 23:33-43, Numbers 29:12-
38, Deuteronomy 16:13-15.

Jodi and Scott Cranis with daughters Mara, 14, and Jordyn, 10

last step: everything goes into the refrig-
erator in the basement for safekeeping.
Then it's time for the invitations and
finally for the construction of the sukkah
itself. Scott sets it up; but all responsibil-
ity for decoration lies with his wife.
Most of the sukkah art includes pic-
tures of apples and honey, and shofars,
and colorful drawings made by their
children.
"Over the years, we've had a pretty steady
flow of items',' Cranis says (Jewish parents
everywhere can, no doubt, identify).
Even with that plethora of art, Jodi
pretty much has things under control. In
fact, "After 17 years, she has it down to a
science Cranis says.

Of course, there is that professional tal-
ent that Jodi brings to the sukkah deco-
rating task; she's an interior designer.
The Cranises also get help from friends
and family, who bring their own home-
baked goodies to share in the sukkah, so
there's a lot of food.
Finally, it's time for everyone to show
up; and show up they do. The typical
crowd is about 250 and no, the Cranis
sukkah isn't that big; people usually start
in the sukkah, then mingle for conversa-
tion in the Cranis' back yard. All food is
served on paper plates; and guests are
invited to stay late into the night, making
for a relaxed, friendly and very fun after-
noon and evening.

What It Celebrates: Sukkot is a
commemoration of the temporary
shelters that the Israelites lived in
after the exodus from Egypt in their
sojourn through the wilderness
on their way to the Land of Israel.
Another interpretation by Torah
scholars is that sukkot refers to pro-
tective, divine clouds that enveloped
the Jewish people on their journey.
In the Torah (Exodus 23:16),
Sukkot is called Chag Ha-Asif,
"Festival of the Ingathering";
Sukkot also celebrates the fall
fruit harvest, especially grapes. In
ancient Israel, Sukkot, along with
Pesach and Shavuot, was when the
Jewish people made a pilgrimage
to Jerusalem to celebrate in the
Temple.

How We Celebrate: Ideally, we live
in a sukkah for the entire holiday.
Jewish law states that a sukkah
consists of at least three walls and a

Sukkot on page 34

September 16 • 2010

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