OCTOBER 1 • 2020 | 21

Congregation Shaarey Zedek 
in Southfield is planning a 
masked, physically distanced 
Lulav and Etrog Open House 
for those who want to experi-
ence the mitzvah and don’
t have 
their own set. Registration is 
required. The congregation is 
also planning two virtual Sukkot 
seders at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, 
and Thursday, Oct. 8.
“We’
re going to honor the 
Feast of Booths with a special 
Sukkot Haggadah recalling 
some of our favorite Passover 
traditions, including the four 
cups, the four questions, a text 
study, some beautiful songs and 
lots of thoughtful conversation,
” 
said Rabbi Aaron Starr.

CREATIVE SUKKOT
Temple Israel in West 
Bloomfield is having a two-track 
sukkah-building contest. “The 
first is for the best decorated 
traditional sukkah, with walls 
made of wood, tarps, etc.,
” said 
Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny. 
“Then we are going to have 
a second track: best creative 
sukkah. Make your sukkah from 
cardboard, Legos, skis, whatever. 
It just has to be open at the top 
so that the stars can be seen. We 
want everyone to send us their 

sukkah pics so we can share this 
holiday together in the most 
creative ways.
” 
 Congregation B’
nai Israel 
in West Bloomfield is plan-
ning several outdoor activities, 
including a recitation of the 
Hallel prayers with lulavs and 
etrogs on the afternoon of 
Oct. 4, a Hoshana Rabba cer-
emony the morning of Oct. 9, 
and hakafot (processions) for 
Simchat Torah on the after-
noon of Oct. 11.
To observe the tradition of 
honored guests, Congregation 
B’
nai Moshe is doing a virtual 
tour of congregants’
 sukkot. 
Each night after evening 
minyan, the congregants will 
remotely visit the sukkah of one 
family, and the hosts will be 
invited to talk about the ushpiz-
in they have hosted in the past.
Chabad of Greater 
Downtown Detroit has 
become well known for its suk-
kah-in-a-shipping-container, 
where up to 80 guests would 
gather for dinner each night. 
This year, Rabbi Yisrael Pinson 
and his wife, Devorah, are put-
ting up a smaller sukkah with 
latticed sides that allow air to 
flow through easily, making it 
“almost outdoors.” They plan to 

host about 20 people each night 
with social distancing. They 
will also drive their “mobile 
sukkah” to the Detroit homes 
of people unable to visit the 
Chabad center.
 
INDIVIDUAL EFFORTS
Individuals are also modify-
ing their traditional Sukkot 
practices. Nancy and Mike 
Kaplan of West Bloomfield 
are planning to build a small-
er sukkah with only two-and-
and-half walls instead of the 
usual three-and-a-half. “We 
will have only one or two 
guests at a time, with a sched-
ule of specific times for guests 
to visit. No open houses this 
year!” Nancy said. 
Mandy Garver and her 
husband, Allen Wolf, of 
Bloomfield Township, thought 

about erecting their sukkah 
and inviting small numbers 
of guests. But the sukkah is a 
complicated design, and they 
are both committed election 
volunteers. With the holiday 
so close to the election, they 
decided to use the time and 
energy they would normally 
put into building the sukkah 
and hosting guests into work-
ing on the Biden campaign.
Franki and Jeff Bagdade of 
West Bloomfield are build-
ing their first-ever sukkah, 
despite the pandemic. It will 
be a simple structure — a 
pop-up canopy with the roof 
and one wall removed — just 
big enough for them and their 
three children. “I feel like 
today more than usual I need 
concrete ways for our family 
to feel connected,” she said. 

LEFT: Carly Sugar’
s 2018 sukkah at her 
home in Rosedale Park on the northwest 
side of Detroit. BELOW: “Hallel” by Abre 
Ettah, New Malden, Britain, UK: This 
sukkah, a part of the sukkah design 
competition by the Downtown Synagogue 
in 2018, brings together the historic 
elements of Sukkot — light, water and 
festive celebration.