Students shake lulavs in sukkahs

This week, you can shake a lulav and an etrog, sip a milkshake or even snack on sushi in one of many sukkahs around campus — temporary outdoor dwellings built for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.

Sukkot, which began last night at sundown, is the most festive of the Jewish holidays, according to Lubavitch House Rabbi Levi Haskelevich. Its traditions are a celebration of agriculture and the harvest, as well as God’s protection of the Jews during the 40 years of wandering in the desert in biblical times.

The holiday will be commemorated through meals and programming at Hillel and the Lubavitch House for the next seven days. Many Hillel groups will host community-wide events, including “Shakes in the Sukkah” hosted by Kesher, the Reform Jewish community, and a discussion of the connections between homelessness and Sukkot led by the Conservative Jewish Community.

“What I love about the holiday is that it’s a thanksgiving festival to celebrate the fall harvest … but leav[ing] your permanent dwelling to go into an impermanent one gets you in touch with the social justice aspect as well,” Hillel Director Rabbi Mike Uram said. “It re-calibrates your values and makes you realize how unimportant material things are. You’re still happy and have everything you need in the sukkah.”

Many students also spend time eating, studying, and socializing in the sukkah outside of scheduled events. “Being able to eat in the sukkah fosters a communal feel to the holiday, and it is nice to be able to relax, eat, and sing songs … with your friends,” College senior and Hillel President Joshua Belfer wrote in an email.

The Lubavitch House has set up a sukkah in its backyard on 40th and Pine streets as well as on College Green. According to Haskelevich, the Lubavitch House will host a number of acivities in the heated, seasonally decorated sukkahs — including daily free dinners, sushi and snacks, services and a barbeque party on Monday night — that will be open to all. In addition, those who attend will have the opportunity to take part in the Sukkot tradition of shaking together the lulav — a combination of palm, myrtle and willow branches — and the etrog, a citron fruit.

“A lot of people who don’t usually come to regular Shabbat dinners come out for Sukkot to have the experience of sitting in the sukkah,” Haskelevich said. “Even if they’ve never done it before, they want to experience it.”

The festival concludes next Thursday night with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah — a large celebration that, according to Uram, draws hundreds of people, even students from other schools like New York University and Brandeis University.

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