Next Monday night will be the beginning of the week of Sukkot. There are three mitzvot associated with this harvest festival. We are commanded to rejoice during the holiday, gather the “four species” and dwell in the sukkah. We make all of these mitzvot come alive to our students at Etz Chaim. We are very good at rejoicing. Come to an assembly on either a Sunday morning or Wednesday afternoon and watch Rabbi Bob who is almost always joyful. He bursts forth with joy during Sukkot. Every child has an opportunity to shake the lulav, smell the etrog and have snack in the sukkah, therefore fulfilling the commandments.
 

In line with Sukkot's nickname as zman simchatenu, "the season of our joy," it is a custom, although not a requirement, to decorate the sukkah. During junior congregation on Yom Kippur morning, when they conclude their service, the children make decorations for the sukkah so that it will look very joyful. Next Sunday morning many of the children in the primary department will also make decorations and our confirmation class will hang everything so, on Monday night the sukkah looks very festive.
 

A sukkah custom developed by the kabbalists, or Jewish mystics, was to invite seven biblical ancestors, or "faithful shepherds" as sukkah guests. The traditional invitees are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David; each night a different one of these seven guests, called the ushpizin, is considered the most honored guest. If you look carefully in the sukkah this year you will see who some of our students chose to invite to the sukkah. They were asked to “invite” the person from our history that they would most like to meet. It will be fun to read who they chose.

If you have your own sukkah, I hope you enjoy observing the mitzvot at home; if not I hope you will come to Etz Chaim and enjoy our sukkah.