SUGGESTIONS FOR FAMILY CELEBRATION


Children love to decorate the sukkah, and the endeavor offers parents and adult friends the chance to get crafty, too. Typically, the sukkah is decorated with hanging fruits and vegetables, (the "seven species" mentioned in the Torah are: grapes, figs, dates, olives, pomegranates, wheat, and barley,) to commemorate the abundant harvest, and with beautiful scenes of Israel and signs with Bible quotations. Some modern families would rather not use food as a decoration, and create "fruit" from paper mache or laminated magazine cutouts. Decorating suggestions include paper chains; Rosh Hashanah cards strung along a long piece of yarn; posters of Israel; strings of beads, popcorn, or cranberries; ornamental gourds; mobiles depicting Jewish symbols; and placemats to use in the sukkah. To depict the special tradition of ushpizin that is practiced during Sukkot, an ushpizin chart can be created and hung. Ushpizin (oosh-pee-zeen) is a mystical custom begun and practiced in the sixteenth century by the mystics in Safed, Israel, to invite one of our ancestors to "visit" our sukkah as our "guests." These were traditionally Biblical characters, and included Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. In recent years, our foremothers have been included: Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, Miriam, Deborah, and Esther. Many families will enjoy "inviting" guests from their family ancestry, or including other heroes of Jewish history. Dramatically inclined family members may enjoy dressing up and portraying one of the characters. A "Who Am I?" guessing game, modeled after the game Twenty Questions, is lots of fun. Families with older children may ask the characters to respond to issues of contemporary life from the perspective of time past. Make a model doll-sized sukkah with young children to add to their dollhouses. Save the etrog, press cloves into the sides and use it for besamim (spices) at Havdalah. Tzeddakah collected during this holiday may be given to a food bank or other institution that feeds the hungry.