The High Holidays are over and it’s officially time for Sukkot, one of the most joyous holidays of the Jewish year. Sukkot is the celebration of the fall harvest season, where people eat, sleep and dwell in temporary huts or booths called sukkahs. The week of Sukkot is all about giving thanks, being outdoors and celebrating together as a community, all of which are right up our alley here at Keshet! Let’s see a little round-up of all that Keshet’s programs have planned for the holiday…
Keshet-Wide Sukkot Party
Keshet kicked off Sukkot with a community Sukkot party in collaboration with Skokie Valley Synagogue. Keshet’s 3 schools, adult day program and Skokie Valley community members came together to celebrate everything Sukkot is about. At the party, we shook the lulav and etrog with Rabbi Hart, built Sukkahs out of pretzels and graham crackers, ate pizza in the Sukkah and, of course, jammed out with Rabbi Herst. Special thanks to teacher Robyn Reiser and the rest of the Transition team for their help in putting this amazing event together.
Day School
In addition to attending the Sukkot party, Keshet’s Day School had a blast celebrating Sukkot on their own. They played Sukkot bingo, read books about the holiday and made decorations for the Sukkah at Schechter, their host school. One teacher created a Sukkot-themed bulletin board so that students and Schechter peers can learn more when they’re in the Keshet wing.
Transition
Transition students had a lot to do to prepare for Sukkot this year. First, students learned about the holiday in the classroom. Afterward, they went shopping for the food and art supplies needed to do all the different activities for the Sukkot party. Students loved being a part of the set-up process and then participating in all the different stations at the party.
GADOL
Team members made paper chains, a very common decoration for Sukkahs. They delivered them to Tamarisk, a CJE senior living community in Deerfield, where they met some of the residents and helped them decorate the Sukkah. This project continued GADOL’s commitment to making a difference in our community. We are looking forward to partnering with Tamarisk again in the future!
MY Life
There’s been no shortage of Sukkot fun at Keshet’s MY Life. Each home has a sukkah decorated by residents and staff. This week, residents will participate in our first-ever Sukkah Hop, where residents will visit each other’s sukkahs for snacks prepared by the people living at that home. Residents will also attend a Sukkot party at North Suburban Synagogue Beth El in Highland Park organized by Audra and Marlene Kaplan.
Adult Recreation
Sukkot is just one of the many holidays that are part of Keshet’s recreation programming this fall season. The weekly adult art class at Open Studio Project painted the night sky as you would see it through your Sukkah. What makes this particularly special is that the roofs on a sukkah are arranged so that those inside can look up to see the stars. Projects like these give participants the opportunity to develop their skills, and connect to Jewish traditions in new ways.
Sukkot at Keshet has been so much fun! Stay tuned for more Sukkot-themed photos and stories on Keshet’s Instagram and Facebook throughout the rest of the week. Chag Sameach!
