Join the fun and celebrate Sukkot with Chapman University Hillel

By Sarah Van Zanten

It’s time to build the Sukkah, shake the lulav and etrog and celebrate the harvest season. Sukkot has arrived! Every year
Chapman University’s Hillel
holds multiple events the week of Sukkot, the Jewish Harvest Festival.  And students have been busy creating a festive lineup of activities and EVERYONE is invited!

“This year is really exciting to watch, the students did everything on their own.  The students gathered the materials, planned the events and are running all the events,” said Megan Kanofsky, program director of Hillel at Chapman University.

The Sukkah was built Wednesday outside the Fish Interfaith Center, and activities continue  tonight, Thursday,  with “Hookah in the Sukkah!” at 7 p.m., Shabbat services at 6 p.m. Friday, Mini-Sukkah building Monday at 5:15 p.m. and lunch with Rabbi Drew in the Sukkah on Tuesday at 11 a.m.  You can also follow the festivities by visiting Chapman Hillel’s Facebook page.

Sukkot begins five days after Yom Kippur, on the 15
^th
of Tishrei, and lasts seven days.  The holiday is a time when Jews give thanks for the fall harvest and remember the 40-year period when the Israelites were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters.  The word “Sukkot” means “booths” or huts,” and the beginning of the holiday is traditionally marked by the making of a Sukkah. The commandment to “dwell in the Sukkah” can be fulfilled by eating one meal inside, but if the weather permits it is traditional to spend as much time in the Sukkah as possible.  The Sukkah is a place to eat, relax and study.

All events are free, and this festive holiday can be enjoyed by all. So head over to the front of Chapman’s Fish Interfaith Center, visit the student-built Sukkah and learn how to give the lulav and etrog a traditional shake!

For more information, contact Hillel President Brian Ducoffe at
ducof100@mail.chapman.edu
or Kanofsky at
megan@ochillel.org
.