The Adas Yeshurun-Conservative-Synagogue celebrated the first intermediate day of Sukkot by hosting a lively gathering in a temporary hut, known as a sukkah, filled with pizza, drinks, and football.
Synagogue members came together for this special event, playfully called “Pizza in the Hut,” on Sunday night.
Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Booths or the Festival of Tabernacles, is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. As part of the celebration, Jews around the world build sukkahs, temporary huts made of wood and other materials, and spend time in them during the week-long festival.
Rabbi David Surull said Jews are told in the book of Leviticus to observe this holiday for seven days.
“It’s one of the easiest commandments in the whole Bible to observe, you just sit in there and you’re observing the commandment,” Surely said.
Surull said members of the synagogue will be back at the hut “on and off” until Sukkot concludes.
Commanded to be joyous
According to Surull, the first two and last two days of Sukkot are more ceremonial, while the middle days, called intermediate days, are more lighthearted.
“The neat thing about Sukkot is that we are commanded to be joyous,” said Surull, who highlighted that Sukkot is a festival, not a holy day like Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur, and can be likened to Thanksgiving.
Surull said the celebration is bringing a sliver of hope this year in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
“It reminds us to be aware of the precariousness of life and that we are only here for a finite period of time…I think it’s good for the guys to come together and have their spirits lifted a little bit.”
