16 ways you know Sukkot is coming to Israel

Posted
By Judy Lash Balint
By Judy Lash Balint Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770
1. The clang of metal poles and the sounds of hammering are practically constant as Jerusalem’s apartment dwellers hurry to erect their sukkot and squeeze them into small balconies, odd-shaped gardens and otherwise derelict rooftops.
2. The tourists have landed! Overwhelmingly religious, English and French speaking, they jam the city’s take-out places and restaurants, and may be seen in packs wandering up and down Emek Refaim and at the glitzy Mamilla Mall, talking to their friends on their cell phones at the top of their lungs.
3. Almost every non-profit group worth its salt has scheduled a fund-raising and/or familiarization event for the intermediate days of Sukkot, aimed at capturing the attention of the wealthy temporary Jerusalem residents.
4. Real estate agents are taking a deep breath before their busiest week of the year as they prepare to pitch their over-priced wares to eager foreign buyers. Each of the many luxury residential building projects around town has managed to put up billboards depicting the completed construction and inviting prospective buyers for a tour of an unfinished building site.
5. You can’t get on a bus without being poked in the rear a dozen times with someone’s stray lulav.
6. The sweet smell of etrogim in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda (Yehuda Market) is overpowering. Huge crowds descend on a lot on Jaffa Road near the market to vie for the most shapely lulav and etrog.
7. One enterprising bookstore is offering “Machzor rentals” for tourists who inadvertently left their holiday prayer books at home.
8. You’ve never seen such gaudy sukkah decorations in your life — unless you’ve been to Walmart on Christmas Eve. In Meah Shearim kiosks manned by charedim are selling gold, green and red tinsel hangings — exact replicas of decorations for a different holiday in the old country.
9. Huge piles of schach (palm fronds for the roof of the sukkah) cover major city squares, and citizens are invited to take as much as they need for free.
10. The usual throngs of are expected at the Western Wall for the thrice-yearly observance of the ancient ritual of Birkat Cohanim — Blessing by the Priests — that takes place during the intermediate days of Sukkot.
11. Empty city lots all over Jerusalem are taken over to sell sukkot of every size and description. Some are marketed by large companies and feature the latest space-saving technology and hardiest materials, while others are simpler affairs made of tubular piping and plastic walls. Every kosher restaurant in town has a sukkah of some kind and each boasts bigger and better holiday specials to entice customers.
12. Since the entire week of Sukkot is a national holiday you’ll have a tough time deciding which festival or event to take part in.
13. Touring the country is another favorite Sukkot activity and every political group is promoting trips to “See For Yourself.” Chevron is a perennial favorite for the intermediate festival days as the Isaac Hall in the Cave of the Patriarchs that’s normally off-limits to Jewish visitors is open for the holiday.
14. Not to be left out are those tenacious Christian friends of Israel — the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) will bring 5,000 members from 80 nations to attend their 30th annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration. The Christian contingent dressed in costume of their country of origin will also take part in another annual Sukkot event, the Jerusalem March, where tens of thousands march through several routes in the capital. Organizers claim that the Christian event will pump $10 million into the local economy, taking up 15,000 hotel room nights during their stay. Not everyone is happy about the Feast, however. A few years ago Israel’s Chief Rabbinate’s Committee for the Prevention of the Spread of Missionary Work in the Holy Land issued a ruling forbidding Jews from participating in the Jerusalem march organized by the ICEJ. The committee wrote in its decision, endorsed by both chief rabbis that Halacha forbids Jews to participate in any of the Christian sponsored gatherings. Still, this year, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin will host a sukkah reception for the delegates at ICEJ headquarters.
15. Another prominent group of tourists set to arrive are refugees from the young American frum singles scene who make an annual migration to Jerusalem from the Upper West Side for Sukkot. Discreet meetings of earnest, well-scrubbed, modestly dressed twenty-somethings take place in all the major hotel lobbies.
16. And speaking of refugees — spare a thought for those 1,700 families expelled from their homes in Gush Katif back in August 2005. More than four years on and hardly any of them are living in permanent housing. More than 1,500 former Gush Katif residents are still unemployed. Several have died at young ages and many couples have divorced due to the economic and social pressure and the uncertain future they face. Neither they nor the Israelis in and around Sderot, who despite the Gaza pullout continue to live under the threat of Hamas shelling, will need to be reminded of one of the essential messages of the Sukkot holiday — the flimsiness of our physical existence and our reliance on G-d for sustenance and shelter.
Judy Lash Balint is the author of Jerusalem Diaries: What’s Really Happening in Israel and a contributor to the Fodor’s Guide to Israel. She blogs at jerusalemdiaries.blogspot.com
1. The clang of metal poles and the sounds of hammering are practically constant as Jerusalem’s apartment dwellers hurry to erect their sukkot and squeeze them into small balconies, odd-shaped gardens and otherwise derelict rooftops.
2. The tourists have landed! Overwhelmingly religious, English and French speaking, they jam the city’s take-out places and restaurants, and may be seen in packs wandering up and down Emek Refaim and at the glitzy Mamilla Mall, talking to their friends on their cell phones at the top of their lungs.
3. Almost every non-profit group worth its salt has scheduled a fund-raising and/or familiarization event for the intermediate days of Sukkot, aimed at capturing the attention of the wealthy temporary Jerusalem residents.
4. Real estate agents are taking a deep breath before their busiest week of the year as they prepare to pitch their over-priced wares to eager foreign buyers. Each of the many luxury residential building projects around town has managed to put up billboards depicting the completed construction and inviting prospective buyers for a tour of an unfinished building site.
5. You can’t get on a bus without being poked in the rear a dozen times with someone’s stray lulav.
6. The sweet smell of etrogim in Jerusalem’s Machane Yehuda (Yehuda Market) is overpowering. Huge crowds descend on a lot on Jaffa Road near the market to vie for the most shapely lulav and etrog.
7. One enterprising bookstore is offering “Machzor rentals” for tourists who inadvertently left their holiday prayer books at home.
8. You’ve never seen such gaudy sukkah decorations in your life — unless you’ve been to Walmart on Christmas Eve. In Meah Shearim kiosks manned by charedim are selling gold, green and red tinsel hangings — exact replicas of decorations for a different holiday in the old country.
9. Huge piles of schach (palm fronds for the roof of the sukkah) cover major city squares, and citizens are invited to take as much as they need for free.
10. The usual throngs of are expected at the Western Wall for the thrice-yearly observance of the ancient ritual of Birkat Cohanim — Blessing by the Priests — that takes place during the intermediate days of Sukkot.
11. Empty city lots all over Jerusalem are taken over to sell sukkot of every size and description. Some are marketed by large companies and feature the latest space-saving technology and hardiest materials, while others are simpler affairs made of tubular piping and plastic walls. Every kosher restaurant in town has a sukkah of some kind and each boasts bigger and better holiday specials to entice customers.
12. Since the entire week of Sukkot is a national holiday you’ll have a tough time deciding which festival or event to take part in.
13. Touring the country is another favorite Sukkot activity and every political group is promoting trips to “See For Yourself.” Chevron is a perennial favorite for the intermediate festival days as the Isaac Hall in the Cave of the Patriarchs that’s normally off-limits to Jewish visitors is open for the holiday.
14. Not to be left out are those tenacious Christian friends of Israel — the International Christian Embassy of Jerusalem (ICEJ) will bring 5,000 members from 80 nations to attend their 30th annual Feast of Tabernacles celebration. The Christian contingent dressed in costume of their country of origin will also take part in another annual Sukkot event, the Jerusalem March, where tens of thousands march through several routes in the capital. Organizers claim that the Christian event will pump $10 million into the local economy, taking up 15,000 hotel room nights during their stay. Not everyone is happy about the Feast, however. A few years ago Israel’s Chief Rabbinate’s Committee for the Prevention of the Spread of Missionary Work in the Holy Land issued a ruling forbidding Jews from participating in the Jerusalem march organized by the ICEJ. The committee wrote in its decision, endorsed by both chief rabbis that Halacha forbids Jews to participate in any of the Christian sponsored gatherings. Still, this year, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin will host a sukkah reception for the delegates at ICEJ headquarters.
15. Another prominent group of tourists set to arrive are refugees from the young American frum singles scene who make an annual migration to Jerusalem from the Upper West Side for Sukkot. Discreet meetings of earnest, well-scrubbed, modestly dressed twenty-somethings take place in all the major hotel lobbies.
16. And speaking of refugees — spare a thought for those 1,700 families expelled from their homes in Gush Katif back in August 2005. More than four years on and hardly any of them are living in permanent housing. More than 1,500 former Gush Katif residents are still unemployed. Several have died at young ages and many couples have divorced due to the economic and social pressure and the uncertain future they face. Neither they nor the Israelis in and around Sderot, who despite the Gaza pullout continue to live under the threat of Hamas shelling, will need to be reminded of one of the essential messages of the Sukkot holiday — the flimsiness of our physical existence and our reliance on G-d for sustenance and shelter.
Judy Lash Balint is the author of Jerusalem Diaries: What’s Really Happening in Israel and a contributor to the Fodor’s Guide to Israel. She blogs at jerusalemdiaries.blogspot.com