What Are We Building?

October 11, 2019 in Hazzan Asa Fradkin

In about 15 minutes my Dad is going to arrive to help me put up my Sukkah.

It takes me back to our home in Baltimore circa 1995 when we built our first Sukkah on the deck of the townhouse while I blasted Hootie and The Blowfish from my boombox .

My Dad actually worked as a carpenter for a short time before changing careers and he’s returned to it recently, building tables, shelves and other types of furniture for members of our family. So this is going to be the easiest most efficient Sukkah build in quite some time.

But I am really looking forward to the building process, because more than anything, that’s what I remember about past Sukkots.

It’s the construction that helps us start doing the Tshuva we promised to do on Yom Kippur.

What will we build this year? Will it be sturdy enough to hold us within and help us live as we have always imagined?

Who will we invite in? What holy discussions might take place?

The process of return, of renewal, can begin with the smallest and most fragile construction.

So as you build your sukkah this year, imagine yourself on the 9th of Tishrei 5780, what change did you begin building this day?

Shabbat Shalom