Chabad Center for Jewish Life begins Sukkot festivities

Not long after the holidays of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the Jewish community of Long Island is celebrating another holiday — Sukkot, also known as Feast of the Tabernacles. Sukkot is a joyous holiday, filled with enthusiastic celebration.

The Chabad Center for Jewish Life, which is in Merrick but has congregants from Wantagh and Seaford as well, kicked off the holiday on Sunday.

Sukkot dates back to ancient Israel, when Jews built huts near the edges of their fields during the harvest season. In those days, people lived in these sukkahs. Now, Jewish observers of Sukkot either build sukkahs in their backyards or help construct them at their synagogues.

“When the Jewish people left Egypt, they were in the desert for 40 years,” Rabbi Shimon Kramer, of the Chabad Center, said. “They didn’t have houses, so God provided them with huts. Well, they appeared as huts, but they were clouds of glory which shielded them from the sun and other elements.”

Congregants were given stickers for taking part in a ceremony involving what Jewish custom calls the four species, three types of branches and one type of fruit. Together they are shaken three times while a blessing is recited. “It says in the Torah that you should take a beautiful fruit and shake it,” Kramer said.

More than 250 congregants were in attendance, and Kramer proudly noted that the Chabad Center is as much a community center as it is a religious center, so many people, religious and secular, came to take part in the holiday.

The celebration began with a variety of activities, including a petting zoo, pony rides, a barbecue, live music and a real sukkah, assembled outside the center. The petting zoo was especially popular with the children, whom Kramer called “our most important members.”

He added that it is important for congregants to eat inside the sukkah, because it can remind those who are comfortable in their large homes that not everyone can afford housing.

In his introduction to the festivities, Kramer spoke of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, and noted that Sukkot comes afterward, to connect further with the faith in ways the other holidays cannot.

“We have been praying and praying,” he said. “And now for God to continue to listen, we must dance. What we cannot accomplish in prayer, we can accomplish in dance.”

After the outdoor activities, congregants headed into the center, where the Torah dances began. There were three dances, one dedicated to children, another dedicated to parents, and another dedicated to grandparents. Many held Torahs for the dances.

Afterward, the children of the center sat in a circle, and Kramer shared with them the stories of the original Sukkot, before leading a prayer.

With its large attendance and its participants’ clearly evident enthusiasm, this Sukkot celebration was a success for the Chabad Center, and an indication of the vibrancy of the South Shore Jewish community.

“We cater to everyone here, from the youngest to the most elderly,” Kramer said. “And we are so glad that the community welcomes us and that they come out to enjoy themselves.”