Learning to Lulav: the knitted sukkah

A year ago, the living room was covered with lumber, bins of paint and brushes, as our painted sukkah slowly took form.  This afternoon the boys (now men) visited to help us erect The Sukkah again, and we look forward to the week’s many breakfast and dinner visitors, and inter-faith gatherings.
With the work of contributing [...]

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The Sukkah: dreams vs reality

I dreamed of a painted sukkah, of a “green” sukkah, of a harvest of knitted fruits and vegetables … I dreamed of a space in which community might happen, a space in which the work of helping to make peace might be discussed, planned, organized. I think my dream has come true.
The paint dried Monday [...]

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After Sealing the Book of Life: the sukkah in the meantime

The rigors of self-examination on Yom Kippur were endured, and the final blasts of the shofar ring in our ears. Having achieved our fast, we turn again to thoughts of seasonal plenty and the sukkah.
The last few boards are painted, and the lovely temperate weather accelerated drying the paints. Though warm and [...]

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The Sukkah: a (pre)view of abundance by dragonfly light

With the approach of Kol Nidre, work on the sukkah has accelerated considerably. The interior beams are nearly complete, and the remaining blank exteriors are mapped out. Final decisions are made more quickly, and the kaleidoscope of brushes and rags make a cheerful backdrop to the work.

Our anticipation [...]

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Sukkot Meets “Knit Out 2007″: growing the harvest basket and the tikkunknitting community

Day by day my sukkah’s harvest grows as I grab moments to work on the basket of fruits and vegetables. My harvest bowl now contains etrogs, lemons, red and green apples, a cluster of grapes, and banana, cucumber, corn-on-the-cob, and acorn squash.

The acorn squash and red apple were completed during our field trip to Greensgrow [...]

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The Sukkah: knit that etrog!

For readers who have inquired about a pattern for an etrog, rather than using or adapting the lemon pattern, I have knitted one up as a sample (my first lemon is on the right, for comparison).

You can compare my knitted version with any image of an imported etrog from the internet, such as this one). [...]

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Sukkah Update: the species & voices of the past

Remember September

(link)
Distant Voices
Our sukkah has 11 beams to be painted, most have which have 4 visible sides. But the back garden is scorchingly hot, humid, and mosquito-infested, and our air conditioning has been broken (irreparably) for weeks. The Days of Awe are imminent, and Sukkot winks at me from the other side. [...]

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First Fruits: plastic and the green etrog

With the painting of our sukkah still in the planning stage, there’s also the matter of other decorations to consider. My challenge has been to approach the project with the environmental values provided by tikkun olam. I return to the central guiding text: Bal tashchit, or ”Do not destroy” (Deuteronomy 20: [...]

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Going Native: making the sukkah a space for peace

Not raised with a family sukkah during my childhood, I began the journey towards my own sukkah when my own children were young teenagers. With a small urban back garden, we explored our limited options and chose a kit to build a crude wooden structure. For the first few years, our “casbah sukkah” [...]

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