With Rabbi Daniel Cohen, right, during the community Sukkot festivities are, back row, from left, Heidi Goldberg and Jessica Frank of South Orange with their daughters, Ella Goldberg and Sienna Frank.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ — The Jewish holiday of Sukkot brought the community together to help decorate the sukkah at Temple Sharey Tefilo-Israel in South Orange and learn about the holiday’s symbols. Students from the Reform synagogue’s Linda and Rudy Slucker Religious School made colorful paper chains while youngsters from the Iris Family Early Childhood Education Center worked with their parents and caregivers on creating additional festive decorations for the structure.
Sukkot is one of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals associated with harvests; the sukkah represents the makeshift booths in which the ancient Israelites dwelled in the fields during harvest times. Rabbi Daniel Cohen explained the lulav and etrog, which are used during the holiday, and led participants in reciting the prayers for dwelling in the sukkah. The community’s sukkah was used throughout the seven-day holiday as a place to gather, eat and study.
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