Hillel, the Jewish cultural organization at Appalachian
State University, is celebrating Sukkot in the heart of campus,
in an effort to educate fellow students and join together to enjoy
the holiday.
Members and friends of Hillel
pose infront of the sukkah on Sanford Mall Monday. Pictured
are, from left, Sarah Hostyk, Barry Halpert, Jonathan
Kunz, Dany Batainsila, Leslee Lisnek, Ricardo Estrada.
Front row, Roberta Fields, Lyudmila Trost and Rachel Haycraft.
Photo by Cara
Kelly
Directly translating to the plural form of the Hebrew word for
hut, Sukkot is the harvest festival, one of the three major holidays
comprising Shalosh Regalim.
During the holiday, it is customary to construct a sukkah, a temporary
structure with one open wall. Followers of Judaism typically eat,
sleep, pray, entertain guests and relax in the sukkah during the
seven-day-long celebration.
Hillel has constructed a sukkah on Sanford Mall on the ASU campus
to serve as a meeting ground for students and guests to celebrate
in unison and educate anyone interested in the holiday.
“The purpose of this is to be educational for the campus,”
Hillel member Roberta Fields said. “The sukkah is supposed
to be open to welcome any and all guests. You are supposed to
relax and unwind in it.”
The sukkah built by Hillel is not fully kosher but serves as a
convenient model for students to use to demonstrate the tradition.
The roof of a kosher hut is made with leaves and branches, with
space to see the stars while sleeping in the warm months of the
harvest season.
Hillel constructed the hut on Monday, before learning traditional
Israeli dances from Ruth Etkin, member of ASU’s Center for
Judaic, Holocaust and Peace Studies steering committee.
Without the need for a partner, students learned typical dance
steps that are performed in a circle as a group. Etkin taught
students a few basic steps and dances, including the “Feast
on Israel,” a modern Israeli dance.
Hillel celebrates most holidays with events open to the public.
The group has been working in close cooperation with the Jewish
community in Boone.
“We are very close with the Boone Jewish community, and they
have been very helpful,” Fields said. “We couldn’t
have been this successful without them.”
Community members supplied security for the hut for three days
and pizza for the event Tuesday night.
Hillel will participate in ASU’s “Find Yosef A Holiday”
event during the holiday season in December.
For more information about Hillel or Jewish holiday celebrations,
email club president Danny Batainsila at db75987@appstate.edu.
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