Our Pandemic Sukkah

On Monday evening, September 20, the Jewish festival of Sukkot begins. Traditional observance requires that during the week of Sukkot  a Jew reside in a sukkah, a hut that in ancient days served as a temporary harvest lodging in the fields. The custom suits the Middle East well at this season as the temperatures are mild and the weather dry. Not so much in New England! Very few Jews in greater Boston sleep in their sukkahs, but many of us spend time there, weather permitting: dining, reading, socializing, and generally enjoying the early fall. 

This year, alas, the traditional specs for a sukkah would create some risk when entertaining friends and family in it. You see, sukkahs are traditionally enclosed on three sides, with the entrance open. The roof is partly, not completely, open so that a person can see several stars through the branches or stalks that cover it. Having the sukkah largely enclosed might help preserve the heat within and provide privacy. But it would also trap those aerosols from people’s breaths that spread the Covid virus. 

Consequently, to allow greater air circulation, many congregations and minyans have urged their members to leave all sides of the sukkah open.  Our sukkah, pictured above, is just such a structure. It sits on our back deck, and usually we’d have blankets or something of the sort covering all but the entry. To my delight, while inside we can now see the sparrows, chickadees, and woodpeckers feeding on the seeds and suet in our feeder. Our sukkah, though not surrounded by fields teeming with barley or grapes fit for harvest, feels encircled by the greenery in the yard. Would an orthodox, super-observant Jew accept this year’s adaptation of the sukkah? Perhaps not, but in light of the Pandemic, it makes sense to us. 

Happy holiday to all!