Anyone whose been here know that Shabbos House loves to celebrate Sukkot! We have a big Sukkah set-up out on the deck, with prayer services, Lulav shakes, and delicious holiday meals served with lots of atmosphere… its a lot of holiday, much celebration, come for when you can. But make the most of it, Sukkot at UAlbany is quite memorable and it has lasting wondrous effect!
See below for Sukkot and Simchat Torah day by day schedule, or click here for download a handy half-page PDF calendar.
THURS 9/24 SUKKAH BUILDING BBQ
We get the walls up, the bamboo mats and evergreen boughs put in place, string the lights and presto – its a grand Sukkah! It takes a few hours but we get there, as we enjoy a continuous BBQ with burgers, hotdogs, chicken, salads and desserts with all the trimmings. Plus we do some baking and cooking for the holiday.
SUNDAY 9/27/2015 FIRST NIGHT IN THE SUKKAH
The first night is the main time to fulfill the biblical Mitzvah of eating in the Sukkah. Prayers 7:30pm, dinner at 8pm – in the Sukkah! Even if you come late, just come. It’s very special to spend quality time in the Sukkah.
Kiddush, Challah and Salads, of course. Pepper-steak, rice and stir-fry. Maybe soup, too.
MONDAY 9/28/2015 FIRST DAY OF SUKKOT & FIRST LULAV SHAKES
The first two days of Sukkot are considered holiday (and for those who are observant, its observed almost as a Sabbath would be). We have holiday morning prayers at 9:30am with Lulav Shakes and Hallel singing, hopefully Kohain blessing and Torah reading of course. Lunch is served 12:30pm in the Sukkah. Lunches are “revolving door” come before or after class, whenever you have some time, later is fine, too. Remember Lulav Shakes are not limited to the prayer time, we can do a quick Lulav shake anytime, before or after Lunch works great, too.
Salmon and Sushi, Mashed Potatoes and Sweet Mashed Potatoes
MONDAY 9/28/2015 SECOND NIGHT IN THE SUKKAH
The holiday spirit continues! We will pray around 7:30pm and start the meal a little bit after 8pm. Another great night in the Sukkah! If your class gets out late, no worries… come whenever you can. So far the weather appears to look wonderful, and we hope to hang out late in the Sukkah. There will be plenty of food, too. We have a different holiday menu with lots of variety for each of the Sukkot holiday meals.
Salads and Dips, Breadcrumb Chicken, potato kugels, and more!
TUESDAY 9/29/2015 SECOND DAY OF SUKKOT
9:30am Minyan with prayers including more Hallel singing, Lulav shakes, maybe the Kohain blessing and Torah reading of course. Lunch will be once again in the Sukkah at 12:30pm and onward, all are welcome to come as their class schedule permits. And don’t forget some great Lulav shakes – anytime during daylight! Lunches on Sukkot are revolving-door, come between or after classes as it works for you.
Salad, Pasta, Soup etc.
WEDNESDAY 9/30 INTERMEDIATE “CHOL HAMOED” DAYS BEGIN
It”s still Sukkot but the festival holiday portion ends on Tuesday night. Wednesday thru Sunday are Sukkot (we still eat in Sukkah and shake the Lulav) but resume regular workday stuff. We’ll try to take the kids on daytrips, and Raizy is catering a community Bat-Mitzvah in the Shabbos House Sukkah on Wednesday night.
We hope to be “tabling” with a mini-Sukkah and Lulav Shakes on the Podium that Wednesday between approx 11am-2pm. Stop by to give the Lulav a shake, and step into our Sukkah. Take a Sukkah Selfie!
FRIDAY NIGHT 10/2 SHABBAT DINNER IN THE SUKKAH
Friday Night may be the best night in the Sukkah. We get the most people, its a full Sukkah, with great energy and vibe. Sukkah is all about atmosphere. Plus, people have more time to linger afterwards (weather-permitting) to hang out and sing songs in the Sukkah. Of course, we love to sing The Sukkahleh Song, a very special Shabbos House UAlbany tradition, going back many years!
SATURDAY 10/3 SHABBAT DAY
We shake the Lulav at least once each Sukkot day, aside for Shabbat. No Lulav shakes on Shabbat. But we have prayer services with Hallel, Torah Reading, Musaf etc starting at 10am, followed by Lunch in the Sukkah at 12:30pm.
SUNDAY NIGHT 10/4 SHMINI-ATZERET
Sukkot technically ends on Sunday, when a new sister holiday begins on Sunday night called: Shmini-Atzeret & Simchat Torah. So we will have one final dinner in the Sukkah on Sunday Night October 4th. Prayers 7pm (we need a full hour because we do Mini-Hakafot dancing this night) and dinner around 8pm in the Sukkah.
MONDAY 10/5/2015 SHMINI-ATZERET DAY
Another holiday prayer. This one has a special prayer for rain, said with emotion and a taste of the high holiday dramatics. Plus a priestly blessing under the Tallit if we can get a Kohain. We’ll start the prayers at 9:30am and have lunch around 12:30pm or so – hopefully in the Sukkah, one last meal there!
MONDAY NIGHT 10/5/2015 is SIMCHAT TORAH – BIG CELEBRATION!
Come dance with us! The short prayer begins at 7pm, followed by hours of dancing and a big food buffet. Dancing on Simchat Torah is a very special experience, and its reverb sticks with you for a long time to come. You don’t even need to know how to dance. Just come on over, get into the circle, throw yourself into it! Even if you can’t stay long be sure to come for a half-hour when you can. Most years the dancing goes from about 8pm until close to midnight. Be a part of it, make it happen…
TUESDAY 10/6/2015 SIMCHAT TORAH DAY
Forget Rosh Hashana and Yom-Kippur. Somehow Simchat Torah Day feels like the longest prayer of the year at Shabbos House. We start the last of the holiday prayers at 9:30am, and the prayer includes Kiddush foods and nibbles, more dancing with the Torah, concluding the annual Torah cycle and starting again anew, and we don’t sit down to lunch until around 2pm.
WEDNESDAY 10/7/2015 SUKKAH TAKE-DOWN
We’re going to miss it, but all good things must come to an end. Many of our regulars will be “Jew-ed out” and making up lost holiday time for classes. so we usually get some fraternities to pitch in and help get the Sukkah down and away for next year. We’ll make a BBQ or serve some good food. Stay tuned for times and details. We love Sukkot and we’re going to miss it, so let’s make the most of it while the holiday is here.