Two hundred people, one sukkah: our Sukkot dinner
Rain in the afternoon, clear skies by six, and the biggest sukkah we have ever built. A look back at this year's community Sukkot dinner.
At three in the afternoon it was pouring, the schach was soaked, and I was quietly planning how to fit two hundred people into the social hall. At six the clouds moved east, the string lights came on, and we sat down under the stars instead. That's Sukkot for you.
By the numbers
- 212 guests, the youngest five weeks old and the oldest ninety-four
- A sukkah forty feet long, built by our teens in two evenings
- 31 volunteers, 180 pounds of brisket, and 400 stuffed peppers
- Every single child shook the lulav and etrog — some of them twice
Thank you to the Kaplan family for sponsoring the dinner in memory of Sol Kaplan, to the CTeen crew who built the sukkah, and to the kitchen volunteers who started cooking on Tuesday. And thank you to everyone who came — especially the ones who came for the first time.
My kids didn't want to leave. My husband didn't want to leave. We were the last ones to fold chairs.
