Sukkot Update

As we are now in the middle of the festive Sukkot holiday, I thought it would be appropriate to share a couple of experiences of the last few days. Sukkot are everywhere, on balconies, in front of restaurants, at the kotel, backyards, front yards, side yards. You name the place and there is a sukkah or two to be found there. As I hope to demonstrate to you this week with pictures, some sukkot are quite elaborate, covered in decorations, people even bring fans inside to stay cool. Other sukkot are what we might call "the halakhic minimum," satisfying the requirements, but nothing beyond.

The other night I was walking home from the sukkah of a friend, and I could hear singing. The more I walked the louder the singing became. Then, a new set of voices reached my ears, and then still another. For a second I couldn't figure out why people were being so loud, as it's not unusual to hear voices from apartments whose windows are above the street. Then I realized, a lot of people are sitting outside, and that's why they're so audible. Just a wonderful moment of rejoicing in the happiness of this holiday.

Finally, this morning, as you can see above, I was at the Kotel for birkat kohanim (the priestly blessing). The blessing is recited daily in Jerusalem, weekly in Israel, and on the holidays outside of Israel. However, on this day, hundreds of kohanim gathered to deliver the bracha en masse. As you can see from the picture, quite a crowd builds. What you can't see is that every place where there is a view of the kotel people are packed tightly, hoping to hear the blessing. I could not take a photo during the actual blessing, but you'll have to take my word when I tell you the plaza was a mass of humanity. A chazzan called to the kohanim at the appropriate time in the davening, all of the movement on the plaza ceased as those in attendance paused to receive the priestly blessing.

Moadim L'simcha!