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"HOLIDAY OF TENTS"

Sukkoth, the holiday of a crop comes in five days after Yom Kippur (Judgment day). This holiday marks finish of the period of internal reflection and beginning of celebrating of the harvest.

Sukkoth begins on 15 Tishrey and 8 days proceed. The holiday received the name from construction, erected specially for this case, (in Hebrew - sukka), in which it is necessary, to eat, to drink and to sleep within 7 days of a holiday. This custom has some explanations: the tent should remind of those temporary dwellings, in which the ancient collectors of a crop in an autumn season lived or according to other explanation, sense of sukka is in, that the man remembered poverty, even being rich and did not become proud.

Last Sunday in 19 kilometers from Almaty the Jewish community of city celebrated Sukkoth. More than 70 men gathered in this cloudy day together to construct sukka and to make words of blessing.

In the ancient books is told: "Torah precepts to carry out in Sukkoth rising of lulav - netilat lulav. This special celebratory action of rising and blessing of a set from four kinds of plants, each of which symbolizes different types of the people in the Jewish people.

Etrog, having both taste, and smell, are the Jews having knowledge of Torah and making good businesses. A leaf of date palmy, giving a fruit sweet, but without a smell, are the Jews having knowledge of Torah, but not making good businesses. Myrtle is plant inedible, but pleasantly smelling is the Jews, from which as aroma, the good businesses proceed. A willow - it has not either taste, or smell these are the Jews, which has neither knowledge of Torah, nor kind businesses. The combination of all four kinds of plants symbolizes unity of the Jewish people. "

Children and youth, all "Family club" at Jewish Community Center (JCC) the employees of Hesed - everyone has made words blessing together with the director of JCC "Rimon" Inessa Chugaynova.

After the necessary rituals were executed all wishing took part in makkabiada, which organized Ruslan Archakov. Pulling of a rope and the various relay races delivered a lot of pleasures to young, mobile generation. Quiz on knowledge of holidays of month Tishrey prepared and conducted Victoria Vlasova. It is interesting, that the questions of quiz did not demand the precise, quantitative answer, and were constructed by a principle "I believe - I do not believe".

Group "Malyavki" under the direction of Dina Abdukadirova and Zhenya Chugaynova prepared a little sketch about a history of a holiday Sukkoth. Children are from 3 till 7 years old, but they already demonstrate good knowledge of features of a holiday and its traditions.

While basic group took part in competitions and quizzes initiative group - Tamara Nikitenko, Svetlana Halturina, Gulya Musina - was busy with a table. A tasty shish kebab on a nature it is already tradition, which began and supports expert Natalie Trokhimchuk. To fry it helped Yuri Ayzenshtat, Alexander Arepyev, Eugenie Kulemin and Yuri Chugaynov. With crumbly fragrant pilaw treated Larissa Sudakova.

- We are glad, that we have such opportunity to collect community members on a nature and to execute commandment about sukka and arbat ha minim, - the director of JCC "Rimon" Inessa Chugaynova tells, - All measure was organized by our active workers and carried out on the means, assembled from the participants. Alexander Arepyev, Roman Kozeritsky, Galina Lipker and Natalie Trokhimchuk had planned and calculated all details of a holiday. Such common business as the construction of sukka pulled together rallied the people of different ages. Spirit of a community here was felt, here senior generation looked after smallest, and here everyone was a part of our Jewish family.

The participants of a holiday were very lucky - when the shish kebab was finished roasting and everybody got in a car there was a strong rain.

- We had just begged this time at G-d, - laughs Inessa Chugaynova.

www.mitsva.kz

P.S. JCC "Rimon" thanks rabbis Betsalel Lifshitz and Elchanan Cohen for arbat ha minim and opportunity to read blessing in Community Center.

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