On September 24 in Hesed "Shimon" we celebrated Sukkot - the holiday of the harvest. The word "Sukkot" means "shelter made of branches". We have learned it and many other things from the fascinating story of Boris Shamuelov, Teacher of Jewish History and Tradition. Boris told us that it is necessary to begin to build the sukkah immediately after Yom Kippur, because Jews were advised, "Do not miss the opportunity to do charity work - the mitzvah."

This holiday is memorable for all of us, because the eldest members of our community Bella Davydovna Lipetskaya, Elizaveta Alexandrovna Taramova, Lyudmila Grigoryevna Resnick, and others participated in the construction of the sukkah.

Each brought something from home for the construction of the hut: fabric, oil cloth, tape. The roof was made of tree branches. Before Sukkot, the guys from the community drew holiday pictures, made ornaments of colored paper - garlands and lanterns. All of these things decorated our shelter.

The custom of decorating the sukkah is associated with the coming of ushpizin - seven important guests who visit the shelters during the Jewish holiday. Jews believe that during Sukkot souls of forefathers of the Jewish people come to us. We also have put a special chair for them.

It is a tradition to receive guests, eat and have fun in the sukkah. There were fruits on the table in our hut and everyone could come and go help themselves. We were happy to meet many guests and impress them with dishes cooked by Volunteer Dasha Chibisova. We are very grateful to her for that. The holiday was fun and interesting. It was cool to build a sukkah all together, nice to meet guests there and follow the commandment of the lulav ascension.

Bella Atran