I'm going to take a page out of Kayla's book and applaud our Yom Tov. (To those of you who greeted me outside shul on Motzoei Yom Tov and mentioned that you were awaiting the update, sorry for the delay but you know how little free blogging time a one year old affords you 
).
).First and foremost, I must applaud Hashem for our wonderful weather. I am not one of those people who secretly prays for rain so that we can eat in the comfort of our dining room. It is just not Succos for me if we are not eating outside with paper chains falling off the walls all around us and stray bees looking for sweet nectar. Thankfully for us, the rains held off each time until we were completely finished with our meals and safely back inside. So score one for the Big Man Above!
Secondly, applause goes to our guests. Louisa gave me a whole drasha on second night Yom Tov as to why having her as a guest garnered us more mitzvohs in one than having any other guest, but I didn't have a pen and paper at the time to write it down, so you'll just have to trust me on this (something about a)Hachnosas Orchim, b)being Mesameach a Kallah, c) being kind to the Ger.... but there were a few more, lol....). I'm not sure she wins out though over our sweet cousin, who joined us at the last minute after being stranded because his wife gave birth to TRIPLETS (numbers 4,5 and 6 no less!!!) just moments before the chag at the local hospital (even though you never comment - I know you read the blog, J - so mazel tov to the grandmother 
).
).Thirdly, I must applaud my family. We don't have a succah in our back yard or in any way attached to our house. Our succah is a block and a half from our house (and down six flights of stairs). This year, with Yom Tov falling out on Shabbos, everything - and I do mean everything (food, drinks, wine, tableware, high chairs, bentchers, etc.) had to be anticipated, planned and transported down to the succah before candle lighting. Even with the trek, we ascribe to תשבו כן תדורו (you should sit in the succah with all the same amenities as you sit in your home.... yes, yes... we too had the conversation at dinner as to who has paper chains hanging in their dining room, but whatever.....) so we bring down stemware and good silver and an assortment of table linens. I couldn't have managed this herculean feat without the help of my family, especially my amazing husband.
Wishing all my readers a good moed and a good last day(s) of Yom Tov.
Stay tuned for sporadic, mushy Cheerio laden updates.
P.S. For creative succah decoration ideas a step up from paper chains, check out Creative Jewish Mom. She's amazingly talented!
9 comments:
Moadim L'Simcha. We too enjoyed our (now) traditional Midwest family Sukkah get together including Oma J x 3+3!
TRIPLETS !
Moadim L'Simcha. I'm admiring your ability to write a post and shlep down the street each day to your sukkah...
We did get rained out one meal, at a guests' house. But Friday night and Sunday we had great weather. Oh, it did start to rain while we were benching on Friday night...
Mazal Tov on the babies! And may you enjoy much more nachas from your granddaughter.
Do you guys eat in the Breuers sukkah? How does that work on Shabbos day?
I agree about how awesome the weather was and about the succah ambiance, but not about the bees- I was not upset about the chill on Shabbos. And yesterday we had a mosquito, leaving both of my younger girls polka-dotted. But still it was good!
Staying Afloat -
Yes, we eat in the Breuer's (a.k.a. "shlep") Succah. The amenities available to those brave enough to attempt the task are actually quite nice. There are two full size refrigerators and one full size freezer on the premises. We store our "goods" in a school classroom which is adjacent to the succah and we prepare the platters etc. inside and hand the food through the window.
Regarding the bees - we didn't actually see any this year but some years they are a real nuisance.
1) causing a fellow Jew be mekayem the mitzvah to be extra happy on Sukkos
2)Hachnasas orchim
3) Special SUKKOS version of hachnasas orchim (extra good to have guests on sukkos)
4) Mesameach a kallah
5) v'ahavta es ha ger
:-)
Thanks for the report!
wow. I didnt know people still used communal sukkahs in 2009! It must be difficult with all the arrangements - keeping food hot, cleaning up, making sure you have everything you need actually available, etc.
Yes - how does one have hot food on Shabbat in that situation ? I've always wondered about that.
It's really only a matter of organization.
On Friday night, all the hot food is double wrapped in heavy towels and brought down before candle lighting. Let me tell you, the soup still burnt my tongue.
Shabbos lunch creates a bigger challenge, though there's always the option of the crock pot in the classroom. I even saw one family get their cholent from the caterer who was making the "catered succah" meals next door. (KAJ has two communal succahs - one is catered, the other is 'self-catered')
Dare I also mention that a cold Shabbos lunch meal (chopped liver, shnitzel, corned beef, salads etc.) is not the greatest catastrophe on the face of the planet either.......
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