The Sukkah --Reinvented

With Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur just behind us, the congregation of Westchester Reform Temple has already jumped into Sukkot, which begins on Wednesday night September 22. The temple’s men’s club gathered on Sunday, September 19 to construct a most unusual sukkah, made of carbon-steel rods clad in bamboo. In order to build it, the men affixed the bamboo to the pre-made steel frame constructed for the temple in Brooklyn.

Architecture students at Wesleyan in Middletown, CT, who won the American Institute of Architect’s 2009 “Faith and Forum” award for the project, designed this modern and green interpretation of the sukkah. The original structure, called the WesSukkah, was larger but the scaled-back version, now on display at WRT, is ample and inviting.

The structure’s unique and modern design is consistent with Rabbinic code and the Jewish legal tradition for the creation of a sukkah - a temporary structure incorporating elements of the surrounding environment with a roof made of a living material.

The membership of WRT will celebrate a green market dinner with fresh local ingredients and enjoy hors d’oeuvres inside the sukkah. In addition, a wine and cheese reception for single parents will be held there. The public is invited to view this marvel. If you wish to see it, please call the office at WRT to schedule a visit at 914-723-7727.