The 2012 Sukkot Extrazagana
This past Sukkot, we had the great fortune to host school groups from across New England for our annual Sukkot Extravaganza. Students from Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford, The Lander Grinspoon Academy, Temple Israel in Natick and the North Shore Teen Initiative all took part in this year’s program.
Sukkot Extravaganza, a free program which we open to communities throughout New England, featured a series of hands on Sukkot challenges. Students rotate through 4 different stations where they learn about Sukkot and engage in various activities.
At the “Building Station” Students first needed to determine how tall or small their Sukkot could be by measuring their own Amot (length from one’s elbow to the tip of their middle finger) and Tefachim (width of four fingers on one’s hand). Sukkot must be higher than 10 Tefachim, but no higher than 20 Amot. Using a variety of materials students then create the walls of a Sukkah, which meet their group’s measurement requirements.
At the “Skach Station” students learn about what could be used to create the roof of a Sukkah– known as Skach (only organic materials that have not been previously used for another purpose). The Skach must be placed in a manner that blocks out more sunlight than it lets in, but still allows one to see the stars in the sky. After collecting their own Skach, students created their own Sukkot roofs and tested them to make sure they allowed the appropriate levels of visibility
At the “Investigation Station” students investigated 6 different Sukkot that were set up around camp to determine if they were Kosher (build to proper standards) or not Kosher.
At the “New England Lulav” station students learn about the symbolism of the lulav and etrog, and the using plants indigenous to New England, gather material to create their own symbolic version of a lulav and etrog.
Looking at the 6 different Sukkot below, see if you can determine which ones are or are not Kosher, and why. Email your responses to beng@campramahne.org. The first correct submission will win a prize.
