This weekend the children in my West Island community will build, for the second year in a row, a full-size sukkah out of Mega Bloks, the world’s largest as far as our research can tell. 
For those of you who don’t know what a sukkah is, it is a four-walled hut built at this time of year for the Jewish holiday of Sukkot to commemorate the temporary shelters in which those who left Egypt as they traveled in the desert for 40 years. Its roof is made up of wood or branches but is sparse enough so that you can see the sky. It is traditional to hang fruit from the roof as it is also the “Harvest Holiday”, and this is a form of Thanksgiving. It is traditional to eat all meals in the Sukkah for the duration of the holiday (8 days).
Last year, the kids succeeded in building a beautiful 12′ x 8′ x 7′ high sukkah, using over 5000 interlocking building blocks. In addition to the pride the children felt by having erected this structure, people who drove by just loved it. Comments ranged from how uplifted they felt by seeing the beautiful, colourful & innovative Sukkah, to how they drove around the block just to get another look, to how one person went home to get their camera to photograph it.
I am sharing a picture from last year and I hope that it will inspire you to join in this year’s building. The cost to participate is $5.00 per person and proceeds will go directly to fund the amazing programs offered by Beth Tikvah Youth. Just drop by this Sunday, October 9th. It’s at Congregation Beth Tikvah Ahavat Shalom Nusach Hoari at 136 Westpark Blvd. in DDO. The children in the Youth program will get things started by building the foundation beginning at 10AM and the community at large can join in the fun from 12:00-2:00 PM. Last year participants came in from the city and were thrilled to have done so! It’s not just for West-Islanders 
.
I’ll be there, wearing my montrealmom.com ball cap, so please come over and say hello!
Wishing you an innovative and colourful day and a special weekend,
Tanya
