 |
|
 |
Have Sukkah, Will Travel
October 17, 2005Comments (0) | Add | E-mail this to a friend  In biblical times, the Jews used portable shelters like a sukkah while they wandered through the Middle East, but in the moderm world, most of the celebration takes place under a fixed structure that stands outside for a week of festive meals and relaxation. But the Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee is reviving the ancient tradition as it brings the Sukkahmobile to Marquette University next Monday.
With the help of the temple brotherhood of Congregation Emmanuel B'ne Jeshurun, a local Reform synagogue that created the Sukkahmobile, Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee professionals will roll onto the Marquette campus with a sukkah on a flatbed truck. Students will have the opportunity to shake a lulav and etrog and enjoy snacks and Israeli music when the Sukkahmobile makes its two stops on campus. The event is also being co-sponsored by Marquette's Jewish Student Union, Jewish Law Students Association and Marquette's Campus Ministry Office.
The sukkah-on-wheels concept works well for a campus like Marquette, a Jesuit university with an estimated 150 Jewish students out of a total population of 11,000. Despite the small number of Jewish students, university administrators "have always been committed to having a Hillel on campus," according to Hillel Foundation-Milwaukee Executive Director Heidi Rattner, and Steinhardt JCSC Fellow Heather Zucker dedicates one day a week specifically for Marquette undergraduate and graduate students.
"I think it will be a great opportunity to show the university that there are Jewish students on campus, and they should encourage and expect successful programming from the Jewish students," Zucker said.
"We wanted to give the Jewish students on campus a way to show pride for their heritage and share it with their friends," Rattner agreed.
Rattner hopes the the Sukkahmobile will also create buzz for another Hillel event on campus later that same day. It is partnering with the Milwaukee Jewish Federation's Israel Center, the JSU, JLSA and the University Campus Ministry Office, to present Israeli photographer Harel Stanton's "1,000 Faces of Israel," a multimedia presentation that combines pictures of Israel with music.
"In addition to educating the campus about an important Jewish holiday, we also want to provide members of the campus community with positive images of Israelis and Israeli culture," Rattner said.
The Ben and Esther Rosenbloom Hillel Center for Jewish Life on Campus at the University of Maryland will also take its sukkah on the road this year, though not on wheels. Students and Hillel professionals will erect a sukkah outside Byrd Stadium before Thursday's football game between the Maryland Terrapins and No. 2-ranked Virginia Tech.
"In strictly historical terms, the sukkah is the original tailgate accoutrement," explains University of Maryland Hillel Executive Director Ari Israel. "It is the mobile shelter in which the ancient Israelites ate and lived throughout their wanderings. When the Torah was given on Mt. Sinai, the parking lot was filled with sukkahs."
How are students at other universities celebrating Sukkot? Read more about the events at:
Ball State University
Johns Hopkins University/University of Maryland, Baltimore County
|
 |
|
 |