Discovering the Hidden Sukkot of Philadelphia

Planning BZBI's First Sukkah Hop

During Sukkot each year, our family goes on a hunt around Philadelphia to find sukkahs.  We wander through Old City (where we spot the sukkah that goes over the sidewalk in front of the Old City Jewish Art Center), and through Rittenhouse (past BZBI’s sukkah and the sukkah in Rittenhouse Square).  We remember the pop-up sukkah outside the now-closed kosher burger restaurant on Chestnut Street.

Some years, we’ve walked across the Ben Franklin Bridge, to get a view of the roof decks in Old City.  Sarah always tries to find a sukkah or two looking out the window of her 14th floor office.

But, despite all this searching, we usually come up empty handed, finding only the public sukkot. We know there must be dozens of sukkot tucked away in gardens in Society Hill, on rooftops in Northern Liberties and Fairmount, and on porches in Graduate Hospital. But, an average passerby would never know were all the sukkahs are!

This is in stark contrast to Rabbi Abe’s experiences in Los Angeles, where, because of the way the property was divided and homes constructed, everyone built their sukkahs on their front lawn. The public locations of the sukkahs themselves helped transform Sukkot, a holiday designed to be filled with guests, into a true communal celebration.

In that spirit, we are thrilled to announce BZBI’s first Sukkah Hop! Please save the date: October 8th from 12-4 p.m. We are eager to expose the myriad of sukkahs our congregation constructs: all wooden ones; pre-fabricated kits; sukkahs decorated with 20+ years of children’s artwork; sukkot with views of the city skyline; and sukkot over the water.

If you build a sukkah, we encourage you to open it up to the BZBI community, allowing our entire congregation to be your ushpezim – guests – for an afternoon. Please contact Terri Soifer to join the lists of hosts.

To everyone else, come celebrate the holiday with your BZBI family. Come, sit, chat, make new friends, and shake some lulav and etrog!

Stay tuned for details, including a password-protected app to help you locate all of BZBI’s hidden sukkot!