The new Succa and other adventures

Thursday night after Yom Kippur, I broke my fast on a bowl of fruit and went with my son to Home Depot.  The store was crawling with Jews buying Succos supplies (Jews in Home Depot are funny, especially when they all need lumber).

Many of you may remember the airy masterpiece up on my roof – a breezy Succa with tall wooden poles and lattice walls.  Well, that Succa is gone.  My condo committee voted to redo our decks and away went my braces and the wooden railing to nail in supports.  Against my will I was forced to rebuild.

Never mind, in Home Depot I found thin 4X8 panels, 2×3 frames, beams, bolts, wing nuts, a new drill, and you-name-it.  My Succa measures about 14 and a half feet by 6 and it is four flights up, so I cut down the 4X8 panels to 2X8 (to lighten the load), built walls, a support structure, and a complicated self-sustaining mounting system.

After 2 days of intensive labor – the new masterpiece is complete, and I have to admit that it is even better than the old one.

The rub?  I am in pain.  As a matter of fact, I can’t bend at the waist or the knees.  I am forced to walk erect and with straight legs.  The pain may eventually ease, but for now I am the Tin Man – albeit a happy one able to commune with nature in my Succa.

Was it worth it?  You bet – except that I need help putting on my shoes.

October 12th, 2008 Jewish Issues