Sukkot
was always an exciting holiday for children, especially in Breslau. It would
start on Yom Kipur when the families were in the Synagogue. The children would
go outside and gather up chestnuts that hat fallen from the huge chestnut tree
that stood in the courtyard of the Temple. They would pick up as many as they
could hold in their pockets in order to decorate their Sukke with them. The
day following Yom Kipur the building of the Sukke would begin. Four wooden posts
were hammered into the ground, the sides were covered with heavy cloth, and
green branches with leaves made up the roof. Chestnuts, apples, pears, St.
John’s bread and pomegranates were hung and the aroma of the green leaves
intermingled with the fruit and nuts smelled heavenly. Droozy
couldn’t wait for the evening to be able to sit and eat dinner in that
wonderful Sukke. Her aunt Mathilde had considered herself fortunate to have been
able to buy a kosher chicken to share with the family (It was very difficult to
obtain kosher poultry or meat since it had to be imported from Holland). The
luscious looking chicken was brown and looked appetizing. It was carefully
divided among all present. One bite and Droozy realized that it was decayed. The
smell permeated the Sukke and no one except the aunt ate it. Droozy, Fanny and
their cousins did not want to hurt their aunt’s feelings. They waited until
she had gone into the kitchen and then they quickly dug a hole next to the Sukke
and buried the remains of the smelly bird. |
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