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Everyday Pluralism

Creating Art for the First National Sukkah

By
Orly Zinkow

October 17, 2022

Levi Zinkow showing his drawing to be hung in the first national sukkah. Photo courtesy of Orly Zinkow

This year, the Vice President, Kamala Harris, and Second Gentleman, Doug Emhoff, put up a national sukkah at Blair House, their residence, for Sukkot, the Jewish festival of harvest.

In Judaism, a sukkah is a hut that is built for eight days every year over Sukkot to commemorate the 40 years the Jewish people wandered in the desert on their way to Israel after escaping slavery in Egypt. To remember the journey through the desert to the Land of Israel, Jewish people build and decorate a temporary hut outside their homes and eat meals in them for the 8-day duration of the Sukkot holiday.

 

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Levi Zinkow showing drawing to be hung in the first national sukkah (right). Photos courtesy of Orly Zinkow

In keeping with the festive and inclusive nature of the holiday, it is a mitzvah (good deed) to extend hospitality towards others by inviting guests to feast with them in the sukkah. During the days leading up to Sukkot, excited children prepare elaborate decorations to be hung in their family sukkah. Decorations range from drawings of sukkahs to colorful paper chains, or artwork with images of the harvest fruits used during the Jewish holiday season.  

“The sukkah represents inclusivity and openness. We all need to continue building an inclusive society – one that welcomes all genders, races, and religions.” 

Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, hosted a Sukkot celebration at the first national sukkah.

Ambassador Lipstadt is a family friend and reached out to ask if my five-year old son, Levi, could draw a picture for the Vice President’s sukkah. Levi, ecstatic and honored, ran to his art table and furiously began to draw. Levi was thrilled to be included in the Vice President’s celebration, and proud that his faith could be highlighted on a national platform. 

The Sukkot party included Ambassadors from ten different Middle Eastern and South Asian countries. Ambassador Lipstadt remarked at the event, “The sukkah represents inclusivity and openness. We all need to continue building an inclusive society – one that welcomes all genders, races, and religions.” 

Interfaith America Magazine seeks contributions that present a wide range of experiences and perspectives from a diverse set of worldviews on the opportunities and challenges of American pluralism. The opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect those of Interfaith America, its board of directors, or its employees.

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