The Jewish holiday, Succoth was early this year. As we all know religious Jews celebrate the holiday in a four walled structure called a Sukkah, decorated with colorful fall fruits and vegetables. Traditionally, they eat their meals there and sleep in it under the stars for the eight nights of the holiday.

In Toledo, Ohio when I was a child, the custodian of our Temple built the Sukkah and The Junior League decorated it with whatever was on sale at the A&P. The first night of the holiday, all the members of the congregation ate together in the community hall and afterwards, gathered inside the Sukkah to sing and dance to hot Klezmer music. It was great fun.

During the war, my Aunt Peggy and Uncle Hymie bought an abandoned farm and planned to create a rural paradise, they called Belle E. Acres. My uncle who was a door to door dress salesman, designed the place and that first winter, my aunt complained of broken pipes, chilblains, leaking roofs and premature sciatica. However, even though the house itself had a long way to go to deserve its name, that first fall brought a bountiful harvest, far too much for the two of them to pick. Aunt Peggy called us right after Rosh Hashanah. “What am I going to do with all this FOOD?” she wailed. “It’s rotting out there and neither of us can manage to pick it all. There are enough pumpkins to feed an army and the backyard looks like a carpet of squash.” My mother believed wasting food was a sin tantamount to solicitation. “DON’T THROW ANYTHING AWAY, PEGGY!” she said. “We aren’t doing anything this week and I would like the girls to get in touch with nature. We will help you harvest. “ There was a long silence. “All of you? asked Aunt Peggy. My mother nodded into the phone. “Of course,” she said. “And Tick, Harry and her kids would love to come along. We’ll get that field cleared away in no time. Then we can spend the rest of the week having fun!” “But we only have one bedroom finished, and the kitchen roof blew away in that September storm,” said my aunt. “Peggy! It’s Succoth!” said my mother. “We’ll sleep in the Sukkah.” My aunt who hadn’t seen the inside of a Temple since her wedding day cleared her throat. ”But Hymie didn’t build one . .” She paused and added, “this year.” “Not to worry!” exclaimed my mother. “We will build it ourselves. With all nine of us working together, it will be finished in less than an hour.”

The next day, my mother woke us up early. “We need to pack the car,” she informed us. “ We are off to Bell E Acres to celebrate Succoth. Lynn Ruth, can you find those sleeping bags you used for camp last year?” “I have a golf match, Ida,” said my father. ”And our foursome is up for the finals.” “Which comes first, I. R,” said my mother. ”Your family or your game?” Before my father had a chance to answer, my Aunt Tick, 6 year old Ricky, 4 year old Penny and 8 year old Jessica, their boxer, Dell, the canary and goldfish arrived. ”Harry says he’ll drive up on Monday,” said Aunt Tick. “He does his biggest business on weekends. Bring warm clothes. It gets nippy in the country.” “Start carrying out those boxes, everyone. We have a long day ahead of us,” commanded my mother. “It’s a three hour drive up there and then we have to build the Sukkah. “ “Build WHAT?” roared my father. My mother turned to my aunt. “Men have no sense of family,” she said. “Did you make a casserole? Peggy is a lousy cook. I threw together some knishes and a noodle pudding. We need substantial meals for the children. They’ve never slept outdoors all night before.” “Neither have I,” said Aunt Tick. “Maybe we should sleep in the living room and just eat our meals in the Sukkah.” My mother shook her head. “We need to do this thing right,” she said. ” After all, this is a religious holiday and I want the children to understand their heritage. Don’t you?”

We arrived at the farm at noon and Aunt Peggy met us at the gate. “Guess what?” she said. “The wind blew the roof off the outhouse and. .. My God! Junior bit Dell and now he is chasing our rooster!” Junior was our 8 pound wire hair terrier and Dell a timid 70 pound boxer so mild I had never seen him do anything but drool. By the time we parked the car, Dell looked like a holocaust remainder, the rooster and three hens were history and our dog was thoughtfully brushing stray feathers from his fur. “I’m hungry,” said Ricky. “So am I,” said my sister, Marsha. “I haven’t had anything since those 6 candy bars I ate in the car.” Nothing can stirred my mother to action like the word hunger. “I will make us lunch!” she said. “After all, that’s what this holiday is all about. We are celebrating all the good things grown from the earth to feed us. I’ll make you a peanut butter sandwich, Marsha and give all of you some of the cake I baked to hold you. Wash your hands.”

“Where?” asked Jessica. “They don’t have any running water here.” “My Sunday school teacher said that we were supposed to eat apples and oranges and the fruits of the land,” I said. “We’ll do that later, Lynn Ruth,” said my mother. “Your sister needs nourishment now.”

It was well after midnight when the Sukkah was done. My uncle helped us create a quaint Victorian trellis that we draped with garlands of leaves and berries. We piled the pumpkins and squash around it and trooped into the warm living room to eat my mother’s tuna casserole with noodles and chocolate pie.

“Bedtime!” said my mother when the dishes were done and she headed out the door. “I can’t see a single star in the sky, Ida,” said Aunt Tick. “It feels like rain.” “I am freezing,” I said. “I have to go to the bathroom,” said Jessica. “Aren’t you sorry you aren’t a boy,” said Ricky. “All I have to do is . . . “Richard!” said my aunt. “We are inside a religious structure!” “Heads up!” said my father. “Here comes Dell.” Dell galloped into the Sukkah like an exploding cannon ball his ears flat against his skull with Junior right behind him. The giant boxer tore through the Sukkah dragging walls and pumpkins after him. Junior clamped his teeth on Dell’s rump. The canary shrieked and his feathers floated through the air like yellow snow. Jessica and I ran back into the house. “Could we sleep on your couch,” Aunt Peggy?” I asked. “It’s dangerous out there.” “That’s fine with me,” said Aunt Peggy,. “But what about the grownups?” I straightened my shoulders and uttered wisdom far beyond my years. ”They are old enough to take care of themselves,” I said. “Do you have a blanket?” Just then there was a loud roar. A car door slammed and I heard the motor start. I ran to the window. “Junior is chasing Daddy and he escaped into the car with Aunt Tick, Ricky and Penny right behind him.”

Aunt Peggy peered out the window. “Where is your mother?” she asked. “I think she’s celebrating the harvest,” I said. Jessica looked out the window at the snarling dog snapping at the tires of the retreating automobile. “Do you think Junior is Jewish? she asked. “I think he’s an Egyptian,” I said. “And a short one, at that.”