Sukkahs in the city bringing people together as they celebrate Jewish holiday of Sukkot
NEW YORK -- You may have noticed outdoor huts popping up all over the city this week. The temporary structures are part of the week-long Jewish holiday of Sukkot.
In a time of rising antisemitism, CBS2's Lisa Rozner has more on how they are bringing people together.
If you walk inside any New York City sukkah, you'll likely find people praying, eating, or simply dwelling.
"It is a high after Yom Kippur. It's a celebration. It's all about joy," Upper East Side resident Sara Armet said.
"Many of the laws in the Torah relate to agriculture, to growth. This holiday is about going green, about appreciating our environment," said Brocha Metzger of the Chabad of Midtown.
And appreciating each other.
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Metzger said the roof of the sukkah outside of the New York Public Library on Fifth Avenue is covered in cedar. Anyone is invited to come inside, and she says every year for the last 24 years it has brought people of all faiths together.
"Tourists come by from everywhere, people from Scandinavia, Japan, locals, and they ask, "What is this?'" Metzger said.
"It's really impressive, actually. Back in California, there's not as much," Idan Kestenbom said.
"I think it's really cool," 9-year-old Tali Kestenbom added.
The covering has to be natural, like cedar or bamboo, so rain can get in, and it has to have a minimum of two and a half walls.
"When you hug somebody, you have one, two and a half parts of your arm hugging them and God is hugging them as they come into the sukkah," said Rabbi Yosef Wilhelm of the Chabad of the Upper East Side.
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During the holiday it is customary to spend as much time as possible in the sukkah.
Once inside, it's also tradition to shake a palm branch known as a "lulav" and an "etrog," similar to a lemon, in different directions, representing the unity of people from all around the world.
Armet is part of the Chabad Young Professionals, which are planning to bring together young adults from all over the Tri-State Area under the sukkah on Fifth Avenue this Saturday evening.
"This is a holiday about staying humble and connecting to your roots," Armet said.
Showing that even in a concrete jungle, we can stay strengthen our bonds with the Earth and each other.
The holiday ends on Sunday.
This week, Mayor Eric Adams, Gov. Kathy Hochul and Public Advocate Jumaane Williams took part in sukkot celebrations.
For more information on the holiday and events this week, please click here and here.