Design and Innovation Meet Sukkot

November 2023

Every year, we are challenged with making the holidays relevant and experiential in a unique way for our students. This year, students in grades four through seven loaded into buses and went to Xtreeme Challenge, a 17-acre facility ideal for team building and now, Sukkot building. Students were tasked with building sukkot that met the specifications from the Mishna. What?

The first step was researching, learning about, and understanding the requirements for a sukkah. The sacred text, the Mishnah, is the foundation for the Oral Law of the Torah, which provides us with much of our Jewish law as we know it today.

The students learned that our traditions have specific parameters and guidelines. Therefore, when building a Sukkah, one must study the fundamentals and the principles of what constitutes a sukkah. Much like building any freestanding building, there are codes and standards to follow.

The students took a deep dive into the building requirements of the walls (height and length), the roof, and acceptable sechach, and the size of allowable gaps in the walls. While each sukkah can be unique, there are guidelines to follow in the construction.

Mr. Isham, the CJDS S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) instructor, prepared materials and tools that the students might need upon reaching the building site. The students were divided into groups with a seventh-grade student at the helm, and the other members were from across the grades. The students found piles of various sizes of wood, branches, bamboo, cloth, hemp, tape, material, scissors, tape measures, mallets, and more. The students needed to collaborate and determine the materials they needed and the method they would use to keep the structure upright. In all instances, the plans were made and then revised and revised again. Patience, problem-solving skills, and resilience all rose to the surface as poles didn't stand as assumed, crossbeams didn't attach as planned, or the weight of the sechach was too much for the entire structure.

After several hours, the groups had various levels of success, with all sukkot needing various stages of being rebuilt, reconfigured, and rethought. If you see a CJDS student in grades 4 and up, ask them about the fundamentals of building a sukkah.

For more information about Charlotte Jewish Day or to take a tour, call 704-366-4558 or email gosborne@cjdschool.org. Now accepting applications for the 2024-25 school year for grades TK-8.