By Randi Rose
About 15 years ago, I took a class at my synagogue
called Holiday Workshop Series, which presented detailed directions on how to
celebrate every Jewish holiday in one’s home. The notebook included schematic
drawings for building a sukkah of 2x4s and
nails, etc., but I always knew it was my beyond my abilities.
The next year, right after Yom Kippur, I decided to
quickly create my own sukkah. I scoured building supply stores for ideas. There
were probably some sukkah kits available on the market at that time, but I
presumed they would be too expensive and never looked at them. My husband is not
very handy, and the kids were little, so I knew I was on my own. And with some
luck, I created a sukkah design which required no tools.
I found a space on my back patio and figured I could
fit an 8-x-8-foot sukkah there. I found an awning store that sold me 1”-diameter
stainless-steel poles with connectors which required only thumbscrews, and they
cut them to size. This involved four poles, creating a square around the top,
and four poles for the uprights supporting the poles at the top. Resting on the
ground, the poles are strong enough to support the weight of the branches on
top.
Then I needed sides. Initially I used flowery
sheets. I draped them over the top poles, to get them the right length to the
ground, and used safety pins at the top so they would stay on securely. At a
camping store, I bought a few yards of mosquito netting and used it for one side
of the sukkah.
