{"id":32511,"date":"2016-10-14T17:38:22","date_gmt":"2016-10-14T23:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=32511"},"modified":"2016-10-14T17:38:43","modified_gmt":"2016-10-14T23:38:43","slug":"5-reasons-why-succot-is-great-for-kids-sorry-rosh-hashanah-and-yom-kippur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/5-reasons-why-succot-is-great-for-kids-sorry-rosh-hashanah-and-yom-kippur\/","title":{"rendered":"5 reasons why Succot is great for kids (sorry Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By LARRY D. BERNSTEIN<\/p>\n

(Kveller<\/em> via JTA) — Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are boring. There, I said it. Seriously, what do Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur offer from a child\u2019s perspective?<\/p>\n

Rosh Hashanah\u2019s selling points are the shofar and raisins. Kids are hustled into the sanctuary and told to be absolutely silent while listening to the shofar. Keeping my kids silent without electronics in their hands is as difficult as finding a honey cake that I would actually eat. And as for raisins, my younger son doesn\u2019t like them and pulls out them out from the challah \u2014 so much for his sweet new year.<\/p>\n

And then there\u2019s Yom Kippur. Children spend the whole day in the basement of the synagogue. Their group leader is some bored teen willing to make 20 bucks for four hours while dealing with kids who don\u2019t have electronics. Now even if your darling has friends at the synagogue and is content to play with them for hours, it\u2019s not memorable. My children would just as soon be home than hang out at temple.<\/p>\n

The Days of Awe have passed, and all we can do is hope our signature made it into the Book of Life. But now we have Succot, the forgotten holiday. You would think it would be hard to get psyched up for yet another holiday, but Succot rocks for children. It is a 10 out of 10 on the child-friendly meter. Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n

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  1. You get to build a succah. My boys love climbing the ladder and using the mallet. OK, they end up using the mallet on each other half the time, but there\u2019s never been any blood let. No harm, no foul.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    1. You get to decorate the succah. For those children who are into arts and crafts, the succah is a great place to show their work. My children are not the crafty type, \u00a0but even they enjoy hanging up their decorations from preschool days.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      1. You get to eat in the succah. Doesn\u2019t every child love a cookout? My children end up outside the succah and in our backyard. They go back and forth between eating and playing, except for dessert time. They are seated during dessert time \u2014 don\u2019t have to request that one.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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        1. You get to sleep in the succah. Children love camping. My boys and I spend one night each Succot sleeping in the succah. The best thing about this campout is you can run into the house in 18 seconds if it starts raining in the middle of the night. Trust me.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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          1. In addition to the succah, you have the lulav and etrog. Kids get to walk around the synagogue and shake a plant and fruit. That\u2019s just weird and fun. For children, they don\u2019t have to sit down. They don\u2019t have to sit still. Instead, it\u2019s shake, shake, shake \u2014 shake your lulav<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            And how does Succot end? With the granddaddy of them all \u2014 Simchat Torah. If you look hard enough, I\u2019m sure some biblical commentator says Simchat Torah means no shushing. Either that or one of the 613 mitzvahs is let children be loud on Simchat Torah. Simply put, shuls rock on Simchat Torah. There\u2019s dancing and singing and mosh pits. My children turn off whatever volume control they have and go to town!<\/p>\n

            Plus, there\u2019s the junk food. You may remember a simple apple and flag from your days celebrating Simchat Torah as a child. Nice, but far from thrilling. Well, Simchat Torah has changed. Today it\u2019s candy. So much candy. My children end up with a bag full of candy so big we have to negotiate their limit for the day.<\/p>\n

            So I hope your children enjoy Succot and Simchat Torah. They need it after the High Holidays.<\/p>\n

            (Larry D. Bernstein is a freelance writer, blogger, and educator. He and his family reside in North Jersey. He blogs athttp:\/\/larrydbernstein.com\/me-myself-and-kids<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n

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