Sukkot

Lots of holidays in the month of Tishrei... Today was the first day of Sukkot, an important Jewish holiday, being one of the three pilgrimage festivals described in the Torah (the other two are Pesach and Shavuot). It is also a harvest festival, similar to Thanksgiving.

I drove down Touhy Avenue on my way to work this morning, in the heart of West Rogers Park. The Orthodox Jews were out and about, on their way to synagogue. They were all carrying their lulavs in these clear plastic carrying cases that looked specially made for the purpose, which astonished me.

My back porch almost makes a proper sukkah. With the blinds tied down, it has the required number of walls, and it is sufficiently open to the air. But it really ought to be a temporary structure. In any case, I decided to decorate my porch for the holiday with pumpkins and gourds. (To make sure these cucurbits won't become food for squirrels, I anointed them with a concoction of olive oil and crushed serrano chiles. So far, so good.)