Sukkot 2008 at UAlbany
at the Shabbos House Chabad Jewish Student Center serving UAlbany

Most of Sukkot is holiday, when we can't take pictures for religious reasons. But we do have pictures of the Sukkah Building BBQ onthe Sunday prior to YomTov, as well as the Sukkah Take-Down on the Sunday following the week-long holiday.

The Sukkah Building BBQ

Besides the Sukkah, we also baked ahead for the long holiday...

Making desserts - there's a whole week of festive holiday meals ahead!!

Team of Sukkah Builders - not everyone who pitched in, but the crew that hung around until the end.

The Sukkah Take-Down

The Sukkot 5769 / 2008 Schedule

See below for the schedule of prayers, festive meals and events. We had minyans throughout, the nights in the Sukkah featured the Sukkahleh song, hot soup and cider, nice turnouts, especially on Friday Night when in addition to 11 tables in the Sukkah there were another 6 inside the house!

Sukkot Week 2008 begins on Monday Night 10/13 through Simchat Torah 10/21
Sukkot is a great week with plenty of homemade food, festive celebrations, and welcoming warm atmosphere in the comfy confines of the Shabbos House Sukkah.

All events listed below are at the Shabbos House Student Center
316 Fuller Rd 12203, corner University Drive West, direction of Stuyvesant Plaza. To give you an idea, Dutch is the closest quad to Shabbos House.

Sukkah Building BBQ: Sunday 10/12 - 12-6pm
Get into the spirit, put in your energies into creating the unique setting for a week-long of Sukkot Holiday festivities climaxing with Simchat Torah - the big celebration, in the Shabbos House Sukkah. Sitting in the Sukkah isn't the same once you've had a hand in putting it up.

Festive Dinners in the Sukkah 7:30 prayers 8pm Dinner
Monday 10/13 - First Night in the Sukkah!
Tuesday 10/14 - Russian-themed Night in the Sukkah
Friday 10/17 - Shabbat in the Sukkah
Monday 10/20 - Shmini-Atzeret, last night in the Sukkah (prayers begin at 7pm to allow for the mini-warm-up Hakafot dancing on this night).

Festive Lunches in the Sukkah 9am Prayers, 12pm Lunches
Tues 10/14
Wed 10/15 - Sushi in the Sukkah
Sat 10/18 - Shabbat Lunch and Cholent in the Sukkah
Tues 10/21
Wed 10/22 - follow-up Simchat Torah festivities and prayers, late lunch starts at 2pm

Events in the Sukkah
Thurs 10/16 - Hillel's "Hookah in the Sookah" at the Shabbos House Sukkah, 7-8:30pm
Sun 10/19 (tentative) - L'chaim's Movie in the Sukkah...

SIMCHAT TORAH - the big celebration!
Tues 10/21 - prayers and festivities begin at 7:30pm, with dancing, energy, great Jewish spirit, a once-a-year special event not to be missed!

See the Simchat Torah Page for updates and info and please note four reasons "why this night is different" from all other nights at Shabbos House.Simchat Torah Page

Note about Revolving Door Holiday Minyans & Lunches
As the holidays fall midweek this year, the morning minyan may conflict with certain class schedules. We have a revolving door Minyan and Lunch policy, people come and go as their class schedules allow. If enough students participate in this, we can still end up with good Minyans and nice holiday lunches. Please feel free to come and go as it works for you.

Great Lulav and Etrog Shakes
Shaking the Lulav and Etrog (the four species) is an important Sukkot holiday Mitzvah. Stop by anytime during the day at Shabbos House (we can't do this Mitzvah at night) plus Rabbi Mendel and others will have a set available on campus at random times of the day. It's a quick and easy blessing, and ideally should be done each day of the holiday except for Shabbos.

For more information about the wonderful Sukkot Holiday, visit Chabad.org's Sukkot megasite with how-to's, insights, study and stories...

Links to High-Holidays and Sukkot 2008 Pages at UAlbany and Shabbos House