anyone else use their shuls sukkah? (poll-whose sukkah use)

yo'ma

Sun, Sep 19 2010, 2:24 pm

We don't have anyone to go to eat on sukkos and no place to build our own, so we eat in the shuls sukka. I make one pot dishes, so I don't have to travel with a lot. Last year for shabbos, I put up chulent in our crockpot in shul. It's a small shul and we're pretty much the only ones who eat there. This year, we were invited to another shul for some meals, so we'll go for one iy"h and my dh will go on shabbos because I can't go to shul anyway. I wish we had a sukkah of our own Sad

.

Anyone else use their shuls sukkah?

Ruchel

Mon, Sep 20 2010, 3:05 am

Shul and their food, as do most people around. We're in an apartment. My parents have a suka though (garden). In my ex community, though a lot less frum, many had gardens and made sukos but many had a treif one so it was complicated for those in apartment... in the more recent years there has been a shul sukka for that reason.

I do one time only, as my family and dh's family does for women. My dh does twice, as men need to do in his family, though if you can have a meal a day it's ideal (if you have a skuka close by and it's not raining). In the rest we just don't do seudas.

louche

Mon, Sep 20 2010, 8:14 am

I use the shul's sukkah and bring my own food. It's a mechayeh! I can invite people with small children and not be bothered if they run around; If it rains, we can go inside on the same level and not have to climb up to our apartment in the nosebleed section; and the shul has sinks so we don't have to bring our own water for netilat yadayim. Plus we're right there in shul so if we have empty spaces at our table we can invite any lost-looking souls hanging around.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 2:23 pm

We're also sukkah-less. There is one communal meal organised at the synagogue, fortunately we got invited by friends for most other meals on yomtov. There are 2 meals where we don't have plans. For Friday night, we'll just have kiddush and challah rolls at the synagogue sukkah esp since we don't have an eruv. For the other meal, we're bringing our own to the synagogue, but only cold foods and disposable plates.

I'm actually a bit surprised that a synagogue will let someone bring foods cooked at individual homes.

yo'ma

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 2:55 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

I'm actually a bit surprised that a synagogue will let someone bring foods cooked at individual homes.

We go to a small shul and most of the people are elderly. When I say most, I mean that there are 2 families who go every week that's under 50 and we're one of them. There's no oven or stove in shul, so that's not an issue and even if so, we would be allowed. There's not even a rabbi in the shul.

hannah95

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 4:31 pm

Our schul has a huge sukka, it can take around 200 people.

You have to book a table inside the sukka before YT if you need one.
Then, the schul sets out platas and belchs and you can leave your food on them with a lid on and with a name tag of some kind. The platas are guarded by the chaouch of the schul, and you can also leave a bag with your plates, cutlery, etc. There are a lot of fridges where you can keep your salads and fish.

We eat every meal in the sukka, YT or hol hamoed. We even get pizza delivered to the sukka during hol hamoed ! If it rains, we only do kiddoush and motsi in the souka and we eat the rest of the meal at home, but usually we manage the whole meal.

morah

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 4:41 pm

B'H we live in a place where we have a (very small) space where a Sukkah can go. However, I grew up in NYC and was not one of the lucky few with a penthouse apartment, so until I got married I had never built a sukkah and had always taken meals at the shul sukkah. My parents still do, as do most people where they live. Their shul actually has 2 sukkahs in order to accommodate everyone- one in the courtyard and one on the roof. In any event, I love having my own sukkah. We can't fit more than 4 people in it, but it's great not having to run to shul every time you want to eat.

Barbara

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 4:43 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

AFAIK, all the shuls in my area -- right, left and center -- allow it. Of course, you're eating on your own plates, using your own cutlery, on disposable tablecloths. And no use of shul ovens.

For yom tov, we're invited out for all but 3 meals, and I expect an invitation for at least one if not two of the remaining meals. That will leave one dinner, on an evening after we have a lunch invitation. We'll make kiddush amd motzei at the shul succah, and probably be too stuffed from lunch to think about anything else.

hannah95

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 5:40 pm

Barbara wrote:

AFAIK, all the shuls in my area -- right, left and center -- allow it. Of course, you're eating on your own plates, using your own cutlery, on disposable tablecloths. And no use of shul ovens.

Yes, I was suprised it raised any question. Everybody brings their own food, there is no actual cooking in schul, just reheating on plata, and everybody uses its own cutlery and everything.

I know a family who caters for some other family, meaning that they take care of the food for the whole chagim and charge the family for this, they set up the tables, they serve etc, but I always wondered how they pulled it off, halacha wise and all.

We also have a lot of Sukkot Holiday Deals this year, meaning families go to a kosher hotel for the hag and stay there, which must be nice if you like this kind of environment.

Mrs Bissli

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 5:51 pm

What I meant to ask was, is the shul kitchen closed/locked? What happens if the home-cooked food gets spilt on a plata? Or if someone accidentally poured still-hot food in the wrong sink? I'm just a bit wary esp when people are bringing hot food, in the absence of mashgiach.

hannah95

Tue, Sep 21 2010, 6:05 pm

Mrs Bissli wrote:

Yes, the kitchens are closed. There is a room for the platas, and the fridges are brought in this same room.
I think the platas themselves are considered treif (like your burners if you cook bassar ve halav on the same).

Ruchel

Wed, Sep 22 2010, 10:12 am

Ruchel wrote:

I do one time only, as my family and dh's family does for women. My dh does twice, as men need to do in his family, though if you can have a meal a day it's ideal (if you have a skuka close by and it's not raining). In the rest we just don't do seudas.

I mentioned this to dh while discussing sukkos and he said I got it all wrong LOL.

Dh said he learned 3 shittas on women and sukka.
-women are pattur from the mitzva of sukka. They don't enter it if they don't want. His ruv's wife does that.
-women should hear kiddush and motzi there once.
-same, and it should be the first day.

He learned also 3 shittas about kiddush:
-if a woman does a seuda and needs a kiddush, she has to be in the sukka
-if a woman does a seuda and needs a kiddush, she has to be in the sukka unless she can hear her husband
-if a woman does a seuda and needs a kiddush, she can have it at home.

He learned 100 years ago (for example) no woman in Europe would eat there every day, but can't vouch for Mizrachi, Temani,... minhag at all.

My dh does kiddush and motzi in the closest sukka on first and second day but doesn't have the meal there, as K and M are the ikkar of the seuda.

I will go for K and M (at least) once during Sukkot. This year it won't be tonight, I'm dead!

I think it's clearer Wink