Sukkah Hopping | Imamother

Starhavah

Wed, Oct 15 2008, 11:08 pm

How does Sukkah hopping work in your community and what do you think of it?

When I lived in Efrat kids would come to the Sukkah and you would ask them to give a dvar or sing a song or something and then give them candy. That was ok with me. Clearly halloween inspired but I could see it as an acceptable activity since the kids needed to "earn the candy" with somekind of Torahdik activity.

DD is 8 and went Sukkah hopping for the first time this year with friends (we never took her since we did not know if kids in Chicago did this). Well, today it was raining, so no one was sitting in the Sukkahs. The kids knocked on people's doors, announced "Sukkah Hoppers" and got candy! Like it was trick or treating. I am kind of uncomfortable with this. But try and forbid an 8 year old from getting free candy while walking the neighborhood with friends! That is going to make me popular -- NOT. What do you all think? Do they do this in your neighborhood? Do the kids have to "do something" in exchange for the candy? How popular an activity is it?

Star Havah

leomom

Wed, Oct 15 2008, 11:28 pm

I've never heard of this and I don't like the idea at all!

Where I live, neighborhoods organize Sukkah Hops, and people (not just kids) go from sukkah to sukkah, hear or say a dvar Torah, sing some niggunim, and eat some mezonos so they can say "leishev baSukkah" -- that's it. No candy in sight, and not even a glimmer of a shadow of a thought of any other holiday.

miriamnechama

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 1:20 am

we did for years.

acrually one of my nieghbours sent her 6 kids around.

they knocked onmy door but problem was I was eating out that night had tofinish getting dressed anbd had a half an hour walk ahead of me so I told them to come back anoter day...

teachby

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 1:29 am

My kids go. I tell them to stick to houses where they know there are little kids, but they usually go to the "adult" houses on the block, too. Only to people they actually know--never to strangers. It seems to be less popular lately than it was a few years ago.

hila

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 1:33 am

I live in Efrat and teh kids still do the hopping on 1st night chag.
it is a cute idea, and we get to hear these adorable kids give little divrei tora or sing if they are really small.
And we sit in the sukka, which is outside our front door, and wait for each bunch of kids.
Since I never had "trick or treat" it really does not seem like anything else except a cute sukkot custom

And after chag, my dh and I went for our walk, and as we got back near to home, we "hopped" into 3-4 sukkot of neighbours to say hi and enjpoy th music, chat, and general atmosphere.

I love sukkot

Aribenj

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 9:46 am

Where we live, it's a whole chinuch program. People volunteer to have kids over and the shul sends out letter to parents mapping all the houses in the neighborhood that have sukkas that will accept succah hoppers.

Then they send the houses who want to participate a whole list of questions (like, give another name for succos, how many walls can a succah have, etc) and tickets for prizes. Kids come, they get quizzed one or two questions. If they get them right, they get a ticket and they can later redeem their tickets in shul for a prize. Then they make a bracha, eat a cookie or fruit or something, and go on their way.

I think it's wonderful. We don't have a succah bc we live in a building, but when we move I can't wait to host!

greenfire

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 9:57 am

I must admit when it was first done here my first reaction was "trick or treat" ... but I've come to see them as "hakofos" who said you can't be happy on yom simchaseinu ... Drunken Smile

what better way then candy whilst hoppin around to look at how the succas are decorated in the hood ...

downsyndrome

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 10:11 am

I live in a complex of 27 families, each with their own succah, so there is quite some succah hopping going on here. HOwever, the hopping takes place on the first night after the menfolk go to shul and nobody eats before kiddush. I didn't host any tiny tots who would, of course, be allowed to nosh; it was older kids who came by just to ooh and ah-h over our succah, and I went up to my neighbor to reciprocate her visit and compliment their succah.

dora

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 10:16 am

We did this over 30 years ago in Israel as kids. We walked all over the neighberhood visiting sukkahs and admiring decorations which by the way were not as glittery and shinny as today but more posters, plastic fruits and birds, and stuff we made in school. We never got candy.
Today (live in the u.s) we have nieghbors that come by every year after the meal and we serve a fancy dessert.

greenfire

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 10:17 am

mamacita wrote:

I really wanted to do this on chag, but my dh is more reserved and sees it as visiting uninvited Sad

so go without him - you gotta have FUN ... that's what yom tov is for ... so long as you don't sit & wait for a seudah - I see nothing wrong ...

justmom

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 10:41 am

Sukka hopping can't be equated with Halloween to Israeli frum kids who never heard of it. The same way so many Israelis use x-mas lights in the sukkas, bcz. they only associate it with festive light for the sukka (DH couldn't bring himself to buy the lights for our sukka-- 40 years in USA will do that to you).

mamacita

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 2:57 pm

green, you are right and IY"H I"m going to do it either shabbos or YT and dh can sit at home with his hands over his face oy-veying how his wife can be so uncultured, lol. (he wouldn't, he'd come, but I like to tease him)

sky

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 4:40 pm

The community I come from this is very common. I think it started because a lot of families did not have their own succas (like 30 years ago) and the husbands would take their food to the shul succas so in the afternoon families would visit the few succos that there were and make a bracha in it.

When we were growing up we would go around and eat what we were given in the succah. I still like that practice. I think the practice of going around with a bag and taking the food out with you is really not nice. The parents that go around with their kids, admire the decorations and give their kids one snack and encourage a bracha are doing it right (I did see a few of those when back home the first days)

greenfire

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 5:06 pm

mamacita wrote:

tell him he'll get some nosh (from you of course) if he behaves ... Twisted Evil

mamacita

Thu, Oct 16 2008, 6:04 pm

LOL, brilliant idea, hehe. of course then I have to give to dd and ds too!

If we went we'd probably bring something like sky said, we're not going to be served nosh, unless it's a custom in the neighborhood. I know a Rabbi hear who has thousands of people pass through his sukkah because tour groups have it on their tour! lol.