It's almost Sukkot, gang. Are you so excited? Personally, despite living in an apartment building with a balcony I share with my neighbor that would be impossible to build a Sukkah on, I'm a fan. It's a lovely reminder of the fragility of our lives, at the mercy of elements, and, probably my favorite theme is the reminder that our "homes" aren't in the buildings we construct, or in the things we buy, but in ourselves and the people we surround ourselves with. (Among other things. I mean, hello, I could sit and write explaining the particulars of Sukkot for days, but that's not what we're here to dig up in this post. Although, this is a nice explanation of some particulars here.)

Anyway. SukkahSoul is, apparently, all the rage this year. I have to admit, that's pretty nice-looking Sukkah. (Maybe not quite as awesome as last year's Sukkot Shake, or the Grease-inspired Sukkah Building, but eh. We do what we can.) Last year, Sukkahless, I grabbed some friends, and we slapped together tiny Sukkot with kosher graham crackers, lemon icing with etrog liquer, and rosemary branches for the roof. Sure, half the fun was probably the number of "etrogitos" we put away while indulging my inner-children, but hey. Whatever. There are ton of resources for building your own sukkah, but I like this one, only for the mention at the end of Jewcy jack-o-lanterns, which I am a big fan of.

There are all sorts of sukkah-building kits like this, of course, or like this, too.

Pimp My Sukkah: Any way you trick your sukkah out, it's all good.

Here sister is doin' it herself, and here is an interesting piece from Project Chana about using empty ushpizin chairs in support of domestic violence victims, and on that sort of note about helping women out, there is, apparently, a proposed boycott this year of a particular Sukkah-dealer's goods, as he is not forking over a get for his wife, though they did obtain a civil divorce almost a decade ago, so groups are calling for a boycott of his sukkot for his recalcitrance. And, speaking of boycotts, the Jerusalem Post is reporting today about a potential educators' strike after Sukkot.

Of course, there are a variety of things to do with your etrog post-Sukkot, ranging from the green-thumbed, to the recycled mitzvot to the delicious. As a side note, I have never seen an etrog this big in my life. Look at it! (Sorry about the lame music.)

Does anyone have any perhaps unusual or outside-the-box Sukkot traditions they want to share with the rest of the class? Hmm?