For years I had no idea what 'pre-fab' meant but now I do - it would be pre-fabricated. As in, someone else did the hard work, you click these two poles together. Good job!
In New Jersey, we owned an awesome succah; it was huge, we routinely had twenty people for a meal with extra room to spare. And while it did not click together as easily as some other succahs, there definitely was enough clicking going on that the succah was built in an afternoon.
But now we're in Florida. And apparently, if you build a regular canvas or plastic succah, you will roast.
I've been watching wood beam and lattice succahs pop up around the neighborhood* for the past week or so and Josh has been strategizing his succah building game plan for weeks, consulting with his handy friends in NY. There have been scraps of paper and calculations and numerous trips to Home Depot. It was all very exciting, especially for my boys - Josh included.
It all looked great, on paper.
The other night Josh comes home from work all ready to go build the succah; my boys are pumped and the girls and I spread out the picnic blanket in the backyard to we can sit and watch. Everything is ready.
Except for the part when you realize you don't have a clue how to actually build a succah from wood beams, although after the fact, you kind of realize that building a wall should take place on the ground and not free-hand in the air.
Enter Art. He's a wonderful person whom we got to know over Rosh Hashana. Art also happens to be a contractor. I love Art. He's my new best friend, and not only because he built me this succah in two afternoons.
I love our succah and we haven't even decorated it yet.
Art says that he'll come back after Succot and make the whole thing a permanent pergola, with a detachable roof and a ceiling fan all ready to go for for next Succot.
May we be zoche to detach our whole beautiful succah from the house and transport it with us to Yerushalayim for Succot next year.
*I'll be honest, I really like it here in Florida but I gotta say, there's something missing when it comes to sukkah building season. I'm very used to going for longs walks in NJ, especially as the chagim arrive and the weather gets cooler. And I would always love walking around the neighborhood, hearing the clanging of succah poles followed by a string of words best muttered under your breath.
It's just not the same hearing a couple of nails fall down, or even a hammer. Oh well, I'll always have the memories.
Anyway, here, a pictorial of the Great Succah Building Escapade of 2013.