The BHBE Sisterhood Gift Shop is open during Academy (Sundays 9:00 am – 12:00 pm and Tuesdays 4:30-6:30 pm), special events, and by appointment. To make an appointment, call Robin (847-287-1233) or Joan (847-602-2257).
Sukkot was originally an agricultural holiday with very definite historical roots. As stated in Leviticus 23, “You shall live in booths seven days in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” This holiday commemorates the forty year trek of the Israelites through the desert to the Promised Land. The sukkot (booths) that Jews build today are reminders of that forty year sojourn in the desert on the way to the Promised Land. The use of four species of plants is described in Leviticus 23. “And you shall take on the first day (of the holiday) the fruit of goodly trees and branches of palm trees. Jewish authorities have interpreted the “fruit of goodly trees” to mean the etrog (the citron) and the “branches of (date) palms” to mean the lulav. The etrog is held in the left hand and is pressed to the body so that it will be closest to the heart, the most important organ in the body.
