Reduce, Reuse, ReSukkah

Contest: Build a Scale-Model Sukkah Out of Recycled and Repurposed Materials

Deadline for Entry Form and Delivery: September 14
 

WHAT:
The traditonal sukkah is the temporary hut that is built for the eight days of Sukkot in which one is supposed to spend as much time as possible dwelling, eating and even sleeping. The rules governing the physical contours and elements of the sukkah are fairly basic:

• A traditional sukkah must have at least two full walls plus part of a third wall

• The walls may not be taller than 30 feet. In length and breadth, a sukkah cannot be smaller than 22.4 inches by 22.4 inches. There is no size limit in how large—in length and width—a sukkah may be.

• The walls of a traditional sukkah can be made of any material, provided that they are sturdy. You can also use pre-existing walls (i.e. the exterior walls of a home or other structure) as one or more of the sukkah walls. An existing structure that is roofless or has a removable roof can also be made into a sukkah.

• The roof of a traditional sukkah is made of sechach. Common sukkah roof-coverings are: bamboo poles, evergreen branches, reeds, corn stalks, narrow strips of unfinished lumber, or special sechach mats. There must be sufficient sechach to provide enough shade so that in a bright midday there is more shade than sun seen on the floor of the sukkah. The sechach has to be spread out evenly over the entire sukkah, so that there should not be any gap larger than 9.6 inches.

HOW:    WE INVITE YOU TO RE-IMAGINE THE SUKKAH IN A SCALE-MODEL
 

• All entries will be displayed in the DCJCC’s Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery beginning on September 27.  A specially selected jury comprised of experts in art, religion and culture will award special recognition for excellence in design, creative use of materials, and communicating a modern spirit of Sukkot. Winners will receive a small monetary award, a featured space in the exhibition and additional exposure in DCJCC publicity and marketing materials.

• Submissions will ideally be built in 1-inch-scale (1 inch=1 foot). Exact scale is not a requirement, but completed models should be able to fit comfortably on a 24-inch base.

• Because the models are interpretations of the sukkah they do not need to conform exactly to any element described above. However, the finished project should include the essential elements of a sukkah which we take to include (although other interpretations are welcome):

• Its temporary nature

• A roof which provides a mixture of shade and translucency

• At least three “walls”

• The sukkah should be constructed from recycled and repurposed materials to the greatest degree possible.  Be as imaginative as you like.

• Must be durable enough to remain intact through an exhibition of the entries lasting several weeks (September 27–October 31) in the DCJCC’s Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery.

• All participants must fill out and submit an “Exhibition Entry Form” which includes an $18 fee. The form and fee are due by September 14. All proceeds will go towards the DCJCC’s Hunger Action program, which gathers twice-a-month to prepare meals for the hungry and homeless.

• The completed model sukkah should be delivered to the DCJCC between September 12–14.

• All entries remain the property of their creators and will be returned following the exhibition.

WHY:
 

Sukkot is not just a harvest holiday, a celebration of gratitude for the first fruits, but it is also a major environmental holiday, which in ancient times involved tributes and prayers that sufficient rain would fall in the season to come. In the Torah, the number of offerings mandated for the holiday was larger than for any other Festival, which, according to the ancient Rabbis, was because the need for rain was not just a concern for the Jewish people, but for all humanity. Former-Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Dr. Ismar Schorsch remarked on this stream of thought, “Jew and gentile lived on the same planet. Jewish virtue alone would never be sufficient to assure next year’s rainfall. A common fate dictated a universal outlook.”

Today, our common fate is ever more strongly tied to our custodianship of the planet and how we succeed or fail to live in harmony with each other and our natural resources. To emphasize this important theme and to engage the broader public in a new way of interacting with the holiday, we are inviting sculptors, architects, craftspeople and general enthusiasts to construct an interpretative scale-model sukkah built predominantly with recycled and repurposed materials.
 

The exhibition in the Ann Loeb Bronfman Gallery will be paired with a large work of public art by the sculptor Dalya Luttwak. Her interpretation of the sukkah will be on display in front of the Washington DCJCC’s 16th Street entrance.