Sukkahs for humans? That’s so 5780. This year, Jewish pets observe the chag

Full-size sukkahs are so 5780. Image by iStock

By Irene Katz Connelly October 8, 2020

For Jews, Sukkot is just the latest holiday to fall victim to the pandemic.

Singing and dancing are off the (outdoor) table. Lulavs and etrogs can’t be shared. Even the sukkah, which might seem like the perfect pandemic-era structure, is suspect: New York authorities mandated social distancing inside, and most synagogues are treating them like especially breezy indoor spaces, not outdoor ones.

Does that mean the Jewish people have abandoned their sukkahs for the first time in millennia? Of course not. In fact, Sukkot 5781 may have spawned a new, pandemic-proof trend: sukkahs for pets.

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Earlier this week, Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg took to Twitter to share a picture of a tiny cardboard sukkah her friend created for a hamster, complete with a miniature lulav and etrog. The hamster even consented to pose in one of the tiny chairs, although we don’t know if it made kiddush.

Apparently, that hamster wasn’t the only animal observing the chag this year. Soon, others chimed in with pictures of their very devout pets. Do these sukkahs conform with halacha? Probably not. Nevertheless, here’s a tour of the stand-outs.

A rat sniffed out a sukkah that boasted an overturned berry carton as a table.

Too cool for cardboard, a pair of birds relaxed amid some next-level DIY architecture.

A tarantula seemed eminently unimpressed, and did not deign to venture inside.

A non-compliant dog sat near the sukkah, not inside.

And some surprisingly obliging cats took full advantage.

We can’t wait for this Twitter phenomenon to reappear as a children’s picture book. All that’s needed is a sukkah for the fly on Mike Pence’s head.

Irene Katz Connelly is an editorial fellow at the Forward. You can contact her at connelly@forward.com. Follow her on Twitter at @katz_conn.

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