For many it is travel trauma. Yom tov is around the corner and many who traditionally make their way to Eretz Yisrael at that point of the year are something between stuck and conflicted.
So most are going to be home, and that might signal the onset of an additional trauma. I know you are thinking that I am being presumptuous by making it sound like everyone flies to Israel for Sukkos while probably 97% of the folks out there are home for yom tov. That reality notwithstanding, if you have been in Israel for Sukkos in the past then you know the Land of Milk and Honey is usually crawling with Americans—OK, New Yorkers—over the chag.
But this is less about what it’s like to have your Sukkos plans to Israel derailed and more about for the first time in your adult life or at least in many years to actually have to shop around for a sukkah to be erected on your home property.
If you peruse these pages you will notice that this is the week that the sukkah-buying season begins. Sales of new sukkahs this year are expected to be record-breaking. Unfortunately, the big sukkah producers are experiencing a shortage of materials because of the pandemic—and no, I’m not trying to induce you to panic and call your friendly neighborhood sukkah seller today. Tomorrow or a few days from now is fine. Just don’t wait too long.
Anyway, on Sunday I sat down with Steven Litton, half of the Litton Brothers sukkah company. Steven is 37 years old and says that he has been putting up sukkahs in the Five Towns for more than 24 years. I’m sure you are quickly computing that this means Steven starting building sukkahs here when he was just 13.
While he and his brother Jonathan used to erect all kinds and makes of sukkahs, about ten years ago they decided that too many of their customers were complaining about sukkahs blowing over or being damaged in one way or another and that is where the idea for their patented sukkah construction came into the picture.
The result is a strong and beautiful sukkah material made out of marine-grade Sunbrella material and framed with sturdy construction, which means that regardless of the weather, your sukkah is staying in place if you have one of these. And the look, as you can see in the photos accompanying this piece, is quite impressive as well.
Steven adds that if you want to see what these sukkahs look like and inspect the unique material and construction, you can stop by their home at 8 Hawthorne Lane in Lawrence.
Even more interesting, if you believe that this is going to be a once-in-a-lifetime Sukkos that dictates that you observe the chag at home, the Litton brothers offer you an opportunity to rent your sukkah for yom tov, and the price of the rental can be assigned to the purchase price if at some point you decide to purchase and own.
There’s a diversity of sukkahs on the market at different price levels, and as you have no doubt seen, the various styles and materials have evolved over the years.
A few decades ago, sukkahs were made of heavy lumber often only purchased from a lumber yard, or something made out of thick and heavy canvas. Then about 40 or so years ago the new innovation was colored Plexiglas. I’m sure someone is going to correct me if I’m wrong about those colorful-looking plastic-feeling sukkah walls. Those were lightweight and much easier for anyone (except me, of course) to build. Today, those colorful walls are mostly used as walls around swimming pools in chassidishe bungalow colonies in upstate New York.
Until these innovations were introduced, I always thought that assembling your sukkah walls and schach roof was supposed to be laborious and difficult. As I’m sure I mentioned, our childhood sukkah was a monstrosity. The walls were so thick and heavy to the point that it was almost impossible to transport those boards from our backyard garage in Crown Heights about 150 feet and up the steps to our front porch.
My siblings and I were observers to the updated lightweight sukkah that was introduced to the market, but it was those heavy boards until we all married and moved to our own homes. I really don’t know where those walls are today. It could be that they are still in our old garage. We sold the house about two years ago but the house and the garage have not been touched or changed yet, so who knows?
The yom tov of Sukkos, aside from being a unique and beautiful celebration, is usually a condensed and short-lived market, so to speak. Most sukkahs are probably sold over a two-week period, from a few days before Rosh Hashanah until the arrival of Sukkos. The sale of esrogim and lulavim, because of their perishable nature, is even shorter—a few days before the chag and that’s it. Then there are the sukkah decorations, also only for a few days.
Back to Steven Litton and his sukkah sales. Steven explained to me that aside from selling and building their sukkahs, this year he has also become somewhat of a sukkah psychologist, if there was ever anything like that.
At this point, as it’s still the early part of the season, he is dealing with many families who travel to Israel every year and cannot recall the last time they were home for this yom tov. “Some of them are just plainly in denial,” Steven says.
Regardless, these folks do not own a sukkah, and it just might be time to buy one. The halachah is that we have to dwell in the sukkah in the same fashion that we live at home. Some take that literally and actually construct a room in their home in which the roof opens and on which they can place schach, so not that much changes. But those are far and few between. The next level is one of these beautifully constructed Sunbrella sukkahs. Of course, Israel is the best option, but this might be the next best thing to being there. n
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