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UConn Hillel has an exciting three days planned for students and parents to enjoy this weekend.
The weekend's activities start with a special Shabbat on Friday for students and families at 6 p.m. Since Family Weekend is occurring during Sukkot, one of the three pilgrimage festivals, Shabbat will be held under the sukkah.
Saturday evening Hillel will be hosting "S'mores in the Sukkah." Students and families are welcome to come by the Hillel Center at 5 p.m. to treat themselves to the delectable dessert under the sukkah with other Hillel members and their families.
A "Bagel Brunch" will end the weekend. At 11 a.m., Hillel's sukkah will host a bagel brunch to send families off.
Sukkot is a Jewish pilgrimage holiday that lasts one week during early fall. The main ritual during this holiday is the blessing of the lulav, etrog, hadass and aravah which correlate to a part of the body. These four species represent the spine, heart, eye and mouth respectively.
According to biblical readings, Sukkot became one of the most important feasts in Judaism, as represented by its name "the Feast of the lord" or simply "the Feast."
The sukkah in which Hillel will host all of its events is a makeshift shelter topped with branches to commemorate the 40-year exodus from Egypt to Israel. This shelter was made to replicate the fragile shelters that marked the living conditions of that time.
The Hillel Center at UConn has many programs to offer the Jewish community in Storrs and encourages Jewish students to participate and get involved.
"Hillel actively seeks to engage uninvolved Jewish students on their own terms," the Hillel Center Web site reads. "Students are empowered to take responsibility for their Jewish identity, whether they wish to participate in a community service project, express themselves artistically, participate in a social event, engage in informal Jewish learning or attend religious services."
"It's great because it's nothing too serious and you're always welcome there," said Alex Fitts, a 3rd-semester physics major. "It's great how they run things and I'm excited for what they're doing this semester."
Hillel's three major student groups this year are their Hillel Student Life, Jews in Greek Life and First Year Students @ Hillel.
While Hillel's building is being updated students are reminded that Hillel is temporarily operating out of Towers Residence Hall Sousa in room 104.
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