Chabad of Orange County celebrates ‘The Great Sukkot Harvest’ with a festive community celebration

Families from throughout Orange County gathered at Chabad of Orange County, led by Rabbi Pesach and Chana Burston, for The Great Sukkot Harvest, a lively celebration of Sukkot filled with tradition, family activities, delicious food and community spirit. Sukkot is a weeklong Jewish holiday centered around gratitude, joy and togetherness. A central tradition of the holiday is spending time in a sukkah, a temporary outdoor hut.

Chabad’s Great Sukkot Harvest brought the themes of the holiday to life with a festive autumn experience for all ages. Families enjoyed pony rides, miniature golf and a Sukkot pumpkin patch, where children selected pumpkins and transformed them with colorful decorations and sparkling embellishments.

Families also got a taste of fall with a hands-on apple cider donut-making station, rolling, coating and enjoying their own sweet seasonal treats. Younger children had the opportunity to color and create their own life size miniature sukkah. Guests gathered inside Chabad’s large sukkah to enjoy an array of delicious food and spend time as a community. Participants also had the opportunity to perform one of Sukkot’s most distinctive traditions; shaking the four kinds, a practice which represents the harvest as well as unity.

“Sukkot is a holiday of extraordinary joy and unity,” said Rabbi Pesach Burston. “The sukkah surrounds everyone within the same walls, reminding us that despite our differences, we are one people. The Great Sukkot Harvest was a beautiful expression of that message. Celebrants of every age and background coming together to celebrate, connect and experience the joy of our Jewish heritage in an accessible setting.”