A truly vibrant celebration, filled with joy, laughter, warmth, and sincere spiritual elevation, took place at the “Beit Zindlicht” Children’s Educational Center, the main preschool institution of the Dnipro Jewish Community. This time, the kindergarten children celebrated Sukkot – one of the most joyous Jewish holidays, referred to in the Torah as the “Time of Our Joy.”
A large sukkah, built specially for these festive days, stood in the center’s courtyard. Within its walls, an atmosphere of warmth, comfort, and unity prevailed. Each child, with genuine excitement and fascination, participated in fulfilling the holiday commandments: they took the Four Species – the lulav, etrog, hadas, and aravah – into their hands, recited the blessings, and felt how these seemingly simple actions filled their hearts with a special festive joy. Everyone also performed another important mitzvah – “Dwelling in the Sukkah” – and enjoyed delicious treats prepared especially for the day. Joyful laughter, children’s voices, kind words, and music created an amazing atmosphere of unity, difficult to put into words.
After the meal, the children were greeted by a series of fun activities. The little ones were divided into three teams, each adorned with different colored reflective ribbons. For completing the game stations, participants received stickers, and once all were collected, each child received a well-deserved prize – a bright and cheerful ball, which became a symbol of the joy and the holiday.
“One of the stations was musical and dance-oriented – we sang, danced, and circled in round dances, feeling true festive freedom and happiness,” shared the kindergarten teacher Malka Averbukh. “At another, the children built their own sukkah from cookies, chocolate, and candies, demonstrating imagination, creativity, and team spirit. And the third station was a sports station – they had to find a lemon in a dry ball pool and locate other plants associated with fulfilling the Sukkot commandments. This caused so much laughter, joy, and excitement that the children didn’t want the game to end!”
The holiday at “Beit Zindlicht” became a real explosion of positive emotions, leaving bright impressions, warm memories, and sincere gratitude in the hearts of children and adults towards those who helped create it. “We wholeheartedly thank the Dnipro Jewish Community and its Chief Rabbi, Shmuel Kamenetsky, for their care, support, and for the heartfelt, warm atmosphere in our kindergarten, where every child grows up surrounded by love, joy, and the light of Jewish traditions,” summarized Malka Averbukh.
