Join The Neighborhood for our Sukkot launch event, in collaboration with Ayin Press. Over Shabbat dinner, we will hear from textile artist Hilla Shapira about the Lavender Diaspora Sukkah she has created, and launch Ayin Press’ new publication, Indwelling: An Earth-Based Sukkot Companion Zine.
Sukkot and the rituals surrounding it are an invitation to come together as a community, with a particular emphasis on the cultivating of temporary shared spaces. Our Sukkah, Lavender Diaspora, created by Israeli-born artist Hilla Shapira, is both a community space and an art installation.
Shapira’s Sukkah draws inspirations from designs common in Israel’s Orthodox community, in which Hilla was raised, transforming the forms into soft objects. The visual language of the Sukkah derives from Jewish iconography and Hebrew scripture. Hilla’s transformation of the traditional sukkah form reinterprets this ancient tradition, bringing a queer perspective on the sukkah as an ephemeral ritual space.
Doors will open at 6:15 PM with Shabbat candle lighting beginning immediately at 6:30 PM. Following blessings over wine and challah, Jessica Tamar Deutsch and Tom Haviv from Ayin Press will introduce and read pieces from their new publication, Indwelling. This beautifully produced zine is meant to serve as a spiritual field guide, exploring the structures and materials of Sukkot through a plant-based lens. Through a series of poetic essays and practical suggestions, the ecological, botanical, architectural, medicinal, and spiritual aspects of the Jewish harvest festival are brought into a holistic focus.
We will wrap up our celebration by gathering around the Shabbat dinner table for a Kosher feast with plant-based options.
This event is part of Sukkot in The Neighborhood, a 10-day festival held in a sukkah at Luria Academy of Brooklyn, designed by textile artist Hilla Shapira. The full festival line-up can be found here.
