Jewish Care

Young volunteers took a starring role in helping care home residents celebrate the Jewish festival of Succot, which began on the evening of Monday 13th October and lasted for eight days.

 The teenagers, who are pupils of Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys School and JFS, helped to decorate the “succah” at The Princess Alexandra Home in Common Road, Stanmore, run by the charity Jewish Care.

Every year, Jewish people celebrate the festival of Succot by building a succah with walls and a roof covered in green leaves, usually adjoining their homes. The teenagers put fruit and vegetables into netting which was hung from the roof and decorated the walls with posters.

They were helped by the home’s volunteer coordinators, Jarvis Lebetkin and Angela Gordon and another volunteer, Richard Webber. The latter runs a supper club at the home where the youngsters act as waiters and waitresses.

Riva Black, 15, who attends JFS in Kenton, said: “I like coming to the Home and organising activities, it is a nice thing to do.”

Herman Greenbourne, one of the residents, was enjoying the session and was helping to string up the fruit parcels. He said: “I have been living here for four months and it is a beautiful place.”

During Succot, it is customary to eat meals and refreshments in the succah and another religious requirement is to shake the “Arba Minim” or four species, comprising an etrog (large citrus fruit from Israel), held with a palm branch, three myrtle branches and two willow branches. This is considered to be a mitzvah, which is a good deed.