Norwalk Aquarium Erects First Ever Public "Sukkah" for the Jewish Holiday

Over the years, the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk has welcomed Jewish families during the seven-day long fall religious holiday called "Sukkot."  

This year, a first-ever public Sukkot is taking place at the Aquarium. 

Rabbi Levi Stone, the executive director of the Schneerson Center for Jewish Life, a Chabad organization in Westport that services all of Fairfield County, coordinated the tie-in with the Aquarium. 

On Wednesday Stone arrived with two of his children – Mushka, 10, and Mendel, 4-1/2 – to decorate the rented blue 12' x 20' sukkah the Aquarium had erected on a nice spot along the river, just beyond the seal tank.

Stone explained the meaning of the holiday and why so many Jewish people in Fairfield County make the aquarium a destination around this time each year. 

"The first two days and the last two days of the seven-day holiday have a work prohibition," Stone said, explaining that in addition to Saturdays, those are days Jewish people are not allowed to travel or work. 

That leaves the "intermediary days" of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as "ideal to take children to special parks and places to teach them that the holiday is unique," Stone said. 

Dave Sigworth, publicist for the Aquarium, said that over the years staff noticed many Jewish families visit in mid-September and rest on the bleachers along the riverfront.

"Here we have a community of faith that is very good to us, so why not do something to make their visit more enjoyable?" Sigworth asked. "It wasn't like we're endorsing one faith over another. Anything we can do to make their visits more enjoyable and comfortable, we're happy to do."

Sigworth said that during the intermediary days of the holiday, he expects the Aquarium and the sukkah to be very busy.

"We see a lot of people from New York come up for the holidays and we're actually worried it might not be big enough," Sigworth said.

"We are grateful to the hosts, the Maritime Aquarium, for this first public sukkot in Fairfield County," Stone said. "This is like a dream come true." 

"The holiday is a festival of joy," Stone said. "It is a holiday of celebrating when the Jews were in the desert they built sukkahs, which were temporary," he added, referring to the walled structures the Israelites built in the desert after their exodus from slavery in Egypt. 

"One of the reasons we why we celebrate inside the sukkah is to remind us that we are in a temporary dwelling place as opposed to inside a house...the sukkah reminds us that there is a world outside of our own home," said Stone.

The Rabbi explained that the Sukkot is one of the three major Jewish festivals. "This is the the festival of joy and it is a commandment to be happy on this holiday. One of the ways we celebrate is by coming into the sukkah and eating and drinking. Some people even sleep in the sukkah."

Rabbi Stone said the sukkah as the Aquarium is not just for Jewish people. "Everyone is welcome to come," said Rabbi Stone. "It's a cultural experience." 

The sukkah at the Maritime Aquarium has tables, chairs and decorations inside, and will remain in place through the seven day holiday. The Aquarium has also installed a new kosher vending machine stocked with appropriate snacks.

The Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk is located at 10 N Water St. Tel. (203) 852-0700. The sukkah will be open to visit during the Aquarium's regular hours, 10:00a.m. to 5:00p.m. daily.