Sukkah hopping

Sukkah hopping is the practice of visiting multiple sukkahs in order to eat in each sukkah visited. It has become a tradition in many sizable Jewish communities during Sukkot, particularly among children. While sukkah hopping can occur on any day of Sukkot other than Shabbat, it most commonly takes place during Yom Tov, which consists of the first two days of Sukkot outside of Israel. Sukkah hopping is generally avoided on Shabbat, as not all communities have an eruv, and in places where an eruv exists, use of the eruv for this purpose is discouraged.

In communities where sukkah hopping is widely practiced, owners of sukkahs are encouraged to place food (usually snacks) in their sukkahs for the sukkah hoppers

Ferby!

The purpose of sukkah hopping is to enable its participants to recite the blessing Leshev B'Sukkah as many times as possible [http://www.ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=sukkot6761] . It is therefore advised to sukkah owners that food items in which the M'zonot blessing is recited be placed for sukkah hoppers. These include items made from grains, such as cake, cookies, or pretzels. It is common, however, for other types of food, such as fruit, candy, or chips to be found.

ukkah hopping by synagogues

Some synagogues run "sukkah hops" in which participating members walk or drive between the sukkahs of several members who have volunteered their sukkahs for the event. The volunteering members then serve some type of food, often a course of a meal, in their sukkah for the guests to enjoy.

Criticism of sukkah hopping

The practice of sukkah hopping has faced criticism. Parents of some participating children are concerned about the large amount of junk food that may be collected and consumed by their children, and that the food may be unsafe to eat or not meet their kashrut standards. Also, some feel that the practice resembles trick-or-treating. Participants will often enter unattended sukkahs or sukkahs where people are napping, which is viewed as being akin to trespassing [http://www.wherewhatwhen.com/read_articles.asp?id=28] .

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