Sukkah hopping, ushpizin, posters of the Kotel, artwork made by generations of children. Some of that artwork was made by you and, now, your children. Strings of lights that turn your sukkah into a magical place after the sun sets.

Aromas from steamy, hot soups and stews from recipes handed down like precious family heirlooms. Only these heirlooms steam up your glasses and fill your stomachs.

Zemirot coming not only from your sukkah but from sukkahs next door, down the block or around the corner, reminding us just how we fill the early autumn air with simcha.

In some cases, our older family members point out a decoration that has its own Sukkot story of joy or even, as our history painfully reminds us, of survival.

Though it’s structurally sound, we feel a slight wind come through out sukkah. We know that like our own lives, the sukkah has its own fragility. Yet our families getting together to lovingly eat and enjoy each other’s company is the metaphoric heartbeat of this wonderfully, uniquely Jewish holiday.

And every year when we pull the sukkah from its storage space and try to remember which corner aligned with the house or deck gate, we promise this year we’ll take a picture to remind us for next year.

Across the backyards we hear the banging of hammers, the whirring of drills and often the gleeful laugh of little children, who are putting sticky tape on their gan artwork or a lulav and etrog made from construction paper.

There’s just so much beauty that fills our senses during this Z’man Simchateinu, this season of our joy.

Our Jewish Link pages this week reflect our community’s love of this wonderful time of year.

To our advertisers, contributors and readers, we wish you all a happy, fulfilling Sukkot. May we all be filled with beautiful memories.

Chag sameach!