Holiday Time

This year the holiday was celebrated differently than if I was in the states. All of the volunteers expressed what made the holiday special for them and we tried as best as we could to incorporate all of them to make the holiday meaningful. Some people wanted a tasty round challah, others a touching chol nidre for Yom Kippur, and still others a sukkah makes the holidays.



Rosh Hashana was spent in the village. I headed to the kitchen early the morning before to prepare the dough for the challot. It was a fun way to get into the holiday spirit. The highlight of Rosh Hashana was the delicious meal we all shared together. Everyone made such yummy food that made it really feel like a holiday...but of course I missed my mom's noodle dish that I love. Yom Kippur was spent in Kigali. I had a wonderful fish dinner for the pre-fast meal. One of the volunteers sang a very beautiful Kol Nidre. It felt very meaningful. That night I went camping with a friend and broke the fast on a meal that was cooked on a campfire.



Sukkot is one of my favorite holidays. I have great memories of decorating the sukkah is the parking lot of my synogogue at home. Since Sukkot is a harvest holiday and now I'm a farmer, it's even more significant. I even slept out in the sukkah. One of the highlights was sharing a meal in the sukkah with all of the farm workers.