HOLY HELL WTF?!?!?!

[rkold]

Someone in the damn complex turned us in for HAVING A SUKKAH! GRRRRRRRRRRR

So now we have to convince them we should be allowed to keep our sukkah, my beautiful precious sukkah! ~.~

Comments

[reynardine.livejournal.com]

You gotta be kidding me!

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Hopefully religious reasons should satiate them >.>

[ad-exia.livejournal.com]

... That is ridiculous. It's for a religious reason, that should be good enough. D

[hinoai.livejournal.com]

I had no idea what a sukkah is, so I looked it up. You made a hut? Where did you put it?? Wow!

I don't see where it's anyone else's business though as long as it's on your property.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

A sukkah is really just a temporary dwelling that was traditionally built to shelter people during harvests. Sukkot, is a harvest based holiday and in honor of it, you are supposed to "dwell" in a sukkah for about a week. In our case, it usually means eating our meals though some people sleep in theirs.

Most modern sukkahs are not very hut like.

Our previous Sukkah (http://yamanote-line.net/for-lj/sukkah.jpg) (This is the one we had at our old house, but will not fit here. I will get a picture of the new one tomorrow. It's about 8'x6' and like that one has canvas sides. It's currently on our small deck.

I don't know why the complex is making such an issue over it but I am going to fight to get to keep since it is only up from now until next Sunday. ~.~ They allow wreathes for Christmas and it seems rather discriminatory to not allow something for a Jewish observance. (For the record you can't see ours from the street, only our immediate neighbors can see it.)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I am so so so so annoyed. We are fighting it. We're prepared to take a fine but I will fight the fact that Christmas wreathes are allowed.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Yes, one would hope since they do allow Christmas wreathes. ~.~

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I really don't know since you can't see it from the street. I'm convinced one of our neighbors has too much time on her hands. ~.~

We use to use wood and drop clothes, but this year we are using metal rods and canvas sides. I will get a picture of it tomorrow! :D I love having a sukkah, it's actually one of my favorite holidays.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I am still pretty livid. They've not gotten back in touch with us. I am hoping that because this is a religious observance they are going to leave us alone. ~.~

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Usually religious reasons can get you out of such situations. I'll be pissed if they don't let you. Especially since Christmas wreathes are allowed.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Yeah, we will see if they get back in touch with us tomorrow or decide to just let things go.

[spazzygirl19.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry for all the angst.

I believe you are correct in that they will leave you alone once they discover it's a religious observance; and that your next door neighbor has too much time on her hands.

I actually saw a 'Sukkah Shop' spring up nearby. They'll totally make your entire sukkah for you.

[ad-exia.livejournal.com]

Seriously, I hope they've discovered the error of their ways. :x

[hinoai.livejournal.com]

That's really interesting! I had no idea =^-^=

I hope you can keep it. I'm not religious, but if I had something like that, I wouldn't let them take it down without a warrant. I mean, it's on your balcony, so it's your property, and even if people could see it, it has nothing to do with them. I mean, it's not any different in theory than having a tent or canopy on one's balcony, and that's perfectly okay, right?

I mean, why are they even upset? I can't understand at all. Do they know it's something religious and object to that? (which isn't legal) How can they even know that it's religious? Your old one just looks like a cute little picnic tent.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

They're letting us slide this year, but this just makes me think that we really will need to move. Of course the huge slats in the railing on the upper floor is another reason....

Our baby is not going to be so mobile at 6 months but by 1 year...

[rkold.livejournal.com]

There probably were not that many observant Jews where you grew up. We use to always build one at the Synagogue for communal use, but it wasn't until I married a talented person like my husband, that we were able to have our own.

Technically, there is some debate as to whether the deck constitutes "our property" which is part of the problem and nope, they won't allow a tent or canopy on the deck, though they do allow umbrella tables. It's not really a tent though since it is temporary and a religious observance.

I suspect one of my neighbors complained. She's a real estate agent and I think anything a little "different" sets her off. I think she prob worries about property values since they've dropped dramatically in this area. I doubt she knew what it was, and prob thought it was like a tent lol But now that the office knows it is a religious observance, they're prob let it slide since that is a whole kettle of fish they probably do not want to get into.

In a way though, you sort of use it as a picnic tent, since you're supposed to eat all your meals in it, assuming the weather is good. (The roof is not solid, you need to be able to see sky through it, so last night we had to come in before it started to pour!) Sukkot is my favorite Jewish holiday because I can appreciate celebrating a bountiful harvest and it's fun decorating the inside of the sukkah. My next favorite holiday is Purim in Feb/March, where you dress up in costumes, eat yummy cookies and are supposed to get drunk. :D

[rkold.livejournal.com]

They called yesterday to say they would make an exception *THIS YEAR* and I am sure it is because it is a religious observance and because it is not permanent. I mean it comes down by next Sunday and with this particular sukkah we can get it down in only a few hours.

She's a real estate agent and the market here is not doing so well. (Which is good for us since we want to buy eventually.)

And yeah a lot more people pick to have their own sukkah now! We ordered this one as a kit, but the last one my husband designed and purchased the materials from via Home Depot. For a kit, the one we have is quite attractive and does go together quite fast. It was also quite a bit more money than our larger one.

[ad-exia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's good to have a baby-proof house. Or at least as close to one as you can get! Maybe your neighbor will move before next year. >>