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Yom Kippur (Sept. 28) ...
Demographers once had a clever method for estimating the Jewish population.

They would ask school principals how many students had been absent on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, when synagogue attendance is at its highest. With a few quick calculations, that figure could help provide a rough and imperfect estimate of the total Jewish population in a given neighborhood.

The Hebrew Institute used this method throughout the late 1940s, as the local Jewish population was consolidating to Squirrel Hill, Oakland, and the East End, after decades of expanding throughout the city and the wider region.
IMAGE: American Jewish Outlook, February 4, 1949, page 25
... and Sukkot (Oct. 3-11)
So many Jewish religious observances have been upended since March, but the basic traditions of Sukkot are well-suited for current conditions.

That's especially true for the Sukkah, a temporary outdoor hut that recalls the temporary dwellings as the Jewish people wandered in the desert. At a time when many Jewish organizations are using the outdoors to avoid the risks of indoor gatherings, here is an ancient outdoor gathering space, able to be sized for proper distancing.
Sally Stadtlander of Monongahela, Pa. provided this illustration and explanation of the holiday in the early 1960s:

"Succoth is in the month of Tishri. In the Succah we hang fruits and pictures."

Her drawing and accompanying note were tucked into a financial ledger for Ohav Sholom Congregation of Donora. By the late 1950s and early 1960s, the Jewish children living in Monongahela generally attended religious school classes in the larger community of nearby Donora.

For those who celebrate the holidays, we wish you an easy and meaningful Yom Kippur fast and a joyous and safe Sukkot, with an abundance of fruit and pictures.

IMAGES: Ohav Sholom Congregation (Donora, Pa.) Records, MSS 0005
The Rauh Jewish History Program & Archives was founded on November 1, 1988 to collect, preserve, and make accessible the documentary history of Jews and Jewish communities of Western Pennsylvania. You can help the RJHPA continue its work by making a donation that will directly support the work being done in Western Pa.
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