On Sukkot, you can see many different things: sukkahs (obviously), decorations, and communities. Today, I’m going to tell you about how we celebrate Sukkot in Chile, more precisely, at my school, Instituto Hebreo of Santiago, and Mercaz Kehilati (where I attend BBYO).

First, we make the sukkot. You can see how deeply our communities are taking the idea of "spending the most time possible on the sukkah” seriously (we have to eat lunch under a huge sukkah that is as cold as the Arctic). This spring in Chile is very cold.

Secondly, we decorate the sukkah. This year, my friends and I decided we wanted to use the concept “beautiful and unique” (basically, we make beautiful things, but they don't combine well), and made lots of Etrogim with paper and made an “Etrog Tree”.

Next, we get together in the sukkah. We eat in the sukkah, we pass through the sukkah on the way to the gym, and we have classes in the Sukkah. We smell the Arvat Haminim (my favorite is the Etrog, and I always come home with one) and take notes.

Finally, we say “goodbye sukkah” and go. 

But I don´t think that is a very good idea. I wish everyone would stop and think, “Do we give more value to material things than they have?” Because if you say yes, I´ll ask you another question: “What happens if we suddenly lose what we have?”

Sometimes, we think that a perfume, a phone, a ball, etc., is the most important thing in the world. How did the B’nei Israel feel when they were 40 years in the desert? They couldn’t have a normal house, and they probably felt tired all the time. Maybe we should stop and try to think about what the most important thing is. Is it a perfume? A ball? A console? A phone? No. The most important thing is our life. We can´t lose our life. Our life is the most precious gift G-d has given us. It’s a gift that we have to appreciate more than anything in the world, because we live once. We can’t live the same moment twice.

So, this Sukkot, I ask you to find the most important thing in your life and the most precious moment you had.