Sukkot is an eight-day festival that celebrates the exodus of the Jewish people from Egypt. Traditionally, celebrating Jews eat meals in huts called “sukkot” (singular: sukkah) and shake “four species” of plants.

Three New Yorkers get to the essence of the holiday: community, education, and food.

Dvora Zomberg finds kinship in celebrating in a crowded city while Michaela Slutsky introduces the holiday to teens in her local community center. Zachary Shaked is just excited for “chag” in the sukkah he built himself.