After the somber Rosh Hashana/Yom Kippur period, most people look forward to Sukkos with happiness. But for patients confined in hospitals, Sukkos is just another reminder of the dreary turn their lives have taken.

At Yad Ephraim, we refuse to let patients approach the Sukkos holiday with anything but joy. Our volunteers erect a sukkah on the hospital’s premises. We keep a set of arba minim in the sukkah throughout the yom tov, available to all patients and their guests. But that’s not enough for us. The sukkah and arba minim are necessities; we want to give the patients some extras.



Every Sukkos, we organize a wonderful simchas beis hashoeiva, where volunteers come to sing, dance and entertain the patients in all kinds of amusing ways. On Simchas Torah, our volunteers go from room to room with a sefer Torah, so that bed-bound patients can be part of the yom tov. Over the years, we’ve had the pleasure of watching the moods of patients undergo complete transformations: gloomy and dejected changed to delighted and cheerful. And that’s what holidays should be about.

Of course, our standard food program continues throughout Sukkos, too. All yom tov meals are prepared beautifully, and our volunteers bring them to patients every day. During Sukkos, we have volunteers checking in on patients at all hours of the day, in case they have specific requests we can help them with.

The Sukkos Program is an amazing means of easing the physical and emotional aches of hospitalized people, during what’s meant to be a joyous time. For all of us at Yad Ephraim, it gives us the opportunity to lift the spirits of so many. Become a part of it. Click here to offer your support.