Roots in the Air: Between Venice and the Classroom | Shira Peretz

An opinion column by Shira Peretz on the educational missed opportunity in schools, where due to the bridge between Yom Kippur and Sukkot, the holiday of Sukkot is pushed to the margins of teaching. The writer argues that Sukkot is an opportunity to get to know the variety of traditions and roots in Israeli society, and connects this to the artwork 'Nabatele' by Anna Kamishan, exhibited at the Venice Biennale, and to the educational project 'Seeing the Voices'.

An opinion column by Shira Peretz, as part of the 'Seeing the Voices' project of the Posen Foundation, deals with the educational missed opportunity arising from the density of the calendar between Yom Kippur and Sukkot. The writer argues that the holiday of Sukkot is pushed to the margins of teaching, despite being one of the holidays that most vividly illustrates the mosaic of Israeli society. She describes customs from different communities, such as the Chair of Elijah the Prophet in Moroccan and Tunisian communities, the central sukkah among Ethiopian Jews, and fruit decorations in Ashkenazi communities. Peretz connects this cultural movement to the work of artist Anna Kamishan, 'Nabatele', exhibited at the Venice Biennale, which presents a floating synagogue with exposed roots. The column concludes with a call to make the variety of cultural voices present in the classroom space, drawing on the power of the spirit and the movement between stability and changing reality.