President’s open sukkah teaches kids about healthy eating

Visitors were greeted by a juggler, who tossed around pieces of plastic fruit while quizzing children about fruits and vegetables and encouraging them to be more aware of their nutritional value.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
President Reuven Rivlin meets with the public, September 27, 2018 (photo credit: SHMULIK SOLOMON/GPO)
President Reuven Rivlin meets with the public, September 27, 2018
(photo credit: SHMULIK SOLOMON/GPO)
President Reuven Rivlin opened his sukkah to the public at large on Thursday, an event that focused on promoting healthy eating.
Visitors were greeted just inside the gate to the President’s Residence by a juggler, who tossed around pieces of plastic fruit while quizzing children about fruits and vegetables and encouraging them to be more aware of their nutritional value.
The event also held booths that a567935dvertised the benefits of fruit drinks and had touch screens that quizzed the children on health-related issues. The children were also taught how to make organic pizza.
On the patio of the residence, there were exercise bikes known as “shake bikes” because they had a blender attached that blended a smoothie when pedaled. There were also free fruit drinks on nearby counters.
On the lawns, some people lounged on colored bean bags as they listened to music Israeli pop songs. People of all ages danced a spontaneous and informal conga around the lawn.
The sukkah itself, however, paled in comparison to previous years, when it had been beautifully decorated with creative arrangements of fruits, vegetables, flowers and paper chains. Instead, this year there was a small basket of citrus fruits and pomegranates.
The rest of the decor consisted of large cardboard hamsas mostly in various pastel colors, printed with health related slogans such us “Take care of your teeth,” “It’s possible to be healthy,” “Your health is in your hands,” and “One sandwich suffices for a long period.”
There were also hamsas with long explanations of the nutritional properties of wheat, olives, dates, grapes, figs and citrus fruits.
Rivlin’s speech also stressed the importance of health, telling the children that paying attention to their physical well-being enables everyone to live a better life and urging the audience to refrain from using their cell phones and computers during Sukkot, but to go out and explore the beauty of nature, which he said is so abundant in Israel.