Treasure Trove: Just in Time for the Holiday – The Secret of the Solar Succah

Succot, which starts at sundown on Friday September 25, is referred to as Z’man Simchateinu (The Time of Our Joy).  This is because the Torah specifically commands us to rejoice on this holiday.  In the spirit of the holiday, this week Treasure Trove will focus on something that is simply fun, a comic book.

The Jewish Hero Corps is the brainchild of Alan Oirich.  He created a series of comics, starting with Issue #1, to show through the exploits of the superheroes he created that Jewish holidays are fun.  [See: https://thecjn.ca/arts-culture/treasure-trove-enjoys-some-light-summer-reading-with-the-comic-book-exploits-of-the-jewish-hero-corps/]

In issue #2 we read about “The Secret of the Solar Succah” (a succah is the temporary hut that is constructed for the holiday).  The story begins in 1955 when Professor Leonard Dubinsky discovers that an asteroid is on a collision course with earth, but it won’t arrive for 50 years.  The asteroid is full of forgetzium whose potent rays cause Jewish amnesia.

The professor developed a solar-powered force field that can stop it, but struggles to find the right shape that would work.  Seeing children build a succah gave him an idea, and miraculously the shape of a succah (two and a half walls and a roof made of branches) causes the force field to hold.  It works!

The succah shaped device is so powerful that  Dr. Dubinsky decided it should only be used when needed, in 50 years time.  The professor redesigns the four circuit pieces to be in the shape of the four species used on Succot (the lulav or palm branch, the etrog or citron, the aravot or willow, and the hadassim or myrtle).    These are then hidden and in 2008 the Jewish Hero Corps searches for the pieces before the huge space rock arrives.

Led by Menorah Man, Shabbas Queen and the Kippa Kid, the group is up to the task, fighting off villains such as The Assimilator and meeting many characters from Jewish history on the way.  Travelling from Prague to Cordoba to Philadelphia to Jerusalem, the team ultimately gets the job done, as the succah shaped force field is emitted from the torch of the Statue of Liberty and the asteroid is destroyed.  Jewish memory is preserved.  How great would it be if solving the problems of the Jewish people was this easy.

The story is alot of fun, and is perfect for the holiday of happiness.

We will return to our regularly scheduled angsting and worrying next week.  In the meantime, Hag Succot Sameach.  Have a great holiday.

For more treasures from the Herzl and Zionism Collection of David Matlow, which have appeared weekly in the Treasure Trove column in the Canadian Jewish News (www.thecjn.ca) since February 2021, see https://herzlcollection.com/treasure-trove

David Matlow recently completed the #Herzl100 where he posted 100 Herzl videos in 100 days.  You can view them individually on Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok, or see all of them here: https://herzlcollection.com/%23herzl100