Sukkot

This festival is sometimes referred to as Zeman Simkhateinu, the Season of our
Rejoicing. Sukkot lasts for seven days. The two days following the festival are
separate holidays, Shemini Atzeret and Simkhat Torah, but are commonly thought
of as part of Sukkot.

The significance of Sukkot is both historical and agricultural. It commemorates
the forty-year period that the children of Israel were wandering in the desert
and living in temporary shelters. Sukkot is also a harvest festival, and is
sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif, the Festival of Ingathering.

No work is permitted on the first and second days of the holiday. These
intermediate days when work is permitted are called Chol Ha-Mo'ed.

The command to dwell in temporary shelters, as our ancestors did in the
wilderness. The commandment to "dwell" in a sukkah can be fulfilled by simply
eating all of one's meals there; however, if the weather, climate, and one's health
permit, one should live in the sukkah as much as possible, including sleeping in it.

A sukkah must have at least three walls covered with a material that will not blow
away in the wind. Canvas covering tied or nailed down is acceptable and quite
common in the United States. A sukkah may be any size, so long as it is large
enough for you to fulfill the commandment of dwelling in it. The roof of the sukkah
must be made of material referred to as sekhakh (literally, covering). To fulfill
the commandment, sekhakh must be something that grew from the ground and was
cut off, such as tree branches, corn stalks, bamboo reeds, sticks, or two-by-fours.

It is common practice in the United States to decorate the sukkah with dried
squash and corn because these are readily available during the fall. Building and
decorating a sukkah can be a fun, family project.

The Pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious
people. When they were trying to find a way to express their thanks for their
survival and for the harvest, they looked to the Bible for an appropriate way of
celebrating and based their holiday in part on Sukkot.

Click for Large list of
resources for Sukkot

With the final blowing of
the Shofar, The Jewish
High Holy Days draw to a
close and the focus of the
Jewish community shifts
from the solemnness of
Yom Kippur to the jubilant
celebration of the festival
of Sukkot. Sukkoth begins
on the 15th day of the
Hebrew month of Tishrei,
which is 5 days after Yom
Kippur.

The festival of Sukkot,
also known as Chag'ha
Succot, the "Feast of
Booths" (or Tabernacles),
is named for the huts
(sukkah) that Moses and
the Israelites lived in as
they wandered the desert
for 40 years before they
reached the Promised Land.

Sukkot also involves what are known as The Four Species (arba minim in
Hebrew) or the lulav and etrog.

We are commanded to take these four plants and use them to "rejoice before
the L-rd." The four species in question are an etrog (a citrus fruit native to
Israel), a palm branch (in Hebrew, lulav), a myrtle branch (hadas) and a willow
branch (arava).

Every morning of Sukkot, except on Shabbat, it is the custom to hold the lulav
in the right hand and the etrog in the left. Bringing them together (with the
pitam, the stem of the etrog pointing downward), the following blessing is
recited:

Baruch ata Adonai Elohanu melech ha-olam
asher kedshanu b'mitsvotav vetsevanu
al netilat lulav.
Blessed are you Adonai, king of the universe
who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us
to take hold of the lulav.

The four species are also held during the Hallel prayer in religious services, and are held
during processions around the bimah (the pedestal where the Torah is read) each day
during the holiday.

These processions commemorate similar processions around the alter of the ancient
Temple in Jerusalem. The processions are known as Hoshanahs, because while the
procession is made, we recite a prayer with the refrain, "Hosha na!" (please save us!). On
the seventh day of Sukkot, seven circuits are made. For this reason, the seventh day of
Sukkot is known as Hoshanah Rabbah (the great Hoshanah).

The Prayer for the Sukkah

Feel Free to Print
the Prayers for
use at home.

Baruch ata Adonai Elohanu melech ha-olam
asher kedshanu b'mitsvotav vetsevanu
leisheiv ba-sukkah.

Blessed are you Adonai, king of the universe
who has sanctified us with your commandments and commanded us
to dwell in the sukkah.