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Sukkot At
A Glance

Elizabeth Applebaum

Special to the Jewish News

We invite you and your family to learn about the Frankel Jewish Academy

Frankel Jewish Academy

OPEN HOUSE

Monday, October 16, 2006 • Handleman Hall

6:45 pm Registration 7:00 pm Presentation

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www.jamd.org

Frankel Jewish Academy is a co-ed college preparatory Jewish day high school

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Hours:

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October 5 2006

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W

hat We Observe:
Sukkot, which has many
names in the Tanach,
including Feast of Tabernacles, Feast
of the Ingathering, the Feast and
Feast of the Lord.
When The Holiday Occurs:
The first day of Sukkot is the 15th
of Tishrei. On the secular calendar,
Sukkot begins this year at sundown
on Friday, Oct. 6.
Why We Celebrate: Sukkot
recalls the sukkot, or booths, where
the Israelites lived after the Exodus.
Leviticus 23:39-43 tells how God
commanded the Jews to live in the
sukkot as well as to take "the fruit of
goodly trees, branches of palm trees
and boughs of thick trees and wil-
lows of the brook" to use to "rejoice
before the Lord."
How To Celebrate: The sukkah
is our home for seven days — and
nights, too, for those who actually
want to sleep there.
On Sukkot, we use the lulav and
etrog, also known as the arba'ah
tninitn, the four species. The lulav
is a date-palm frond to which are
tied branches from the willow and
myrtle trees. The Israelites, wander-
ing in the desert, used these to make
the first sukkot. The etrog, which
looks something like a fat lemon, is
the "fruit of goodly trees" mentioned
in Leviticus.
Holding the lulav and etrog
together, families stand in the suk-
kah and, according to Ashkenazic
custom, gently shake first to the east,
then the south, the west, the north
and finally up and down. (This also
is done during the Hallel prayer at
synagogue or temple services.)
In the days of the Holy Temple,
Sukkot was a pilgrimage holiday,
and Jewish families from every-
where came to Jerusalem. Long ago,
Sukkot also included Sinichat Beit
ha-Shoevah, the Water-Drawing
Festival, which featured musical
and dance presentations, often with
torches. Lasting until dawn, these
events were said to be amazing; tra-
dition recalls that whoever did not
experience one had never really seen
a festival.
Today, once'the sukkah has been
built the major activity that takes
places within is eating. All meals, and
even snacks, should be eaten in the
sukkah, except when it's raining.