Spirituality
HOLIDAY 101
Sukkot: Festival Of Booths
Elizabeth Applebaum
Special to the Jewish News
W
hat We Celebrate: Sukkot,
which, in Hebrew, means
"booths" or "huts" (sukkah is
the singular form). We are told to observe
the holiday in Leviticus 23:33 43, Numbers
29:12- 38 and Deuteronomy16: 13-15.
When It Occurs: The first day of
Sukkot is the 15th of Tishrei, which this
year falls on Tuesday, Oct. 14 (remember:
Jewish holidays begin the evening before
the day). Sukkot lasts for eight days, or
nine days outside of Israel.
What We Celebrate: Sukkot recalls
the sukkot, or temporary shelters, the
Israelites used after the exodus from
Egypt and their journey through the wil-
derness on their way to the Land of Israel.
Some scholars interpret "sukkot" to mean
protective, divine clouds that enveloped
the Jewish people on their journey.
How We Celebrate: One is supposed
to actually live for the entire holiday in a
temporary dwelling called a sukkah. Some
families do just that, and even (except in
cases of rain or very cold weather), sleep
in their sukkot. At minimum, families
should eat all their meals in a sukkah and
spend as much time as possible there.
What Is A Sukkah?: A sukkah must
consist of at least three walls and a per-
meable roof. The walls may be made of
almost any material and may be tempo-
rary or permanent.
The key feature of the sukkah is the
roof, which must be made of harvested
plant material not still connected to the
soil. This is known in Hebrew as s'chach.
The material may be dried or fresh and
can include corn stalks, tree branches,
evergreens, bamboo poles or slats, unfin-
ished wooden furring strips, vines, grass
or leaves. The material must be laid across
the top of the sukkah so that it provides
more shade than light, but not so thick
that a hard rain could not penetrate.
There is a widespread, but mistaken,
idea that one must be able to see the stars
through the s'chach.
God further commanded that we take .
"the fruit of goodly trees, branches of
palm trees and boughs of thick trees and
willows of the brook" (Leviticus 23:40)
to use to "rejoice before the Lord!' This is
known as the arba'ah minim or "four spe-
cies!' Jewish practice is to bind together a
date-palm frond with willow and myrtle
branches, which is known as the lulav,
from the Hebrew for "palm branch!' The
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October 9 • 2008
fourth element is the etrog, or citron, a
fragrant fruit that looks like a lemon.
The lulav and etrog are held together
and waved in four directions, the order
of which varies between the Ashkenazi,
Sephardi and Chassidic traditions. The
lulav and etrog also are waved during the
Hanel prayer.
The holiday service in the synagogue
includes a procession of the worshippers,
each holding an etrog and a lulav, around
the sanctuary while reciting the Hoshana
prayers, a different prayer for each day.
Ashkenazi and Sephardi rites differ as to
when in the service this is done.
Hoshanah Rabbah and Shemini
Atzeret: The seventh day of Sukkot is
Hoshanah Rabbah, a festival and a day of
judgment. According to tradition, on Rosh
Hashanah, God decided about our futures.
God sealed it on Yom Kippur — yet we
have until Hoshanah Rabbah to mend our
ways before God's judgment is final.
In the synagogue services on Hoshanah
Rabbah, worshippers make seven circuits
around the sanctuary, during which time
all of the previous days' Hoshana paryers
are said, hence the name of the holiday,
which in Hebrew means "many Hoshanas."
This last day of Sukkot is Shemini
Atzeret. Known as "the festival of conclu-
sion;' it is mentioned in Leviticus 23:36,
Deuteronomy 16:8 and Isaiah 1:13 as "a
holy convocation." Shemini Atzeret has the
distinction of being both part of Sukkot
and a separate holiday. The davening
for Shemini Atzeret is the standard holi-
day service. While no special rituals are
observed on Shemini Atzeret, the davenin
includes Yizkor and the prayer for rain,
Tefillat Geshem. ❑
The Four Species for Sukkot, Mahzor, Corfu, 17th century. The lulav is a combination
of willow and myrtle branches bound together with palm tree branches. The etrog is
a citrus fruit.
A Time-Tested Bridge
The festival of Sukkot is a biblical bridge between Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, one of the most solemn of Jewish
holidays, and the harvest season.
The eight-day festival begins on the 15th day of Tishrei – Monday night. It marks one of the happiest of our celebrations
as Jews. It's so joyous we often call it Z'man Simchateinu, the Season of Our Rejoicing. And no wonder: It's not only a
time of change, but also a season of hope.
The holiday commemorates the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the desert and lived in sukkot – temporary
shelters – following the Exodus from Egypt. Its agricultural roots date back to when Jews of ancient Israel thanked God
for the rain and sunshine that had ripened their crops.
During Sukkot, we recall the sojourns that the Israelites made from their fields to the Temple in Jerusalem. We also
recall the flimsy huts they slept in during harvest time. Today, we also reinforce our collective journey as Jews against the
ravages of terror, violence, hatred and anti-Semitism lurking worldwide.
When we sing, dance and pray this Sukkot with lulav and etrog in hand, let us harken to our ancestors who made it to
the Promised Land. But let us also realize that such joyful moments in the face of unrelenting danger underscore that
Jews are a driven and hardy people united by identity, heritage and values that we proudly pass from generation to gen-
eration. Therein percolates the beauty of Judaism. ❑
-Robert Sklar, editor