Sukkot – Feast of Tabernacles

Official name: סוכות or סֻכּוֹת “Booths, Tabernacles” One of the three pilgrim festivals

Sukkot (Hebrew: סוכות or סֻכּוֹת , sukkōt, or sukkos, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Jews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.

The Festival lasts seven days. The first day is a sabbath-like yom tov when work is forbidden, followed by the intermediate Chol Hamoed and Shemini Atzeret. The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, “booth or tabernacle”, which is a walled structure covered with schach (plant material such as tree branches or bamboo shoots). The sukkah is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt.

Throughout the holiday meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many sleep there as well. On each day of the holiday, members of the household recite a blessing over the lulav and etrog (Four species). The four elements are etrog, lulav, (palm branch), hadas (avot tree branch), aravah (willows of the brook).

According to Zechariah, in the Messianic Kingdom era Sukkot will become a universal festival and all nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there. Zech.; 14

History
Sukkot is agricultural in origin. This is evident from the biblical name “The Feast of Ingathering,” from the ceremonies accompanying it, from the season – “The festival of the seventh month” – and occasion of its celebration: “At the end of the year when you gather in your labors out of the field” (Ex. 23:16); “after you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from your winepress” (Deut. 16:13). It was a thanksgiving for the fruit harvest.

Coming as it did at the completion of the harvest, Sukkot was regarded as a general thanksgiving for the bounty of nature in the year that had passed.

Sukkot became one of the most important feasts in Judaism, as indicated by its designation as “the Feast of the Lord” or simply “the Feast”.  [Perhaps because of its wide attendance, Sukkot became the appropriate time for important state ceremonies.

Moses instructed the children of Israel to gather for a reading of the Law during Sukkot every seventh year (Deut. 31:10-11).

King Solomon dedicated the Temple in Jerusalem on Sukkot (1 Kings 8; 2 Chron. 7).

Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed by Nehemiah and Ezra after the resumption of sacrifices in Jerusalem following the Babylonian captivity (Ezra 3:2-4).

In Leviticus, God told Moses to command the people: “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook” (Lev. 23:40), and “You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt” (Lev. 23:42-43).

Laws and Customs
Sukkot is a seven day holiday, with the first day celebrated as a full festival with special prayer services and holiday meals. The remaining days are known as Chol HaMoed (“festival weekdays”). The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabbah (“Great Hoshana”), referring to the tradition that worshipers in the synagogue walk around the perimeter of the sanctuary during morning services) and has a special observance of its own. Outside Israel, the first two days are celebrated as full festivals. Throughout the week of Sukkot, meals are eaten in the sukkah and Orthodox Jewish families sleep there, although the requirement is waived in case of rain. Every day, a blessing is recited over the Lulav and the Etrog. Observance of Sukkot is detailed in the Book of Nehemiah in the Bible.

Building a Sukkah
The sukkah walls can be constructed of any material (wood, canvas, aluminum siding, sheets). The walls can be freestanding or include the sides of a building or porch. The roof must be of organic material, known as s’chach, such as leafy branches, bamboo or palm fronds. It is customary to decorate the interior of the sukkah with hanging decorations, the Seven Species.

Hoshanot
On each day of the festival, worshipers walk around the synagogue carrying their Four species while reciting psalm 118:25 and special prayers known as Hoshanot. This ceremony commemorates the willow ceremony at the Temple in Jerusalem, in which willow branches were piled beside the altar with worshipers parading around the altar reciting prayers.

Ushpizin
During the holiday, some Jews recite the ushpizin prayer which symbolizes the welcoming of seven “exalted guests” into the sukkah. These ushpizin (Aramaic אושפיזין ‘guests’), represent the seven shepherds of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David. According to tradition, each night a different guest enters the sukkah followed by the other six. Each of the ushpizin has a unique lesson which teaches the parallels of the spiritual focus of the day on which they visit.

Chol HaMoed
The second through seventh days of Sukkot (third through seventh days outside Israel) are called Chol HaMoed ( חולהמועד – lit. “festival weekdays”). These days are considered by halakha to be more than regular weekdays but less than festival days. In practice, this means that all activities that are needed for the holiday—such as buying and preparing food, cleaning the house in honor of the holiday, or traveling to visit other people’s sukkot or on family outings—are permitted by Jewish law. Activities that will interfere with relaxation and enjoyment of the holiday—such as laundering, mending clothes, engaging in labor-intensive activities—are not permitted. Observant Jews typically treat Chol HaMoed as a vacation period, eating nicer than usual meals in their sukkah, entertaining guests, visiting other families in their sukkot, and taking family outings. Many synagogues and Jewish centers also offer events and meals in their sukkot during this time to foster community and goodwill.

On the Shabbat which falls during the week of Sukkot, the Book of Ecclesiastes is read during morning synagogue services in Israel. This Book’s emphasis on the ephemeralness of life (“Vanity of vanities, all is vanity…”) echoes the theme of the sukkah, while its emphasis on death reflects the time of year in which Sukkot occurs (the “autumn” of life). The second-to-last verse reinforces the message that adherence to God and His Torah is the only worthwhile pursuit.

Hakhel
In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, all Jewish men, women, and children on pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the festival would gather in the Temple courtyard on the first day of Chol HaMoed Sukkot to hear the king read selections from the Torah. This ceremony, which was mandated in Deuteronomy 31:10-13, was held every seven years, in the year following the Shmita (Sabbatical) year. This ceremony was discontinued after the destruction of the Temple, but it has been revived in Israel on a smaller scale.

Simchat Beit HaShoevah
During the Intermediate days of Sukkot, gatherings of music and dance, known as Simchat Beit HaShoeivah, take place. This commemorates the Water Libation Ceremony in which water was carried up the Jerusalem pilgrim road from the Pool of Siloam to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Hoshana Rabbah
The seventh day of Sukkot is known as Hoshana Rabbah, meaning the “Great Supplication”. This day is marked by a special service in which seven circuits are made by worshippers holding their Four species, reciting Psalm 118:25 with additional prayers. In addition, a bundle of five willow branches are beaten on the ground.

8th Day-Shemini Atzeret (solemn assembly) also known as Simchat Torah – Nehemiah 8:17 And there was very great rejoicing. 18 And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule.