Sukkot
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...On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival
of Sukkot, seven days for the L-RD. -Leviticus 23:34
The Festival of Sukkot begins on Tishri 15,
the fifth day after Yom Kippur. It is quite
a drastic transition, from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to
one of the most joyous. Sukkot is so unreservedly joyful that it is commonly
referred to in Jewish prayer and literature as Z'man Simchateinu
 ,
the Season of our Rejoicing.
Sukkot is the last of the Shalosh R'galim
(three pilgrimage festivals). Like Passover
and Shavu'ot, Sukkot has a dual significance:
historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year
period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert,
living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival
and is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif
 ,
the Festival of Ingathering.
The word "Sukkot" means "booths," and refers to the temporary dwellings that
we are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of the period of
wandering. The Hebrew pronunciation of Sukkot is "Sue COAT," but is often
pronounced as in Yiddish, to rhyme with "BOOK
us." The name of the holiday is frequently translated "Feast of Tabernacles,"
which, like many translations of Jewish terms, isn't very useful. This
translation is particularly misleading, because the word "tabernacle" in
the Bible refers to the portable Sanctuary in the desert, a precursor to
the Temple, called in Hebrew "mishkan." The
Hebrew word "sukkah" (plural: "sukkot") refers to the temporary booths that
people lived in, not to the Tabernacle.
Sukkot lasts for seven days. The two days following the festival,
Shemini Atzeret and
Simchat Torah, are separate holidays but are
related to Sukkot and are commonly thought of as part of Sukkot.
The festival of Sukkot is instituted in Leviticus 23:33 et seq. No
work is permitted on the first and second days
of the holiday. (See Extra Day
of Holidays for an explanation of why the Bible says one day but we observe
two). Work is permitted on the remaining days. These intermediate days on
which work is permitted are referred to as Chol Ha-Mo'ed, as are the intermediate
days of Passover.
You will dwell in booths for seven days; all natives of
Israel shall dwell in booths. -Leviticus 23:42
In honor of the holiday's historical significance, we are commanded to dwell
in temporary shelters, as our ancestors did in the wilderness. The temporary
shelter is referred to as a sukkah (which is the singular form of the plural
word "sukkot"). Like the word sukkot, it can be pronounced like Sue-KAH,
or to rhyme with Book-a.
The sukkah is great fun for the children. Building the sukkah each year satisfies
the common childhood fantasy of building a fort, and dwelling in the sukkah
satisfies a child's desire to camp out in the backyard. 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
spend as much time in the sukkah as possible, including sleeping in it.
 A
sukkah must have at least two and a half walls covered with a material that
will not blow away in the wind. Why two and a half walls? Look at the letters
in the word "sukkah" (see the graphic in the heading): one letter has four
sides, one has three sides and one has two and a half sides. The "walls"
of the sukkah do not have to be solid; 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. Sekhakh must
be left loose, not tied together or tied down. Sekhakh must be placed sparsely
enough that rain can get in, and preferably sparsely enough that the stars
can be seen, but not so sparsely that more than ten inches is open at any
point or that there is more light than shade. The sekhakh must be put on
last. Note: You may put a water-proof cover over the top of the sukkah when
it is raining to protect the contents of the sukkah, but you cannot use it
as a sukkah while it is covered and you must remove the cover to fulfill
the mitzvah of dwelling in a sukkah.
You can buy do-it-yourself sukkah from various sources online, or you can
build your own. I built my own with four 4x4 poles and four 2x4 boards, bolted
together and secured by smaller pieces of 2x4 board. My walls are made from
canvas painter's drop cloth, attached to the frame by D-rings and curtain
hooks. It can be assembled or disassembled in less than two hours by two
people.
It is common practice, and highly commendable, to decorate the sukkah. In
the northeastern United States, Jews commonly hang dried squash and corn
in the sukkah to decorate it, because these vegetables are readily available
at that time for the American holidays of Halloween and Thanksgiving. Many
families hang artwork drawn by the children on the walls. Building and decorating
a sukkah is a fun family project, much like decorating the Christmas tree
is for Christians. It is a sad commentary on modern American Judaism that
most of the assimilated Jews who complain about being deprived of the fun
of having and decorating a Christmas tree have never even heard of Sukkot.
Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time, remark
on how much the sukkah (and the holiday generally) reminds them of Thanksgiving.
This may not be entirely coincidental: I was taught that our American pilgrims,
who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, borrowed the idea from Sukkot. The
pilgrims 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 found Sukkot. This
is not the standard story taught in public schools today (that a Thanksgiving
holiday is an English custom that the Pilgrims brought over), but the Sukkot
explanation of Thanksgiving fits better with the meticulous research of Mayflower
historian Caleb Johnson, who believes that the original Thanksgiving was
a harvest festival (as is Sukkot), that it was observed in October (as Sukkot
usually is), and that Pilgrims would not have celebrated a holiday that was
not in the Bible (but Sukkot is in the Bible). Although Mr. Johnson claims
that the first Thanksgiving was "not a religious holiday or observance,"
he apparently means this in a Christian sense, because he goes on to say
that the first Thanksgiving was instead "a harvest festival that included
feasts, sporting events, and other activities," concepts very much in keeping
with the Jewish religious observance of Sukkot. See
Religious
Beliefs of the Pilgrims and
Debunking
a Popular Internet Lesson Plan.
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On the first day, you will take for yourselves a fruit
of a beautiful tree, palm branches, twigs of a braided tree and brook willows,
and you will rejoice before the L-RD your G-d for seven days.
-Leviticus 23:40
 Another observance during Sukkot 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 similar
to a lemon native to Israel; in English it
is called a citron), a palm branch (in Hebrew, lulav), two willow branches
(aravot) and three myrtle branches (hadassim). The six branches are bound
together and referred to collectively as the lulav, because the palm branch
is by far the largest part. The etrog is held separately. With these four
species in hand, one recites a blessing
and waves the species in all six directions (east, south, west, north, up
and down), symbolizing the fact that G-d is
everywhere. Detailed instructions for this ritual can be found under
Sukkot Blessings.
 The
four species are also held and waved during the
Hallel prayer in religious services, and are
held during processions around the bimah (the pedestal where the Torah is
read) called hakafot each day during the holiday. These processions commemorate
similar processions around the altar of the ancient
Temple in Jerusalem. This part of the service
is known as Hoshanot, 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).
After the circuits on Hoshanah Rabbah, we beat the willow branches against
the floor five times, shaking loose some or all of the remaining leaves.
A number of explanations are offered for this unusual beating practice, but
the primary reason seems to be agricultural: the rainy season in Israel begins
in the fall, and the leaves falling from the willow branch symbolize our
desire for beneficial rainfall. The following day
(Shemini Atzeret), we begin adding a line
about rain to the thrice-daily Shemoneh Esrei
prayer.
Why are these four plants used instead of other plants? There are two primary
explanations of the symbolic significance of these plants: that they represent
different parts of the body, or that they represent different kinds of Jews.
According to the first interpretation, the long straight palm branch represents
the spine. The myrtle leaf, which is a small oval, represents the eye. The
willow leaf, a long oval, represents the mouth, and the etrog fruit represents
the heart. All of these parts have the potential to be used for sin, but
should join together in the performance of
mitzvot (commandments).
According to the second interpretation, the etrog, which has both a pleasing
taste and a pleasing scent, represents Jews who have achieved both knowledge
of Torah and performance of mitzvot. The palm
branch, which produces tasty fruit, but has no scent, represents Jews who
have knowledge of Torah but are lacking in mitzvot. The myrtle leaf, which
has a strong scent but no taste, represents Jews who perform mitzvot but
have little knowledge of Torah. The willow, which has neither taste nor scent,
represents Jews who have no knowledge of Torah and do not perform the mitzvot.
We bring all four of these species together on Sukkot to remind us that every
one of these four kinds of Jews is important, and that we must all be united.
Sukkot will occur on the following days of the Gregorian calendar:
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Jewish Year 5768: sunset September 26, 2007 - nightfall October 3, 2007
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Jewish Year 5769: sunset October 13, 2008 - nightfall October 20, 2008
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Jewish Year 5770: sunset October 2, 2009 - nightfall October 9, 2009
-
Jewish Year 5771: sunset September 22, 2010 - nightfall September 29, 2010
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Jewish Year 5772: sunset October 12, 2011 - nightfall October 19, 2011
For additional holiday dates, see
Links to Jewish Calendars.
© Copyright 5756-5767 (1995-2007), Tracey
R Rich
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