Sukkot
This is about the Jewish festival including the temporary buildings used during it; for the part of the Talmud whose name is the singular of Sukkot
, see Sukkah.Sukkot (סוכות or סֻכּוֹת
sukkōt, booths) or
Succoth or
Sukkos is a Biblical pilgrimage
festival which occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishri (mid- to late-October). The holiday is also known as the
Feast of Booths, the
Feast of Tabernacles,
Tabernacles, or the
Feast of Ingathering. In
Judaism it is one of the three major
holidays known as the
Shloshet ha-Regalim, when the Jewish populace travelled to the
Temple in Jerusalem.
The word
Sukkot is the plural of the
Hebrew word
sukkah, meaning booth or hut. During this holiday, Jews eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep in a
sukkah, a temporary structure (see below). The
sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient
Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the
Exodus from Egypt, and reflects God's benevolence in providing for all their needs in the desert.
In Israel (and among Reform Jews), Sukkot is a 7-day holiday, with the first day celebrated as a full festival with special prayer services and holiday meals. Outside the land of Israel, the first two days are celebrated as full festivals. The remaining days are known as
Chol HaMoed (festival weekdays). The seventh day of Sukkot is called
Hoshanah Rabbah and has a special observance of its own.
The day immediately following Sukkot is a separate holiday known as
Shemini Atzeret, "the Eighth (Day) of Assembly." In Israel, the celebration of Shemini Atzeret includes
Simchat Torah. Outside the land of Israel, Shemini Atzeret is celebrated on the day after Sukkot and Simchat Torah is celebrated on the day after that, bringing the total days of festivities to eight in Israel and nine outside Israel.
The sukkah
The central symbol of Sukkot is the
sukkah, a temporary dwelling place. According to the Torah, men and boys over the age of
bar mitzvah are required by the Torah to
lesheiv (לישב, meaning to "sit" or "dwell") in a
sukkah during the entire 7-day holiday. (Women and girls are exempt from this
mitzvah, although if they would like to eat or sleep in a
sukkah, they are certainly allowed to. They will also pronounce the special blessing before eating bread or cake in a
sukkah:
"Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, Who sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah.") In
Conservative Judaism, the
mitzvah to
lesheiv is incumbent on all Jews over the age of
b'nai mitzvah, both male and female.
According to
Halakha, a
sukkah is a structure consisting of 2 1/2, 3, or 4 walls with a roof made of an
organic material which has been disconnected from the ground (the
s'chach). It should be at least three feet tall, and be positioned so that all or part of its roof is open to the sky (only the part which is under the sky is
kosher.) A
sukkah can be built on the ground or on an open porch or balcony. Portable
sukkahs are available for those who have little space, or for those who are travelling (in order to have a place to eat one's meals).
|
A sukkah on an apartment balcony in Jerusalem |
In practice, the walls of a
sukkah can be built from anything ranging from wood to canvas to
aluminium, and the roof material can range from pine branches to
palm fronds to
bamboo. The walls may also be part of a house or fence. The specific details of what constitutes a wall, how short/tall a wall can be, whether there can be spaces between the walls and the roof, and the exact material required for the
s'chach can be found in various exegetical texts.
S'chach is the Hebrew name for the material used as a roof for a sukkah.
S'chach has to have grown from the ground, but then must be disconnected from it.
Palm leaves,
bamboo sticks and
pine branches and even wood as well as many other types of
organic material could all be used for
s'chach unless they were processed for a different use.
|
Interior of a modern sukkah, with decorations hanging from the roof and walls |
Many people hang decorations such as dried or plastic fruit, streamers, shiny ornaments, and pictures from the interior walls and ceiling beams of a
sukkah. Families may also line the interior walls with white sheeting, in order to recall the "Clouds of Glory" that surrounded the Jewish nation during their wanderings in the desert.
In Israel and in temperate climates,
Orthodox Jews will conduct all their eating, studying, and sleeping activities in the
sukkah. Many Jews will not eat anything except water or fruit outside the
sukkah. In Israel, it is common practice for hotels, restaurants, snack shops, and outdoor tourist attractions (such as the zoo) to provide an eating
sukkah for their guests. On the directive of their
rebbe,
Lubavitcher Hasidim differ from other Orthodox Jews in that they don't sleep in the
sukkah due to its intrinsic holiness.
In cold climates such as the
Eastern United States,
Canada, and the
United Kingdom, full observance of the
mitzvah of sleeping in the
sukkah is almost impossible. Jews in these locales will spend some time in the
sukkah eating and relaxing but go indoors to sleep. Though one need not eat or sleep in the
sukkah if it is raining,
Lubavitcher Hasidim will still eat there.
Although the festival of Sukkot is a joyous occasion, and is referred to in Hebrew as
Yom Simchateinu (the day of our rejoicing) or
Z'man Simchateinu, (the season of our rejoicing), the
sukkah itself symbolises the frailty and transience of life. It also reminds its dwellers that true security comes from faith in God, rather than from money or possessions.
Ushpizzin
Many Jews observe the custom of inviting seven spiritual "guests" (known as
ushpizzin) to be with them in their
sukkah. These
ushpizzin are the seven "shepherds" of Israel. They are:
*
Abraham*
Isaac*
Jacob*
Joseph (the three
Patriarchs and Jacob's most famous son)
*
Moses (the most important Hebrew prophet)
*
Aaron (Moses's brother, the first
Kohen Gadol, or High Priest)
*
David (the most important
king of Israel)
According to tradition, each night a different guest enters the
sukkah first and the other six follow him. The custom of inviting guests to the
sukkah also includes living guests; many people invite family, friends, neighbours, or people who are alone to join them for a snack or a meal. These guests may be Jews or
gentiles.
The Four Species
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The Tosher Rebbe of Montreal, Canada waving the Four Species during Hallel |
On each of the seven days of Sukkot, the Torah requires the Jew to take
Four Species of plants and to wave them in a specific pattern. These species are: the
lulav (
date palm frond),
hadass (bough of a
myrtle tree), and
aravah (
willow branch)—which are bound together and collectively referred to as the
lulav—and the
etrog (a
citron, a lemon-like citrus fruit). These plants are usually sold in religious communities during the days preceding the festival. However, in some Reform communities where these plants are not available locally, other plants such as
reeds are substituted for one or more of the four species.
The Four Species are waved as follows: The first three species are held in the right hand, while the
etrog is held in the left hand. The user holds his or her hands apart while saying the special blessing,
"Blessed are You, God our Lord, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to take the lulav". Then the user brings his or her hands together so that the
etrog touches the
lulav bundle, and points and gently shakes the Four Species three times in each of the four directions, as well as up and down. Symbolically, this ceremony is a prayer for adequate rainfall for all the vegetation of the earth in the coming year.
In
Orthodox circles, the
mitzvah of waving the
lulav and
etrog is mandatory each day of Sukkot (except
Shabbat) for men and boys over the age of
bar mitzvah. Women are not obligated to wave the
lulav and
etrog, but they may do so if they choose. In
Conservative and
Reform circles, all Jews over the age of
b'nai mitzvah perform the waving ceremony.
The waving ceremony is usually done in the
synagogue during the daily prayer services, although it can also be done in the privacy of one's home or
sukkah. During the first six days of Sukkot, all the worshippers in the synagogue leave their seats and make a complete circuit around the sanctuary in a procession with their
lulavs. The
lulav and
etrog are shaken during the recital of
Hallel. On the seventh day of the holiday, known as
Hoshanah Rabbah, the worshippers make seven circuits around the sanctuary.
The
mitzvah derives from the commandment in the Book of
Leviticus: "And you shall take for yourself on the first day the fruit of goodly (meaning of Hebrew uncertain, but modern Hebrew "citrus") trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook" (Lev. 23:40). The use to which these species are to be put is not indicated; this gave rise to divergent interpretations at a later time. Two breakaway sects, the
Sadducees and the
Karaites, maintained that they were meant for building the
sukkah, as would appear from Neh. 8:14-18, while their opponents contended that they were to be carried in the synagogue procession.
Chol HaMo'ed
The second through seventh days of Sukkot (third through seventh days outside the land of Israel) are called
Chol HaMo'ed (חול "מוע" - 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
sukkahs or on family outings—are permitted by Jewish law. Activities that will interfere with relaxation and enjoyment of the holiday—such as laundering, ironing and mending clothes, engaging in labor-intensive activities, or performing business activities—are not permitted.
Orthodox Jews typically treat
Chol HaMo'ed as a vacation period, eating nicer than usual meals in their
sukkah, entertaining guests, visiting other families in their
sukkahs, and taking family outings. Nightly
Simchat Beit HaShoeivah celebrations round out the holiday schedule.
On the
Shabbat which falls during the week of Sukkot (whether it falls on the first day of the holiday or during
Chol HaMo'ed), the
Book of Ecclesiastes is read during morning
synagogue services. This Book's emphasis on the ephermeralness 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.
Hoshanot
In the synagogue, each day of Sukkot, the worshippers parade around the synagogue carrying their
lulavim and
etrogim and reciting Psalm 117:25 (
Ana HaShem, hoshia nah..", "We beseech you, O L-rd, save us..." followed by special prayers.)
This ceremony commemorates the Aravah'' (willow) ceremony in the days of the
Temple in Jerusalem, in which willow branches were piled beside the alter, with their tops branching over it, while worshipers paraded around the altar reciting the same verse.
Simchat Beit HaShoeivah
In the days of the
Temple in Jerusalem, a unique service was performed every morning throughout the Sukkot holiday: the
Nisuch HaMayim (נסוך "מים—lit. "pouring of the water") or Water Libation Ceremony. According to the
Talmud, Sukkot is the time of year in which God judges the world for rainfall; therefore this ceremony, like the taking of the
Four Species, invokes God's blessing for rain in its proper time. The water for the libation ceremony was drawn from the pool of
Shiloah in the
City of David, and the joy that accompanied this procedure was palpable. (This is the source for the verse in Isaiah: "And you shall draw waters with joy from the wells of salvation" (Isa. 12:3).
Afterwards, every night in the outer Temple courtyard, tens of thousands of spectators would gather to watch the
Simchat Beit HaShoeivah (Rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing), as the most pious members of the community danced and sang songs of praise to God. The dancers would carry lighted torches, and were accompanied by the harps, lyres, cymbals and trumpets of the Levites. According to the
Mishnah tractate Sukkah, "He who has not seen the rejoicing at the Place of the Water-Drawing has never seen rejoicing in his life." Throughout Sukkot, the city of Jerusalem teemed with Jewish families who came on the holiday pilgrimage and joined together for feasting and
Torah study. A
mechitza (partition separating men and women) was erected for this occasion.
Nowadays, this event is recalled via a
Simchat Beit HaShoeivah gathering of music, dance, and refreshments. This event takes place in a central location such as a
synagogue,
yeshiva, or place of study. Refreshments are served in the adjoining
sukkah. Live bands often accompany the dancers. The festivities usually begin late in the evening, and can last long into the night.
Hoshanah Rabbah
The seventh day of Sukkot is known as
Hoshanah Rabbah ("ושענא רבא, Great Supplication). This day is marked by a special
synagogue service, the
Hoshanah Rabbah (Great Hoshanah), in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their
lulav and
etrog, while the congregation recites Psalm 117:25 and additional prayers. It is customary in some communities for all the scrolls of the Torah to be removed from the ark and lead this procession. In addition, a bundle of five
aravah branches is taken and beaten against the ground, accompanied by a series of liturgical verses ending with,
"Kol mevasser, mevasser ve-omer" (A voice brings news, brings news and says)—expressing hope for the speedy coming of the
Messiah. The reasons for the latter custom are rooted in
Kabbalah.
Abudarham speaks of the custom of reading the Torah on the night of Hoshanah Rabbah, out of which has grown the modern custom of meeting socially on that night and reading from
Deuteronomy,
Psalms, and passages from the
Zohar; reciting
Kabbalistic prayers; and eating refreshments. In
Orthodox Jewish circles, men will stay up all night learning
Torah.
Among
Sephardic Jews, prayers known as
"Selihot" (forgiveness) are recited before the regular morning service (these are the same prayers recited before
Rosh Hashanah). In Amsterdam and in a few places in England, America, and elsewhere, the
shofar is also sounded in connection with the processions. The latter practice reflects the idea that Hoshanah Rabbah is the end of the high holiday season, when the world is judged for the coming year.
The holiday of Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת - lit. "the Eighth [day] of Assembly") is a separate festival that follows immediately after Sukkot, on the eighth day (eighth and ninth days outside the land of Israel). The family returns indoors to eat and sleep in their house, special synagogue services are held, and holiday meals are served.
In Israel, Shemini Atzeret lasts for one day and the festivities of Simchat Torah (שמחת תור") coincide with it. Outside of Israel, Shemini Atzeret lasts for two days and the festivities of Simchat Torah fall on the second day. Simchat Torah (lit. "the joy of the Torah") is an especially happy day on which the very last portion of the
Torah is read in the synagogue during morning services and, in order to convey the idea that Torah study never ends, the very first portion of the Torah (the beginning of
Genesis) is read immediately after. All the men and boys over the age of
bar mitzvah are called up to the Torah for an
aliyah, and all the children under the age of bar mitzvah are also given an
"aliyah" called
Kol HaNa'arim (all the children)—the youngsters crowd around the reader's table while men hold up a large
tallit to include them all in the
aliyah.
Both during the night service and the morning service in Orthodox synagogues, all the Torah scrolls are removed from the ark and all the worshippers engage in rounds of spirited dancing. Seven official circuits around the reader's table (called
"hakafot") are made, although the dancing can go on for hours.
In the Former
Soviet Union, Simchat Torah was the day on which Jews gathered in the street outside the synagogue to dance and proclaim their Jewishness openly.
Refuseniks were often inspired by that Simchat Torah celebration to pursue other Jewish religious practices in secret, despite
Communist oppression.
In the Hebrew Bible, Sukkot is called:
*"The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths)" (
Lev. 23:34;
Deut. 16:13, 16; 31:10;
Zech. 14:16, 18, 19;
Ezra 3:4;
2 Chron. 8:13)
*"The Feast of Ingathering" (
Ex. 23:16, 34:22)
*"The Feast" or "the festival" (
1 Kings 8:2, 65; 12:32; 2 Chron. 5:3; 7:8)
*"The Feast of the Lord" (Lev. 23:39;
Judges 21:19)
*"The festival of the seventh month" (
Ezek. 45:25;
Neh. 8:14)
*"A holy convocation" or "a sacred occasion" (
Num. 29:12)
In later Hebrew literature it is called
"chag," or "[the] festival."
Sukkot was agricultural in origin. This is evident from the name "The Feast of Ingathering," from the ceremonies accompanying it, and from the season 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 (compare Judges 9:27). And in what may explain the festival's name,
Isaiah reports that grape harvesters kept booths in their
vineyards (
Isa. 1:8). 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" (Lev. 23:39; Judges 21:19) or simply "the Feast" (1 Kings 8:2, 65; 12:32; 2 Chron. 5:3; 7:8). 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). And Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed after the resumption of sacrifices in Jerusalem after the
Babylonian captivity (Ezra 3:2-4).
In the time of
Nehemiah, after the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites celebrated Sukkot by making and dwelling in booths, a practice of which Nehemiah reports: "the Israelites had not done so from the days of
Joshua" (Neh. 8:13-17). In a practice related to that of the
Four Species, Nehemiah also reports that the Israelites found in the Law the commandment that they "go out to the mountains and bring leafy branches of
olive trees,
pine trees,
myrtles,
palms and [other] leafy trees to make booths" (Neh. 8:14-15). 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).
Numbers, however, indicates that while in the wilderness, the Israelites dwelt in tents (Num. 11:10; 16:27). Some scholars consider Leviticus 23:39-43 (the commandments regarding booths and the four species) to be an insertion by a late
redactor. (E.g.,
Richard Elliott Friedman.
The Bible with Sources Revealed, 228-29. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2003.)
Jeroboam son of Nebat, King of the northern
Kingdom of Israel, whom
Kings describes as practicing "his evil way" (1 Kings 13:33), celebrated a festival on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, one month after Sukkot, "in imitation of the festival in
Judah" (1 Kings 12:32-33). "While Jeroboam was standing on the
altar to present the offering, the man of God, at the command of the Lord, cried out against the altar" in disapproval (1 Kings 13:1).
According to
Zechariah (Zech. 14:16-19), Sukkot in the messianic era will become a universal festival, and all the surrounding nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there. (A modern interpretation of this resulted in a recent holiday celebrated in Jerusalem by non-Jews, "The Feast of Tabernacles".) Sukkot is here associated with the granting of rain, an idea further developed in later Jewish literature.
Observance of Sukkot is detailed in
Mishnah and
Talmud tractate Sukkah, part of the order
Moed (Festivals).
The name
Sukkot appears in a number of places in the Hebrew Bible as a location:
*It is the first encampment of the Israelites after leaving
Ra'amses (Exodus 12:37); the civil name of
Pithom.
*It is a city east of the Jordan river, identified with Tel Dar'ala, a high mound, a mass of debris, in the plain north of
Jabbok and about one mile from it (Josh. 13:27). This is where
Jacob, on his return from
Padan-aram after his interview with Esau, built a house for himself and made
sukkot (booths) for his cattle (Gen 32:17, 30; 33:17).
*The princes of Succoth (Sukkot) refused to afford help to
Gideon and his men when they followed one of the bands of the fugitive Midianites after the great victory at Gilboa. After routing this band, Gideon on his return visited the rulers of the city with severe punishment. "He took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth" (Judg. 8:13-16).
*At this place were erected the foundries for casting the metal-work for the temple (1 Kings 7:46).These last three locations may be identical.
*
Jewish holidays*
Jewish holidays 2000-2050*
Four Species*
The Guests, (
Ha-Ushpizin), a
2004 film directed by
Giddi Dar about an
hasidic couple's adventures during Sukkot.
*
Feast of Tabernacles, Christian*Kitov, Eliyahu (1978).
The Book of Our Heritage. Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 0-87306-152-7.
*
Guide for Sukkos*
JewFaq discussion on Sukkot*
Sukkos and Simchas Torah - Torah.org*
an overview of the laws of Sukkot from Torah.org, based on the
Mishneh Torah *
Sukkot in Jerusalem*
Free succah construction plans and instructions
