Sukkot (,
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
Shalosh regalim on which Jews and Believers make pilgrimages to pre-determined sites to worship and make fellowship in the
Temple in Jerusalem.
The Holy Week lasts seven days, including Chol Hamoed and is immediately followed by another festive day known as Shemini Atzeret. The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, "booth or tabernacle", which is a walled structure covered with flora, such as tree branches or bamboo shoots.
The sukkah is intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt.
Throughout the holiday the sukkah becomes the primary living area of one's home. All 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, or Four species.
According to Zechariah, in the messianic era Sukkot will become a universal festival and all nations will make pilgrimages annually to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast there.
Origin and ancient observance
Sukkot was 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). And Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed 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).
Rabbinic Jewish interpretations
The
Talmud, a major work of commentary in Rabbinic Judaism, expands on many of the passages that refer to Sukkot in the
Tanakh (Jewish Bible). For example, it reveals a new angle on the story of Sukkot observance in the
Book of Nehemiah. The Book of Nehemiah describes how, after the Babylonian captivity, the Israelites celebrated Sukkot by making and dwelling in booths. Nehemiah reports that “the Israelites had not done so from the days of
Joshua” (Neh. 8:13-17). However, the
Talmud (Erkhin 32b) reasons that this cannot mean that the Israelites actually abstained from building booths for over nine hundred years, since "is it possible that the righteous King David never built a booth for Sukkot?". The Talmud concludes that Nehemiah would have referred to some specific characteristic of the booths in his time, rather than the booths themselves. The
holiness that the Israelites had imparted to the land of Israel when they originally entered it with Joshua—which the land had lost once the tribes began to be exiled—was now returned to it forever by the returning exiles. (For this reason also, the laws of
Shmita and
Yovel, which are
Mitzvot that are only in effect upon
holy land, were newly reinstated by the returning exiles.)
Malbim adds that Nehemiah's observation here was exclusive to the city of
Jerusalem i.e. that Jerusalem had never been allowed to have booths built within it during the first temple era since—unlike the rest of Israel—it was not portioned exclusively to any one of the original twelve tribes of Israel, rather it was the collective possession of all the tribes. Hence, Jerusalem was until now considered a
public domain and was therefore not allowed to contain a booth, which can only be built, according to
Halacha, within a
private domain.
Laws and customs
s constructed of different kinds of materials, used during the holiday for eating, sleeping, and other daily activities.]]
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 worshippers 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 some families sleep there, although the requirement is waived in case of rain.
Chabad Hassidim do not sleep in the sukkah even in good weather . 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, the
Mishnah (Sukkah 1:1–5:8); the
Tosefta (Sukkah 1:1–4:28); and the
Jerusalem Talmud (Sukkah 1a–) and Babylonian
Talmud (
Sukkah 2a–56b).
Prayers
Prayers during Sukkot include the reading of the Torah every day, saying the
Mussaf (additional) service after morning prayers, reading the
Hallel, and adding special supplications into the
Amidah and grace after meals. In addition, the
Four Species are taken on everyday of Sukkot except for
Shabbat and are included in the
Hallel and Hoshanot portions of the prayer.
;Hoshanot
On each day of the festival, worshippers walk around the synagogue carrying their Four species while reciting psalm 118:25 and special prayers known as Hoshanot. This takes place either after the morning's Torah reading or at the end of Mussaf. 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 symbolises 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 (חול המועד - 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.
On the Shabbat which falls during the week of Sukkot (or in the event when the first day of Sukkot is on Shabbat), the Book of Ecclesiastes is read during morning synagogue services in Israel. (Diaspora communities read it the following Shabbat). 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 Jewish 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 by some groups and by the government of
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.
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
The holiday immediately following Sukkot is known as
Shemini Atzeret (lit. "Eighth [Day] of Assembly"). Shemini Atzeret is viewed as a separate holiday. In the
diaspora a second additional holiday,
Simchat Torah (lit. "Joy of the Torah") is celebrated. In the
Land of Israel, Simchat Torah is celebrated on Shemini Atzeret. On Shemini Atzeret the sukkah is left and meals are eaten inside the house. Outside of Israel, many eat in the sukkah without making the blessing. The sukkah is not used on Simchat Torah.
See also
Jewish holiday
List of harvest festivals
Harvest festival
Ushpizin (film)
Sukkah City - '' a public art and architecture competition planned for New York City's Union Square Park.
References
Further reading
(Christian)
(Christian)
External links
Jewish
General
JewFAQ discussion on Sukkot
Sukkot - Jewish Virtual Library
Sukkot 101 - My Jewish Learning
Branches of Sukkot
Sukkot on the Net
The Sukkah Project - for building your own sukkah
Torah Tots Sukkot page - for younger children
By religious movement
Sukkot page from the Orthodox Union (Orthodox Judaism)
Sukkot page from the Chabad Lubavitch movement, a branch of Chassidic Judaism
Sukkot page from the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
Sukkot page from the Union for Reform Judaism
Page on Hag Ha-Sukkot (Holiday of Sukkot) from Karaite Korner (Karaite Judaism)
Christian
The Season of our Joy Feast of Tabernacles, observed each year in the United States
Christian observances of Jewish holidays: Feast of Tabernacles
God's Holy Days: Tabernacles
God's Holy Day Plan - Hope For All Mankind
The Holy Days-God's Master Plan
Literature about the Feast of Tabernacles
List of locations to Keep the Feast of Tabernacles
Category:Autumn holidays
Category:Jewish holy days
Category:Christian festivals and holy days
Category:Church of God (Armstrong)
Category:Autumn festivals
Category:Autumn traditions
Category:Harvest festivals
Category:Judaism and environmentalism
Category:Hallel
