Sukkot is a weeklong celebration of the harvest in early fall. It is celebrated by the building of temporary booths — that is, sukkot — outside homes in which people eat their meals and sometimes even sleep. The booths are reminders of the transience of life and the sheltering presence of God.
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Echoes of the Exodus TANAKH
Echoes of the Exodus
TANAKH
What is the connection between the rituals of Sukkot and the Israelites' journey in the wilderness? Leviticus outlines these rituals, tying them to the Israelites' exodus from Egypt and their reliance on God's protection.
Celebrating Sukkot After the ExileTANAKH
Celebrating Sukkot After the Exile
TANAKH
Upon returning from the Babylonian exile, the Jews read from the Torah and learned that the children of Israel dwelled in booths in the holiday of the seventh month, namely Sukkot. The book of Nehemiah describes how the returnees built their booths — their sukkot — that year, somewhat differently than is our practice today.
A Harvest Festival Without a Harvest COMMENTARY
A Harvest Festival Without a Harvest
COMMENTARY
Sukkot is the festival of the ingathering of the harvest, a kind of thanksgiving, observed even in the seventh year (shemitah), when there is no harvest. Naphtali Zevi Yehudah Berlin, also known as the Netziv, explores the deeper spiritual and historical significance of Sukkot — even in years without a harvest.
Circling Towards Salvation on SukkotHALAKHAH
Circling Towards Salvation on Sukkot
HALAKHAH
The rituals of Sukkot are deeply symbolic, reflecting our prayers and hopes for salvation and success. Rambam, a renowned twelfth-century Jewish legal scholar and philosopher, explains the Temple origins of circling around the synagogue with lulavim (palm fronds) in hand on Sukkot.
Deliver and Bless Your PeopleLITURGY
Deliver and Bless Your People
LITURGY
Circling around the synagogue in a procession calling out for divine salvation while holding the four species (hoshanot) is a unique element of the Sukkot morning prayer service. Each circuit is accompanied by its own liturgical poem, and the following passage is recited daily upon completion of the circuits.
The Day One’s Fate is Really SealedHALAKHAH
The Day One’s Fate is Really Sealed
HALAKHAH
Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, is a day filled with unique customs, prayers, and rituals. In his fourteenth-century work, Rabbi David Abudarham provides a detailed account of the special prayers, the circling of the ark seven times, and the significance of this day as the actual sealing of the request for life made on Yom Kippur.
The Original Sukkot TALMUD
The Original Sukkot
TALMUD
What were the original sukkot, divine clouds of protection or physical structures? That is the question at the heart of the rabbinic debate in the Babylonian Talmud in tractate Sukkah.
The Time of Our Rejoicing CHASIDUT
The Time of Our Rejoicing
CHASIDUT
The Torah describes Jacob as journeying toward Sukkot, but does the Torah mean a place or the holiday? Tzvi Elimelech Spira of Dinov, a nineteenth-century Chasidic rabbi, takes up this question and teaches us more about the transience of the world and everything in it, much like the temporary dwellings, our sukkot.
Definition of a Sukkah MISHNAH
Definition of a Sukkah
MISHNAH
While the Torah commands us to dwell in sukkot, it does not define what they are. The first mishnah in tractate Sukkah, an early rabbinic legal text, begins to clarify what qualifies as a kosher sukkah in order that one may fulfill this mitzvah.
The Four SpeciesTALMUD
The Four Species
TALMUD
The Torah directs us to take four different species of plants on this holiday but omits further specifics like which ones exactly and what to do with them. The Jerusalem Talmud in tractate Sukkah takes up the question of which species of plants and how many of each the Torah intends.
Sukkah DecorationsTALMUD
Sukkah Decorations
TALMUD
It is traditional to beautify the mitzvah (commandment) of building a sukkah (temporary booth) by decorating it. The Babylonian Talmud in tractate Shabbat debates whether one may make use of an object that is being used to decorate a sukkah or if one is required to leave it alone for the duration of the holiday.
Share the JoyMUSAR
Share the Joy
MUSAR
The Torah commands us to rejoice on Sukkot, but what about the less fortunate in our midst? In Rabbi Isaiah HaLevi Horovitz’s seventeenth-century work, the Shenei Luchot HaBerit, he explores the concept of joy during Sukkot, emphasizing the importance of extending this joy to the less fortunate.
To Dwell in SukkotHALAKHAH
To Dwell in Sukkot
HALAKHAH
The Torah commands one to dwell in sukkot for the seven days of the holiday. Rambam, the well-known 12th-century legal scholar and philosopher, explains in more detail how specific practices and rituals transform the temporary sukkah into a permanent home on Sukkot.
The Water LibationMISHNAH
The Water Libation
MISHNAH
According to tradition, Sukkot was when God decided whether Israel would be blessed with a rainy winter, and so an elaborate ritual of water drawing and libation developed and was performed on each night of Sukkot in the Temple. The Mishnah, the first codification of Jewish law, from the early third-century land of Israel, describes how the ritual was performed.
Special GuestsKABBALAH
Special Guests
KABBALAH
It is traditional to invite seven biblical figures as special “guests” (ushpizin) to join us in the sukkah — one for each day of the festival. The Zohar explains that we should rejoice with these guests on the holiday.
Why We Read EcclesiastesJEWISH THOUGHT
Why We Read Ecclesiastes
JEWISH THOUGHT
Many communities have the tradition of reading the book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) on Shabbat during Sukkot. Samson Raphael Hirsch, a leading 19th-century German rabbi, explains why Kohelet, which explores the vanity of human endeavors, is read on this holiday.
Seeing JoyTALMUD
Seeing Joy
TALMUD
One who did not witness the ritual of the drawing of water in the Temple on Sukkot has never in their life seen joy. This mishnah cited in the Babylonian Talmud offers such a detailed description of the water drawing that one can almost see it.
Sukkah-in-a-BoxHALAKHAH
Sukkah-in-a-Box
HALAKHAH
In recent years, sukkah kits have become more and more popular, but many use fabric walls, the permissibility of which earlier authorities would have questioned. Contemporary Rabbi Eliezer Melamed explains why these fabric walls are allowed in light of legal precedent on the question.
When Should We Begin to Pray for Rain? MISHNAH
When Should We Begin to Pray for Rain?
MISHNAH
Sukkot marks the end of the harvest and the beginning of the rainy season in Israel. The ancient rabbis of the Mishnah in tractate Taanit debate when to begin reciting the prayers for rain, at the beginning of Sukkot or at the end, in hopes of not getting rained out of their sukkot.
Like the Festival of SukkotSECOND TEMPLE
Like the Festival of Sukkot
SECOND TEMPLE
What do Sukkot and Chanukkah have in common? The book of Maccabees II records that Chanukkah is modeled on Sukkot and also recounts how the Maccabees celebrated Sukkot.
