A CLOSE-UP LOOK AT SUKKOT PRACTICES
Building a sukkah
The sukkah is designed to be temporary - it is assembled prior to the holiday and taken down afterwards. There are specifications for those who follow traditional Jewish rules (commandments) including:
Click on this link to learn how to build a sukkah. Click on this link to watch a fun music video on building a sukkah. |
Enjoying the sukkah
In spite of the hard work, it's a lot of fun to both build and decorate a sukkah!
Once the holiday begins, Jews eat in the sukkah for as many meals as weather permits! There are those who also sleep in the sukkah for the entire week, in honor of the commandment that specifically says to dwell in a sukkah. |
Hospitality
Hahnasat Orhim, the act of welcoming a visitor into one’s home, is a Jewish value that is traced all the way back to Abraham. He and Sarah were known for their “open-tent” policy and for welcoming strangers into their home for food and rest. (See Genesis 18:1-5).
Hospitality is a theme that resonates throughout Jewish history and practice, especially in terms of allowing those less fortunate to participate in ritual activities that incur expenses (such as festive meals). On Sukkot, this virtue is emphasized. It is a custom to invite visitors (both mythic and live) into one’s sukkah. Seven symbolic guests are metaphorically invited into the sukkah . Called the Ushpizin (the Aramaic word for guests) these "visitors" have traditionally been Biblical men (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David). Later, feminists added seven female guests. While there are different versions of the seven women, one version includes: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah and Esther. Some people “invite” other famous Jews, past and present. |
The Four Species
The book of Leviticus offers this commandment, "On the first day of Sukkot you shall take the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of thick trees (interpreted to mean myrtle) and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before God for seven days." As a result, each morning of the holiday, these four species are shaken (one palm branch, two willow branches, three myrtle branches, and a single citron known as an etrog). The first three are bound together to form the lulav and held near the etrog.
Together, they are shaken in all six directions (east, west, north, south, up, and down) to symbolize God’s omnipresence. Click this link to learn how to shake a lulav. |
The biblical text
Leviticus 23:39-44:
Thus, on the 15th day of the seventh month, when you have gathered the harvest of your land, you shall celebrate the festival of the Eternal for seven days; the first day is a complete rest and the eighth day a complete rest. On the first day, take the fruit of the hadar (the etrog), branches of the palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and rejoice before the Eternal your God for seven days. Celebrate it as a holiday of the Eternal for seven days of the year, as a commandment for all time throughout all of the generations; in the seventh month you shall celebrate it. In booths for seven days, all citizens in Israel shall live in booths. This is to ensure that future generations know that I enabled the Israelites to live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt, I the Eternal am your God. And Moses declared the festival to the Israelites. |
Want to know more?
Click here for the "My Jewish Learning" webpage with LOTS of links to great articles and information on Sukkot!
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Jewish Education Center of Cleveland (JECC)
www.jecc.org
www.jecc.org