What is Sukkot and how is it celebrated?

 

No matter your background or beliefs, many of us in the West are familiar with the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur and Hanukkah . These are serious, somewhat sombre holidays that Jewish peoplecelebrate all over the world. What many of us are not aware of however, is another holiday tucked between those two. A joyous celebration of thanks and gratitude with a playful spirit all of its own. It's called Sukkot, and it is a celebration you'll want to know more about!

Held the fifth day after Yom Kippur, Sukkot lasts seven days for those within Israel, and eight days for those celebrating in other countries. It is a combination celebration, with both agricultural roots and historical origins.

As the last of the "Three Pilgrimage Festivals,” Sukkot is in large part a harvest celebration. Held at the end of the agricultural season in Israel, the holiday is used to give thanks to God for a bountiful harvest and the continued prosperity, health, and protection of the Jewish people. The first days of the holiday are given over to rest and relaxation, work is forbidden similar to the sabbath and festive meals are served. In this way, you can think of it kind of like a two-day Thanksgiving celebration.

As is keeping with the harvest theme of the holiday, Sukkot meals are often prepared with several autumnal ingredients. Honey-sweetened root vegetables, dried fruits, and hearty stews and pot dishes are common sights. One way of celebrating the bounty and abundance of God's gifts is to prepare and serve stuffed foods, with delights such as stuffed peppers, squash bowls, cabbage wraps, and even strudels being popular holiday treats.

The other aspect of Sukkot comes from a religious and historical perspective. It commemorates the 40 year period of the Exodus during which the Jewish people lived in temporary shelters and depended on God for protection. The biblical origins for the holiday can be specifically found in Leviticus 23:33

"The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: ‘On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the Lord’s Festival of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present food offerings to the Lord, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present a food offering to the Lord. It is the closing special assembly; do no regular work.”

To celebrate this event and reaffirm their reverence for and trust in God, Jewish families will dwell in small temporary shelters known as "sukkah” for the seven days and nights of the holiday. "Sukkah” translates to something similar to "booth” in English and these shelters indeed often resemble small wooden booths.

 

 

There are several traditions involved in creating a proper sukkah, and while pre-made units and kits are commercially available, many families opt to make their own. It may be of any size so long as your family can dwell in it, and include at least three walls. While these walls can be made of any material you like (many use wood, but canvas and tent-like walls are not uncommon) the roof of the sukkah must be made with traditional covering material such as bamboo reeds, sticks, corn stalks, or rough two-by-fours. The roof is to be left intentionally loose and unbound, preferably so dwellers can see the stars when they look up through it. This is to replicate the temporary and transient nature of their ancestors homes during the Exodus.

Technically, families only need to eat their meals in the sukkah to satisfy the "dwelling” component of the holiday. However, for many younger children, there is a certain thrill in camping out overnight in a homemade "fort” and people of all ages are encouraged to spend as much time as they can in sukkah as is keeping with the spirit of the holiday.

Another observance during the holiday is the "taking of the Four Kinds.” This refers to four different plants that are bound together and used in prayer. These include an etrog (known in the West as citron), a lulav (palm frond), three hadassim (myrtle twigs) and two aravot (willow twigs). Each day, these plants are bound together, blessed, and waved in six directions during prayer.

Why these particular plants and what do they mean? Well, there are different interpretations. Some say the Four Kinds represent the different personalities that make up Israel and their unity as one collective community. Other say the plants represent different parts of the body, all of which have the potential to commit sin, but must come together to perform commandments and worship. 

Interestingly, after the holidays, some families take their bound together Four Kinds and use them to make treats such as marmalade, or candied etrog peel! A kind of post-holiday treat to remind families of all the fun they had.

Finally, the sukkot is celebrated nightly with singing, dancing, and rejoicing. In the intermediate days when work is not forbidden, live bands often play late into the night, ringing in the harvest season and encouraging everyone to enjoy themselves. It's a cathartic and upbeat holiday that serves as a kind of balance to Yom Kippur. The High Holidays may be all about introspection and solemnity, but the Sukkot is a festival of joy. A yearly tradition that celebrates God's gifts, his protection, and inspires the Jewish people to even greater devotion in the year to come.