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Sukkot
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Sukkot (also known as Sukkos, Succoth, Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles), is a Biblical pilgrimage festival that occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). The holiday lasts seven days, including Chol Hamoed. In Judaism it is one of the three major holidays known collectively as the Shalosh Regalim (three pilgrim festivals), when historically the Jewish populace traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem.
The word Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut.
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Sukkot (also known as Sukkos, Succoth, Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles), is a Biblical pilgrimage festival that occurs in autumn on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). The holiday lasts seven days, including Chol Hamoed. In Judaism it is one of the three major holidays known collectively as the Shalosh Regalim (three pilgrim festivals), when historically the Jewish populace traveled to the Temple in Jerusalem.
The word Sukkot is the plural of the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut. 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. During this holiday, Jews construct and reside in sukkot small and large. Here families eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep. The other key and unique observance of the festival is the daily (other than on Shabbat) waving of the Arba minim, or four species, consisting of the lulav, etrog, hadassim and aravot.
The festival of Sukkot is immediately followed by that of Simchat Torah; in the diaspora, an additional festive day known as Shemini Atzeret is celebrated in between.
The sukkah
According to halakha, the walls of the sukkah can be made from any material, including wood, canvas, plaster, or regular walls of glass or aluminium. A sukkah may be free-standing, or include one or two sides of a building or porch in its structure. The roof of a sukkah, however, must be of organic material that is detached from the ground. Palm fronds, branches, bamboo and wood are the most common roofing materials. The amount of shade inside the sukkah must exceed the amount of sunlight that can enter through the roof.
The decor of the interior of the sukkah may range from totally unornamented to lavishly decorated with pictures, tapestries, hanging fruits and ornaments. 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 40-year sojourn in the desert. Tables, chairs, and beds or mattresses are moved from the house into the sukkah, which may also be fitted with electric fans, lighting, heaters, bookcases and shelves for the comfort of users by day and by night.
Sukkot laws and customs
In modern-day 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. The remaining days are known as Chol HaMoed ("festival weekdays"). The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabbah ("Great Hoshana", referring to the increased number of circuits taken by worshippers in the synagogue during morning services; see below) and has a special observance of its own. Outside the land of Israel, the first two days are celebrated as full festivals.
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.
On the first day of Sukkot (the first two days, outside of Israel), the prayer services are extended and similar to those of Shabbat.
Entertaining guests
During each day of the holiday, Jews invite seven spiritual "guests" (known as ushpizin in Aramaic) to be with them in the sukkah. These ushpizin are the "Seven Shepherds of Israel":
According to tradition, each night a different one of the ushpizin enters the sukkah first and the other six follow. Some people say a special prayer welcoming them to the sukkah in the order in which they come. Each of the ushpizin has a unique lesson to teach us that parallels the spiritual focus of the day on which they visit.
According to Chabad tradition, another set of ushpizin come along with those listed above. There is a unique connection between the two ushpizin that visit each night, particularly as explained in the works of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson.
In recent times, some Jews add seven spiritual women, or ushpizot, to enter their sukkah. These are the biblical Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Huldah, Abigail, and Esther.
The custom of inviting guests to the sukkah extends to living guests as well. Many people invite family, friends, neighbours, or people who are alone to join them for a snack or a meal. Anyone, including non-Jews, are more than welcome inside a sukkah.
Chol HaMoed
The second through seventh days of Sukkot (third through seventh days outside the land of Israel) are called Chol HaMoed (??? ????? - 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 HaShoeivah
In the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, a unique service was performed every morning throughout the Sukkot holiday: the Nisuch HaMayim (???? ????—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 Siloam 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.
Hoshanot
In the synagogue, each day of Sukkot, worshippers parade around the synagogue carrying their lulavim and etrogim and reciting Psalm 118:25 (Ana, Adonay, hoshi'a na...", "We beseech you, O Lord, save us..." followed by special prayers). The Hoshanot are recited either after the morning's Torah reading of at the end of Mussaf.
This ceremony commemorates the Aravah (willow) ceremony in the days of the Temple in Jerusalem, in which willow branches were piled beside the altar, with their tops branching over it, and worshipers paraded around the altar reciting the same verse.
Hoshana Rabbah
The seventh day of Sukkot is known as Hoshana Rabbah (?????? ???, Great Supplication). This day is marked by a special synagogue service, the Hoshana Rabbah (Great Hoshana), in which seven circuits are made by the worshippers with their lulav and etrog, while the congregation recites Psalm 118:25 and additional prayers. It is customary in some communities for all the Torah scrolls 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 Mashiach. The reasons for the latter custom are rooted in Kabbalah.
Abudarham speaks of the custom of reading the Torah on the night of Hoshana Rabbah, out of which has grown the modern custom of meeting socially on that night and reading from the Books of Deuteronomy and 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 Sephardi Jews, prayers known as Selichot 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 Hoshana Rabbah is the end of the high holiday season, when the world is judged for the coming year.
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
The day immediately following Sukkot is known as Shemini Atzeret (????? ???? - lit. "the Eighth [Day] of Assembly"). Shemini Atzeret is a separate holiday. In Israel, the celebration of Shemini Atzeret includes that of Simchat Torah and is celebrated on the day after Sukkot. Outside the land of Israel, Shemini Atzeret is a two-day holiday which immediately follows Sukkot, and Simchat Torah is celebrated on the second day of Shemini Atzeret.
On Shemini Atzeret, the family returns indoors to eat and sleep in their house, special synagogue services are held, and holiday meals are served. However, outside of Israel, many have the custom to still eat in the sukkah on Shemini Atzeret, but not on Simchat Torah.
Simchat Torah (???? ???? - lit. "the joy of the Torah") is an especially happy celebration during 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 (and in more liberal congregations, all the women and girls) over the age of bar mitzvah are called up to the Torah for an aliyah. Additionally, all the children under the age of bar mitzvah are 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.
Sukkot in the Hebrew Bible
In the Hebrew Scriptures, Sukkot is called:
- “The Feast of Tabernacles (or Booths) ” (Lev. ; Deut. ; ; Zech. ; Ezra ; 2 Chron. )
- “The Feast of Ingathering” (Ex. , )
- “The Feast” or “the festival” (1 Kings , ; ; 2 Chron. ; )
- “The Feast of the Lord” (Lev. ; Judges )
- “The festival of the seventh month” (Ezek. ; Neh. )
- “A holy convocation” or “a sacred occasion” (Num. )
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 secular 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 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, Tosefta, Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud in tractate Sukkah, part of the order Moed (Festivals). (Mishnah Sukkah 1:1–5:8; Tosefta Sukkah 1:1–4:28; Jerusalem Talmud Sukkah 1a–; Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 2a–56b.)
Sukkot and the Bnai Noah
Sukkot is one of the HolyDays observed by the B'nei Noah, gentiles who adhere to the Seven Laws of Noah under the guidance of .
"In the Torah - specifically, in the Talmud, Avodah Zorah 3a - G-d challenges all the nations of the world to observe this "easy mitzvah," this easy commandment."
One of the names of the holiday of Sukkot is the Feast of Tabernacles. See Zechariah 14:16-18:
And it shall come to pass that every one. shall go up from year to year
to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts... and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles
(in Hebrew, chag sukkot, the Festival of Sukkot). And it shall be,
that whosoever of the families of the Earth goeth not up unto Jerusalem
to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, upon them there shall be no rain.
And if the family of Egypt [Egypt has always relied on irrigation from the Nile,
not on rain, to water its crops] go not up, and come not
they shall have no overflow (i.e., from the Nile); there shall be the plague,
wherewith the Lord will smite the nations that go not up to keep the Feast of Tabernacles...
Sukkot lasts for seven days: the eighth day is called Shemeni Atzeret, "the eighth day of solemn convocation," Leviticus 23:26. Shemeni means eighth, atzeret connotes completion. Shemeni Atzeret is not a universal holiday. As one sees from the Torah, including the Talmud and midrashim (ancient rabbinic commentaries and narratives), it's a special assembly - a happy one - for Israel alone. However, Shemeni Atzeret is celebrated for two days outside of the land of Israel. This has been the Jews' way since at least 347 BCE, as decreed by the prophet Ezra's Great Assembly of sages and prophets (See Nehemiah 8-9). And the second day of Shemeni Etzeret is, by ancient custom, the holiday of Simchat Torah, or "Rejoicing in the Torah." Israel finishes the yearly cycle of Torah readings by finishing Deuteronomy and then immediately begins the new cycle by starting Genesis. This is a joyful holiday of song and dance, often very child-centered, celebrating the gift of Torah. Many b'nai noah like to participate. They love the Torah too and want to honor it. If they attend no other Hebrew congregational service, the Simchat Torah service in Israel's synagogues or shuls is the one they attend. " Above excerpt from
Sukkot in the Christian Bible
Only in one place in the four Christian Gospels is there a mention of Sukkot. The Gospel of John mentions Sukkot indicating, "Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand." In this account, Jesus asks his own family to attend the feast telling them, "Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come. When he had said these words unto them, he abode still in Galilee. But when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were, in secret. . It is possible that the booths suggested by Peter on Mt. Tabor for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, at the Transfiguration (Mat 17:4) were also connected to the celebration of Sukkot.
Sukkot in The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Although not mentioned by name, an obvious reference to such a feast is found in the second chapter of Mosiah. The King/Prophet Benjamin calls his people together to worship at the temple. With them they bring, the "firstlings of their flocks, that they might offer sacrifice and burnt offereings according to the Law of Moses; (Mosiah 2:3)" We are later told that they "pitch their tents round about the temple, every man having his tent with the door thereof towards the temple. . .(Mosiah 2:6). Further reading gives obvious allusion to this great feast being celebrated within the lands of the Book of Mormon.
Sukkot as a place
The name Sukkot appears in a number of places in the Hebrew Bible as a location:
- Sukkot is Egyptian for the place of entering into the darkness. It's the place where the Sons of Israel went to retrieve the bones of Joseph from his tomb at Karnak(Exodus 12:37).
- Succoth is a city east of the Jordan River, identified with Tell Deir ?lla, 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 provide 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). Wright identifies this with Deir ?lla.
- At this place were erected the foundries for casting the metal-work for the temple (1 Kings 7:46).
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