Sukkot

A major Jewish festival—also known as the “Harvest Festival,” the “Feast of Tabernacles,” and the “Feast of Booths”—that celebrates God’s provision and protection. Sukkot begins five days after Yom Kippur. It lasts seven days and usually occurs in September or October, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar, and has celebratory harvest themes. The word sukkot means “booths,” referencing the temporary shelters that the Israelites lived in during their 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, as described in the Torah. Observant families build a temporary outdoor sukka that has three walls and a roof of branches or other natural material and, at a minimum, eat all their meals outside in this space for the week of Sukkot. Observant Jews also pray while waving the Four Kinds: a palm frond, two willow twigs, at least three myrtle twigs (these first three bound together), and a lemon. These symbolize the diverse constituents of the Jewish community, underscoring the maxim that “it takes all kinds.” Along with Passover and Shavuot, Sukkot is one of the three annual pilgrimages when every male Jew was to be in Jerusalem. Simchat Torah immediately follows Sukkot.