The
sukkah is a temporary building used for meals
throughout the holiday. It can be built of any
materials, but its roof must be of organic material
and partially open to the sky. The decor of the
interior of the sukkah may range from totally
unornamented to lavishly decorated.
The four species
Main article: Four
Species
On each of the seven
days of Sukkot, the Torah requires the Jew to take
Four Species of plants and to grasp and shake them in
a specific manner. These species are: the lulav (date
palm frond), hadass (bough of a myrtle tree), aravah
(willow branch)— these three are actually bound
together and collectively referred to as the lulav—and
the etrog (a citron, a lemon-like citrus fruit). These
plants are usually sold in religious communities
during the days preceding the festival. However, in
some Reform communities where these plants are not
available locally, other plants such as reeds are
substituted for one or more of the four species.
Some rabbinic authorities hold that the Four Species
are meant to reflect four categories of plants that
grow in Israel: those with a good taste and pleasant
fragrance (the etrog), those with a good taste and no
fragrance (the palm), those with a pleasant fragrance
and no taste (the haddasim), and those with neither
taste nor fragrance (the aravah). By taking all four,
Jews symbolically request that God provide sufficient
rain for all types of plants and crops to grow and
thrive.
The Four Species are waved as follows: The first three
species are held in the right hand, while the etrog is
held in the left hand. The user holds his or her hands
apart while saying the special blessing, "Blessed are
You, God our Lord, King of the Universe, Who has
sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us
to take the lulav". Then the user brings his or her
hands together so that the etrog touches the lulav
bundle, and points and gently shakes the Four Species
three times in each of the four directions, as well as
up and down. Symbolically, this ceremony is a prayer
for adequate rainfall for all the vegetation of the
earth in the coming year.
In Orthodox circles, the mitzvah of waving the lulav
and etrog is mandatory each day of Sukkot (except
Shabbat) for men and boys over the age of bar mitzvah.
Although women are not obligated to wave the lulav and
etrog, they may do so if they choose, and
traditionally, Orthodox women are considered to have
taken the obligation upon themselves and perform it as
their male counterparts. In Conservative and Reform
circles, all Jews over the age of Bar or Bat Mitzvah
perform the waving ceremony.
The waving ceremony is usually done in the synagogue
during the daily prayer services, although it can also
be done in the privacy of one's home or sukkah. During
the first six days of Sukkot, all the worshippers in
the synagogue leave their seats and make a complete
circuit around the sanctuary in a procession with
their lulavs. The lulav and etrog are shaken during
the recital of Hallel. On the seventh day of the
holiday, known as Hoshanah Rabbah, the worshippers
make seven circuits around the sanctuary.
Etrogim being sold in a market in Tel AvivThe mitzvah
derives from the commandment in the Book of Leviticus:
"And you shall take for yourself on the first day the
fruit of goodly (meaning of Hebrew uncertain, but
modern Hebrew "citrus") trees, branches of palm trees,
and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook"
(Lev. 23:40). The use to which these species are to be
put is not indicated; this gave rise to divergent
interpretations at a later time. Two breakaway sects,
the Sadducees and the Karaites, maintained that they
were meant for building the sukkah, as would appear
from Neh. 8:14-18, while their opponents contended
that they were to be carried in the synagogue
procession.
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. Outside the land of Israel, the first two days
are celebrated as full festivals. The remaining days
are known as Chol HaMoed ("festival weekdays"). The
seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah and
has a special observance of its own.
Many of the laws of Muktza that apply on the Sabbath
also apply on Sukkot, such as the prohibition of
engaging in commerce, lighting a fire, and completing
an electric circuit. Other Sabbath prohibitions,
however, are relaxed. With various differences based
on one's religious orientation, one is permitted to
cook (so long as the fire is pre-existing), smoke
(again, so long as the fire is pre-existing), and
carry material things beyond the home or eruv
boundaries.
The relaxed rules derive from the specific tasks and
duties that were permitted to be done on Sukkot in the
Beit HaMikdash(Holy Temple) that were otherwise
forbidden on the Sabbath.
Sukkah in HerzliyaThe applicable rules of Muktza only
apply on the first day of Sukkot for those in Israel,
and the first two days outside of Israel. For the
remaining five days, known as Chol HaMoed (see below)
other rituals are practiced, but Muktza does not
apply.
When the first day or Sukkot falls on the Sabbath (or
one of the first two days outside of Israel), the
greater restrictions of the Sabbath take effect. As a
practical matter, on the Sabbath, the rituals and
blessings over the four species are not performed (see
below).
Prayers
While customs vary greatly between different Jewish
groups, some commonalities of prayers during Sukkot
include the reading of the Torah every day, saying the
Mussaf (additional) service during morning prayers,
reading the Hallel, and adding special supplications
into the Amidah and grace after meals.
On the first day of Sukkot (the first two days,
outside of Israel), the prayer services are extended
and very similar to those of the Sabbath.
Chol HaMo'ed
Main article: Chol
HaMoed
The second through
seventh days of Sukkot (third through seventh days
outside the land of Israel) are called Chol HaMo'ed (חול
המועד - 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 sukkahs 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 HaMo'ed as a
vacation period, eating nicer than usual meals in
their sukkah, entertaining guests, visiting other
families in their sukkahs, and taking family outings.
On the Shabbat which falls during the week of Sukkot
(in the event when the first day of Sukkot is on
Shabbat, Ecclesiastes is read in Israel while diaspora
communities read it the following Shabbat which is
Shemini Azeret)( or during Chol HaMo'ed), the Book of
Ecclesiastes is read during morning synagogue
services. 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.
Hoshanot
In the synagogue, each day of Sukkot, the worshippers
parade around the synagogue carrying their lulavim and
etrogim and reciting Psalm 118:25 (Anna, Adonay,
hoshi'a na..", "We beseech you, O Lord, save us..."
followed by special prayers.)
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.
Sukkot in the Bible
In the Hebrew
Scriptures, Sukkot is called:
- “The Feast of
Tabernacles (or Booths)” (Lev. 23:34; Deut.
16:13-16; 31:10; Zech. 14:16-19; Ezra 3:4; 2 Chron.
8:13)
- “The Feast of
Ingathering” (Ex. 23:16, 34:22)
- “The Feast” or
“the festival” (1 Kings 8:2, 8:65; 12:32; 2 Chron.
5:3; 7:8)
- “The Feast of the
Lord” (Lev. 23:39; Judges 21:19)
- “The festival of
the seventh month” (Ezek. 45:25; Neh. 8:14)
- “A holy
convocation” or “a sacred occasion” (Num. 29:12)
- 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.)
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 (נסוך המים—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 Shiloah 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.
Hoshanah Rabbah
Main article:
Hoshanah Rabbah
The seventh day of
Sukkot is known as Hoshanah Rabbah (הושענא רבא, Great
Supplication). This day is marked by a special
synagogue service, the Hoshanah Rabbah (Great
Hoshanah), 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 scrolls of the Torah 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 Messiah. The reasons for the
latter custom are rooted in Kabbalah.
Abudarham speaks of the custom of reading the Torah on
the night of Hoshanah Rabbah, out of which has grown
the modern custom of meeting socially on that night
and reading from Deuteronomy, 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 Sephardic Jews, prayers known as "Selihot"
(forgiveness) 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 Hoshanah Rabbah is the
end of the high holiday season, when the world is
judged for the coming year.
everybody dance now!!!
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
Main articles:
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
The day immediately
following Sukkot is known as Shemini Atzeret, "the
Eighth (Day) of Assembly." Shemini Atzeret is a
separate holiday.[1] In Israel, the celebration of
Shemini Atzeret includes Simchat Torah. Outside the
land of Israel, Shemini Atzeret is celebrated on the
day after Sukkot and Simchat Torah is celebrated on
the day after that, bringing the total days of
festivities to eight in Israel and nine outside
Israel.
The holiday of Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת - lit. "the
Eighth [day] of Assembly") is a separate festival that
follows immediately after Sukkot, on the eighth day
(eighth and ninth days outside the land of Israel).
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.
Shemini Atzeret is a separate holiday in respect to
six specific issues. However, it is considered part of
an eight-day holiday regarding a seventh issue. These
issues are explained in the Talmud, Tractate Rosh
Hashanah 4b. There is a dispute amongst the
commentaries regarding what those six issues are. Two
of the main opinions are Rashi and Tosafot.
In Israel, Shemini Atzeret lasts for one day and the
festivities of Simchat Torah (שמחת תורה) coincide with
it. Outside of Israel, Shemini Atzeret lasts for two
days and the festivities of Simchat Torah fall on the
second day. Simchat Torah (lit. "the joy of the
Torah") is an especially happy day on 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, and all the children under the age of
bar mitzvah are also 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 as a place name
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 before leaving Egypt. It is the first
encampment of the Israelites after leaving the Temple
of Ramesses at Medinet Habu (Exodus 12:37).
Succoth is a city east of the Jordan River, identified
with Tell Deir Άlla, 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 Άlla.
At this place were erected the foundries for casting
the metal-work for the temple (1 Kings 7:46).
See also
Jewish holidays
Jewish holidays 2000-2050
Four Species
Ushpizin, (The Guests), a 2004 film directed by Giddi
Dar about a hasidic couple's adventures during Sukkot.
Feast of Tabernacles, Christian
List of Harvest Festivals
References
^ Cf Talmud, Tractate Rosh Hashanah 4b, for rare cases
where it is viewed as one
Sarna, Nahum M. “Exploring Exodus: The Oppression,”
Biblical Archaeologist, Volume 49: 1986 (2001
electronic ed.)
Wright, G. Ernest. “Fresh Evidence for the Philistine
Story,” Biblical Archaeologist, Volume 29: 1966 (2001
electronic ed.)
Kitov, Eliyahu (1978). The Book of Our Heritage.
Jerusalem: Feldheim Publishers. ISBN 0-87306-152-7.
External links |
