'', a painting by
Isidor Kaufmann, 1920 Sukkot is a seven-day festival. Inside the
Land of Israel, the first day is 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 seventh day of Sukkot is called ''
("Great Hoshana", referring to the tradition that worshippers in the synagogue walk around the perimeter of the sanctuary during morning services) and has a special observance of its own. The intermediate days are known as Chol HaMoed
("festival weekdays"). According to Halakha, some types of work are forbidden during Chol HaMoed''. In Israel many businesses are closed during this time. Throughout the week of Sukkot, meals are eaten in the sukkah. If a
brit milah (circumcision ceremony) or
Bar Mitzvah rises during Sukkot, the
seudat mitzvah (obligatory festive meal) is served in the sukkah. Similarly, the father of a newborn boy greets guests to his Friday-night
Shalom Zachar in the sukkah. Males sleep in the sukkah, provided the weather is tolerable. If it rains, the requirement of eating and sleeping in the sukkah is waived, except for eating there on the first night where every effort needs to be made to at least say
kiddush (the sanctification prayer on wine) and eat an egg-sized piece of bread before going inside the house to finish the meal if the rain does not stop. Every day except the Sabbath, a blessing is recited over the
Lulav and the
Etrog. Keeping of Sukkot is detailed in the
Hebrew Bible (, and ); the
Mishnah (Sukkah 1:1–5:8); the
Tosefta (Sukkah 1:1–4:28); and the
Jerusalem Talmud (Sukkah 1a–) and Babylonian
Talmud (
Sukkah 2a–56b).
Sukkah (top or "ceiling") on the inside of a
sukkah. The sukkah walls can be constructed of any material that blocks wind (wood, canvas, aluminum siding, sheets). The walls can be free-standing or include the sides of a building or porch. There must be at least three walls, with one permitted to be a partial wall. The roof must be of organic material, known as
s'chach, such as leafy tree overgrowth, schach mats or palm fronds – plant material that is no longer connected with the earth. It is customary to decorate the interior of the sukkah with hanging decorations of the
four species as well as with attractive artwork.
The Four Species depicting a
lulav and
etrog alongside a Greek dedicatory inscription. Currently housed at the
Eretz Israel Museum. In
Leviticus 23:40, the Torah says to take four species and celebrate before God for seven days. Although the Torah only describes the species but does not identify all of them, the
Talmud in
Tractate Sukkah derives the identity of the four species as a Citron, a Palm branch, two Willow branches, and three Myrtle branches. These are referred to in Hebrew as the
Lulav (palm branch) and
Etrog (Citron) or just
Lulav. The palm branch, myrtle, and willows are tied together, usually with palm leaves, and the Citron is held next to the others. These are taken all seven days of Sukkot except for Shabbat. The blessing is recited and the
Lulav and
Etrog are held together, and shaken in the four directions and up and down. They are also held during the
Hallel prayer and during Hoshanot. In 1953 the
Lubavitcher Rebbe instituted the public Lulav campaign to encourage observance of this
Mitzvah amongst all jews, regardless of religious affiliation. It soon spread into an international phenomenon, the Jewish person holding their
Lulav and
Etrog, approaching complete strangers to offer to help them with the
Mitzvah becoming an iconic sight in many large cities.
Temple Offerings Every day of Sukkot, a special regimen of animals were sacrificed in honor of the holiday as prescribed in the Torah. One of the iconic parts of these sacrifices, known as the
Mussaf offerings, was the daily offering of bulls. Starting at thirteen on the first day and subtracting by one daily until reaching seven on the seventh day, the total amount of bulls offered over the holiday was 70. The symbolism was that each bull was offered in honor of one of the nations listed in Genesis Chapter 10.
Prayers Prayers during Sukkot include the reading of the Torah every day, reciting the
Mussaf (additional) service after morning prayers, reciting
Hallel, and adding special additions to the
Amidah and
Grace after Meals. In addition, the service includes rituals involving the Four Species. The lulav and etrog are not used on the Sabbath. On the Festival days, as well as the Sabbath of Chol Hamoed, some communities recite piyyutim.
Hoshanot (the Kotel) On each day of the festival, worshippers walk around the synagogue carrying the Four Species while reciting special prayers known as
Hoshanot.
Ushpizin and ushpizata , 1939 A custom originating with
Lurianic Kabbalah is to recite the
ushpizin prayer to "invite" one of seven "exalted guests" into the sukkah. These
ushpizin ( "guests", a loanword from
Middle Persian špinza "lodging"), represent the "seven shepherds of Israel":
Abraham,
Isaac,
Jacob, Moses, Aaron,
Joseph and
David, each of whom correlates with one of the seven lower
sefirot (this is why Joseph, associated with
Yesod, follows
Moses and
Aaron, associated with
Netzach and
Hod respectively, even though he precedes them in the narrative). According to tradition, a different guest enters the sukkah each night, followed by the other six. Each
ushpiz has a lesson to teach that parallels the spiritual focus of the day on which they visit based on the sefira associated with that character. Some streams of
Reconstructionist Judaism also recognize a set of seven female shepherds of Israel, called variously (using the
Modern Hebrew feminine plural), or (using the Aramaic feminine plural). Several lists of seven have been proposed. The Ushpizata are sometimes coidentified with the seven
prophetesses of Judaism:
Sarah,
Miriam,
Deborah,
Hannah,
Abigail,
Hulda, and
Esther. Some lists seek to relate each female leader to one of the sefirot to parallel their male counterparts. One such list in the order they would be invoked each evening is
Ruth,
Sarah,
Rebecca,
Miriam,
Deborah,
Tamar, and
Rachel.
Chol HaMoed intermediate days The second through seventh days of Sukkot (third through seventh days outside the Land of Israel) are called
Chol HaMoed ( – "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. Religious Jews often 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. Many synagogues and Jewish centers also offer events and meals in their sukkot during this time to foster community and goodwill. On the
Shabbat which falls during the week of Sukkot (or in the event when the first day of Sukkot is on Shabbat in the Land of Israel), the
Book of Ecclesiastes is read during morning
synagogue services in Ashkenazic communities. (Diaspora Ashkenazic communities read it the second Shabbat {eighth day} when the first day of sukkot is on 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 penultimate verse reinforces the message that adherence to God and His
Torah is the only worthwhile pursuit. (Cf.
Ecclesiastes 12:13,14.)
Hakhel assembly , 1949 In the days of the
Temple in Jerusalem, all Israelite, and later 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 in Israel since 1952 on a smaller scale.
Simchat Beit HaShoevah water-drawing celebration The
Simchat Beit HaShoeivah, meaning “The Celebration of the House of Drawing Water,” was historically considered the most joyous event during the
Second Temple period. It was such a renowned celebration that the Talmud states, "One who never saw the Water-Drawing Celebration has never seen joy in his life". The celebration drew Jewish families, including scholars, farmers, and merchants, from distant lands such as
Syria,
Egypt, and
Babylonia, who converged upon the
Temple Mount for eight days of non-stop celebration. The festivities began on the close of the first day of Sukkot, following the afternoon offering, and lasted through the night until the morning offerings. To accommodate the crowds, Temple workers constructed large wooden bleachers on the courtyard walls, creating
separation for women on the higher levels and men below. The celebration was famously lit by candelabras, whose enormous lanterns filled all of Jerusalem with light like day. The atmosphere was defined by loud music provided by
Priests sounding trumpets and
Levites playing instruments like lyres, flutes, and cymbals. A major spectacle involved distinguished elders, recognized by their long white beards, who sang, danced wildly, performed acrobatic feats, and juggled. The most illustrious sage,
Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel, who presided over the supreme court, would famously juggle eight flaming torches. The actual water-drawing ritual that gave the celebration its name occurred at dawn. Fresh water was drawn from the
Siloam Spring, located outside Jerusalem. As the flasks of water were brought into the Temple through the Water Gate, trumpets sounded fanfare. On Sukkot, a kohen (priest) would pour a flask of this freshly drawn water onto the corner of the
altar, along with the regular morning offering. Following the Temple's destruction, Jews continued to remember the event by gathering to sing and tell stories. A powerful modern renewal began in Brooklyn, N.Y., in the fall of 1980, when the
Lubavitcher Rebbe instructed that the celebration could start on the first night of Sukkot, accompanied by voices, since there was no Temple or Levite orchestra. This sparked a movement where hundreds of Jews danced and sang in the streets until dawn. The Rebbe endorsed the movement, establishing a new institution of Jewish life that continues yearly, providing a little taste of the celebration in the Temple.
Hoshana Rabbah (Great Supplication) The seventh day of Sukkot is known as
Hoshana Rabbah (Great Supplication). This day is marked by a special synagogue service in which seven circuits are made by worshippers holding their Four Species, reciting additional prayers. In addition, a bundle of five
willow branches is beaten on the ground. In the
diaspora a second additional holiday,
Simchat Torah ("Joy of the Torah"), is celebrated. In the Land of Israel, Simchat Torah is celebrated on Shemini Atzeret. On Shemini Atzeret people leave their sukkah and eat their meals inside the house. Outside the Land of Israel, many eat in the sukkah without making the blessing. The sukkah is not used on Simchat Torah. == Symbolism of the holiday ==