Sukkot

Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Jewish festival celebrated for seven days in the Land of Israel and for eight days in the Diaspora, beginning on the 15th day of Tishrei after Yom Kippur. It commemorates the Israelites’ desert wanderings after the Exodus and their temporary dwellings, the sukkot, as well as the autumn harvest in Israel. The festival is one of the Shalosh Regalim, the three pilgrimage festivals.

Rituals center on the sukkah, a temporary outdoor shelter with walls, covered by a roof made of s'chach (vegetable matter) that must allow stars to be visible at night. The sukkah is used for festive meals during the festival, and many households also sleep there.

A key symbolic practice is the Four Species: the lulav (a palm branch) bound with hadassim (myrtle) and aravot (willow), and the etrog (citron). On the first day of Sukkot, and in many communities on the second day outside Israel, worshipers recite blessings and perform a waving ceremony in the morning service to symbolize unity and gratitude for harvest.

Hoshanah Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, features processions and special prayers involving the lulav. The festival ends with Shemini Atzeret; in Israel, Simchat Torah is celebrated on the same day, while in the Diaspora it is observed on the following day, marking the completion and restarting of the Torah readings. Sukkot emphasizes gratitude, community, and the memory of the desert journey alongside agricultural thanks.