Ushpizin

Ushpizin is a Jewish Sukkot practice in which seven biblical figures are invited to dwell in the sukkah as honored guests. The term means “guests” in Hebrew, and the custom is rooted in Kabbalistic and Hasidic thought, primarily through the teachings of the Ari (Rabbi Isaac Luria) in 16th-century Safed and later elaborated by various mystics. It is observed by many Jewish communities during the festival.

Traditionally, one guest is imagined for each day of Sukkot, in a fixed sequence: Avraham (Abraham), Yitzchak (Isaac), Yaakov (Jacob), Moshe (Moses), Aharon (Aaron), David, and Shlomo (Solomon). The guests are associated with corresponding spiritual qualities and divine attributes, and families often use liturgy and songs to welcome them into the sukkah.

A central liturgical element is the piyyut (liturgical poem) called Ushpizin, which recounts the guests and the virtues they bring. The poem is commonly recited or sung during Sukkot, and households may decorate the sukkah with symbols or phrases that reflect each guest’s character in order to evoke their presence and influence during the festival.

In contemporary usage, Ushpizin has become part of broader Sukkot culture and is referenced in Jewish education and media. It is also the title of a 2004 Israeli film about Sukkot, reflecting the tradition’s place in modern Jewish life. The practice remains a symbolic method of focusing hospitality, memory, and spiritual themes within the sukkah.