Celebrate Sukkot - Hag Sameach
After the Solemn Soul Searching of
Yom Kippur comes Sukkot
"On the 15th day of the 7th month, there will be a Feast of Booths (Hag Sukkot), and all the citizens of Israel shall live in booths for seven days." What is the purpose of such a celebration? And who is invited?
It might surprise you to learn that the Torah says all the men are to appear once a year at this time before "The LORD your God" where God chooses - which in history meant Jerusalem. But everyone was commanded to spend the seven days set aside for Sukkot living in temporary housing.
In Nehemiah's days, after the exiles returned from Babylon to Jerusalem, it says that the Israelites 'found it written in the teaching (Torah)' that they were to hold a celebration of this holiday, and so they did, something the Bible says 'had not been done since the days of Joshua!'
Today, it is one of the most enjoyable of all Jewish holidays - a time to be sociable, to spend time with friends and family, decorate your sukkah and of course, eat. It was originally an agricultural festival held at the end of the season when the grain had been threshed and the grapes had been made into wine. This was the time a person felt most prosperous and secure. The command to leave your permanent dwelling at this time and stay with your family in a temporary shelter could be seen as a reminder that everything, no matter how secure it seemed, was inevitably subject to change; but that even in times of drastic change (like leaving Egypt to wander through a desert), it is going to be G-d who provides security and shelter.
The Hebrew root Samech.Kaf.Kaf has two primary meanings: To"cover over" or "shelter" and "to weave together". In the word Sukkot, both these meanings come together in the form of a temporary shelter whose top is woven together from palm branches or other greenery. The Torah itself gives us little guidance on what a proper sukkah should look like; this was taken up by the rabbis who put restrictions on the size and shape of the dwellings that could be used to fulfill the mitzvah of 'dwelling in the sukkah': Higher than 20 'amot' (cubits) is not a sukkah because that would require building a foundation to support it. The Sukkah must be temporary and (as some of us know from experience) is inherently fragile. The top of the sukkah must allow you to see the stars - a permanent and impermeable roof aren't appropriate to a temporary shelter. Yet, it is this kind of a hut that we are commanded to enjoy and live in for an entire week. The opposite of a sukkah would be the Hebrew word, 'bayit' or house. All it takes is one good Arizona dust storm to make you appreciate the difference between your best 'hut' and the pleasures of a solid foundation.
Ther are many excellent articles and essays written about Jewish holidays, but the following link will take you to one that is particularly good on Sukkot and the rabbinic rules on building a sukkah:
http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/passover/sukkot/sukkah.html . If the link is inoperative for some reason, email us at info@c-bh.com and we can send you a PDF from our archives.
Jewish holidays are rich in spiritual meaning, traditions of over three thousand years, beautiful melodies, tasty food and fun customs. To find out more about the holidays we assembled here a collection of links to assist you in your search:
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