Sukkot

Sukkot is the seven-day Jewish Feast of Booths beginning on 15 Tishrei. Temporary sukkah shelters recall the Israelites' wilderness journey, while the four species, hospitality and harvest thanksgiving express dependence on divine care.

Sukkot is the Jewish Feast of Booths, a seven-day festival that combines harvest thanksgiving with memory of the Israelites’ wilderness journey after the Exodus. The Torah instructs people to live or spend significant time in temporary shelters called sukkot, reminding them that their ancestors lived in fragile dwellings and depended on divine protection. Families build a sukkah with a roof of natural branches loose enough that the sky can be sensed through it, then eat meals, welcome guests and sometimes sleep there. Another central ritual uses the ‘four species’—lulav, etrog, myrtle and willow—which are held and waved during prayer. Because Sukkot also comes at the close of the agricultural season in the land of Israel, joy and gratitude for harvest are central themes. The temporary shelter gives the festival its deeper lesson: security is never entirely created by walls or possessions, and abundance is best received with gratitude, hospitality and awareness of human vulnerability.

Sukkot begins on the fifteenth of Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar, with Jewish days beginning at sunset. The sukkah's temporary roof recalls fragile wilderness dwellings, while its open hospitality encourages meals with relatives, friends and guests. The four species used in prayer are etrog, palm, myrtle and willow; their ritual use differs from simply decorating a shelter. The Torah's seven-day Sukkot is followed by Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah's timing and combination with that observance vary between Israel and many diaspora communities. Describing Sukkot itself as eight days everywhere would obscure this distinction.

The festival is also called Zman Simchateinu, the season of rejoicing. Its fragile outdoor shelter makes hospitality visible: meals are shared in a place that reminds participants of uncertainty and dependence on others. Jewish law sets detailed requirements for the sukkah and for the four species, but household practice depends on climate, accessibility and community custom. The additional observances following Sukkot must be listed separately when publishing dates.

Jewish seven-day Feast of Booths recalling wilderness shelter and celebrating harvest, hospitality and dependence on divine care.

Build and use a sukkah, share meals and hospitality, and wave the four species during prescribed prayers; weather and community customs affect practice.

Begins at sunset on 15 Tishrei, seven days in the Hebrew calendar; Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are subsequent observances with Israel/diaspora timing differences.