This autumn holiday of thanksgiving celebrates the fruit harvest and commemorates wayfarers' booths built by the Israelites during their years of wilderness wandering. In the “dark cold and the empty desolation,” God’s presence was closer than ever.

To observe this festival, Jews create a small annex to their homes where they meet with friends, drink wine, and eat ripe fruits. The flimsy annex, taken down at week's end, and the fruits, which will spoil if not eaten, are reminders of the beauty of things that do not last.

Here's how Rabbi Lawrence A. Hoffman and Dr. Ron Wolfson describe this holiday in What You Will See Inside a Synagogue:

"Five days after Yom Kippur, we show our thanks in a harvest holiday called Sukkot.

"Long ago, our ancestors who were farmers built small huts in their fields during the harvest season. They stayed there day and night while gathering their crops. Today, we too build a temporary outdoor hut called a sukkah. It is decorated with tree branches, garden vegetables hung up on a string, and, sometimes, the New Year greeting cards that we received for Rosh Hashanah.

"After prayer service, we go to the sukkah for kiddush. Even though the people build a sukkah in their synagogue, many families build one at home, outdoors — in their yard, perhaps, or on the roof of their apartment building — so they can see the sky just the way the farmers long ago must have. Some people eat all their meals and even sleep in their sukkah.

"Sukkot is a holiday of hospitality. 'Pretend guests,' like the great men and women of the Bible, are invited to visit. Real guests come to eat there also. If you are invited to a sukkah, you can bring something to hang up as part of the decoration.

"During Sukkot prayer services, we use a lulav and an etrog. The lulav is a bundle of branches from trees that are mentioned in the Bible. They grow in Israel, but, depending on where you live, they might also grow in your backyard. The etrog is a fruit that looks like a lemon. People hold these objects together and wave them in all four directions, thanking God for making things grow all over the world."

To Name This Day ...

Quotes

  • "Sukkot comes in the fall. Summer is over and sometimes the evenings are already chilly with the first whispers of winter. It comes to tell us that the world is full of good and beautiful things, food and wine, flowers and sunsets and autumn landscapes and good company to share them with, but that we have to enjoy them right away because they will not last. They will not wait for us to finish other things and get around to them. It is a time to 'eat our bread in gladness and drink our wine with joy' not despite the fact that life does not go on forever but precisely because of that fact. It is time to enjoy happiness with those we love and to realize that we are at a time in our lives when enjoying today means more than worrying about tomorrow. It is time to celebrate the fact that we have finally learned what life is about and how to make the most of it."
    — Harold S. Kushner in When All You've Ever Wanted Isn't Enough
  • "Seated atop the rocky ridge, I noticed two hawks circling just above. In my hands I hold a lulav and etrog, a palm branch and citron — plus myrtle leaves and willow branches — which I have just waved over the land in the ritual blessing that is part of the prayers during Sukkot. ... When I glance up again, the birds have vanished, but the feather brushing my face is not an illusion. I feel it as a caress, a gentle and loving touch, and I realize that this IS the message — the way the Divine fondles creatures. It is a silent communication that opens new gateways of understanding, a different kind of poetry — one that transcends words, concepts, and thoughts. It touches my heart and a place of inner knowing. In that moment I am complete, thankful, and fully at peace."
    — David A. Cooper in Three Gates to Meditation

Spiritual Practices

In Reclaiming Judaism as a Spiritual Practice, Rabbi Goldie Milgram suggests the following practice:

"One year, while studying the Sukkot themes of fragility of life and concern for earth's ecosystems, I suggested to neighbors that we try a new tradition for Sukkot, that of inviting one mystery guest each night to dine in our shared sukkah. We thought this would be a way to make it fun for the children to learn and practice the mitzvah of hahnassat orhim, 'the welcoming of guests' . . . .

"For example, one night I arrived home to find that my children had decorated two welcome chairs with crunched up soda cans, foil, newspapers, and bottles. Who could the guests be? They turned out to be the team who worked on the recycling truck that serviced our neighborhood. In this case one happened to be of Hispanic descent; the other from a recently arrived Polish family. Neither had ever been a guest in a Jewish home. After the regular sukkah rituals, we offered a toast in their honor and the children read an essay explaining why they saw the efforts of the recycling collectors as holy work.

"In turn, the two men answered all the children's many questions about their lives and work, and we also answered lots of questions about Judaism. The clanking sound of the weekly arrival of the recycling truck became an invitation to visit with friends forever after."

  • Draw lots to determine who gets to invite a mystery guest and on which night.
  • The person who picks the mystery guest decorates a chair as a seat of honor for the guest. The decoration must be appropriate to the special nature of the guest.