Sukkot is the festival of booths (huts)
or the Harvest festival; it is a time for thanksgiving.
Sukkot begins five days after Yom Kippur and lasts
for eight days.
The Harvest festival is an opportunity for people to
thank God for a good crop and pray for a fruitful harvest
next year. During Sukkot Jewish people eat outside in a
special hut or booth called a sukkah. In fact,
some strictly observant Jews live in their sukkah's for
the duration of Sukkot. The sukkahs are replicas
of the simple huts the Israelites lived in as they wandered
the dessert. The sukkah was also used by farmers who
during the harvest time in Israel would work in their fields
all day and then slept beside them in a sukkah.
Jewish people may build a sukkah in their backyard or
choose to participate in their synagogue's sukkah building.
Traditionally, the roofs of a sukkah are made with
foliage which allows the sky to be seen, while the walls can
be made of any material. Inside the sukkah
one might find a table and chairs for eating and often the
sukkah is decorated with actual (or pictures of)
fruits and vegetables.
In addition to the sukkah, the etrog (citron, lemon) and
lulav (a palm branch with willow and myrtle attached)
are key symbols of Sukkot and as such are used in a
series of rituals. The lulav is held in one's right hand
and is waved in six directions (north, south, east, west,
up, and down). This waving symbolizes God's presence in
all directions.
With the etrog held in the person's left
hand and lulav in the right hand a blessing is recited.
According to rabbinic tradition there are four species
of plants. The etrog and lulav serve to represent two
of these species, specifically citron and palm branch.
In biblical times, a tradition evolved whereby congregation
members would walk ceremoniously to their synagogue holding
a plant or fruit representing these four species.
In contemporary Jewish life one can still see congregation
members walking to their synagogue with an etrog and lulav.
The Harvest festival is an opportunity for people to
thank God for a good crop and pray for a fruitful harvest
next year. During Sukkot Jewish people eat outside in a
special hut or booth called a sukkah. In fact,
some strictly observant Jews live in their sukkah's for
the duration of Sukkot. The sukkahs are replicas
of the simple huts the Israelites lived in as they wandered
the dessert. The sukkah was also used by farmers who
during the harvest time in Israel would work in their fields
all day and then slept beside them in a sukkah.
Pictures of Etrog Holders
