(VIDEO) Sukkot: The abode of the divine in the human frailty

“The sukkah is a sanctuary of faith, where the wood becomes prayer and the shadow in confidence.”
— Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook

Full and detailed study on the feast of biblical and jewish Sukkot (סֻכּוֹת)

I. general Introduction

Sukkotalso known as the Feast of Tabernacles, or of the Cabins, is one of the three festivals of pilgrimage of judaism (along with Passover and Shavuot), and has a deep historical significance, agricultural and spiritual.
In Hebrew, “סֻכּוֹת – Sukkot” is the plural of sukkah, which means “hut” or “bower”. The festival lasts for seven days in Israel and eight in the diasporastarting the day 15 of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (five days after Yom Kippur).

Sukkot commemorates both the divine protection of the people of Israel during the 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, as it is also a fiesta farmcelebrating the fall harvest in the Land of Israel, also known as “the feast of harvest” (Jag HaAsif).

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II. Biblical foundation

Sukkot is sorted in several passages of the Torah:

• Leviticus 23:33-43: “Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are native in Israel shall dwell in booths, so that you know your generations, that in the cabins did I dwell, the children of Israel when you brought them out of the land of Egypt.”
• Exodus 23:16: “And the feast of the harvest at the end of the year, when thou hast gathered in from the fields and the fruit of your work.”
• Deuteronomy 16:13-15: “Shall observe the feast of tabernacles for seven days... and rejoice in your feast.”

These texts are the foundation of the three dimensions of Sukkot: historical remembrance of the Exodus), agricultural (collection) and spiritual joy and dependence on God).

“Sukkot teaches us that joy is not dependent on the ceiling that we have, but the light that is let in by its branches.”
— Rabbi Jonathan Sacks

III. Dimensions and meanings of Sukkot

1. Historical dimension

Sukkot reminds of the time that the israelites they lived in cabins in the desert, and depend totally on God. The cottages represent the human fragility and the divine protection symbolized in the “clouds of glory” that covered the people during their journey (according to the Midrash).

2. Dimension agricultural

Sukkot marks the end of the agricultural cycle of the year in Israel. It is the time of the collection of the fruits (grapes, olives, dates, pomegranates, etc). That is why it is also called Jag HaAsif, “the feast of the harvest”.
In this sense, it is a feast of gratitude for material blessing, and the fertility of the land.

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3. Spiritual dimension

Sukkot is considered to be the party joy (Zeman Simjatenu, “time of our joy”), as it says in Deuteronomy 16:14:

“And you rejoice in your festival”.
It is a time to recognize the impermanence of life and fully trust in divine providence.

IV. Commandments (Mitzvot) of Succoth

1. To dwell in the Sukkah

During the seven days of Sukkot, jews built and live in a sukkah, a hut or temporary, made of natural materials, especially branches or reeds for the roof (sajaj).
The mitzvah is in eat, sleep, and spend time in the sukkah, reminding us of the fragility of existence and the divine protection.

• The sukkah you must have at least three walls and a roof that let a little light and let you see the stars.
• The sajaj (ceiling) should not be of industrial material, but natural, and disconnected from the ground (branches, palm leaves, reeds, etc).
• The sukkah symbolizes both the clouds of glory who protected Israel as the humility before God.

2. The Lulav and the Four Species

The second commandment central is take the “four species” (Arbaat HaMinim), described in Leviticus 23:40:

“Ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of beautiful tree, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you; and you shall rejoice before Adonai your God for seven days.”

These are:

• Etrog (פרי עץ הדר) – the fruit of the citron.
• Lulav (כפות תמרים) – a branch of a date palm.
• Fairy (ענף עץ עבות) – three branches of myrtle.
• Aravá (ערבי נחל) – two branches of willow.

The four species are shaken together every day (except on Shabbat) in six directions —north, south, east, west, up and down— symbolizing that God is everywhere and the whole of nature depends on It.

V. Duration and structure of the festival

1. Duration

• In Israel: 7 days (from 15 to 21 Tishrei).
• In the diaspora: 8 days (by the doubling of traditional holidays, outside of Israel).

2. Days

• First day: Yom Tov, holy day with work ban.
• In-between days: Chol HaMoed (days semifestivos).
• Last day: Hoshana Rabbah (seventh-day), the day of final judgment symbolic of the cycle of the feasts.
• Immediately after: Sheminí Atzeret (eighth day), and Simchat Torah (ninth in the diaspora), which closed the cycle festive.

“During Sukkot, the jewish lives with the walls of the faith and the roof of the sky.”
— Talmud, Suká 2a

VI. Traditional customs and practices

1. Decorating the Sukkah: It is decorated with fruits, drawings, lights and symbols agricultural, celebrating the abundance.
2. Ushpizin: Mystical tradition (the Zóhar) that teaches that every night “visit” the sukkah one of the seven spiritual shepherds of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David.
3. Liturgical readings:
   • In the synagogue, read texts of the Kohelet (Ecclesiastes), which reflects on the transience of life.
   • Recite special prayers Hallel (praise) and Hoshanot (supplications, with the lulav).
4. Joy: Celebrations known as Simchat Beit Hashoevah (“the joy of the extraction of water”), recalling the water ceremony in the Temple.

VII. Sukkot at the time of the Temple

In the Second Temple of Jerusalem, Sukkot was the party most massive of the year.
Thousands of pilgrims were coming with offerings, and the ceremony took place in the “Nisuj HaMayim” (libation of water): the High Priest poured water on the altar, asking for blessing the rains of the coming year.
According to the Mishnah (Suká 5:1), the joy was so great that it was said:

“Whoever has not seen the joy of Beit Hashoevah, not seen joy in his life.”

VIII. Meaning symbolic and prophetic

Sukkot has a deep eschatological meaning in the jewish tradition and biblical:

• Zechariah 14:16-19 prophesies that in the future, all the nations of the world will go up to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot, symbolizing the universal oneness under God.
• Represents the final reconciliation between God and humanityafter the judgment of Yom Kippur.
• In the mystical tradition, and Succoth, symbolizes the time messianicwhen the divine presence (Shechinah) to dwell among men.

IX. Spiritual message for contemporary

Sukkot teaches several essential lessons:

1. Humility and dependence: The sukkah reminds us that material security is fleeting, the real protection comes from God.
2. Gratitude: Thanks for the fruits of the earth and the blessings of the year.
3. Unit: The four species represent different types of people, but united in a single service to God.
4. Joy: Joy as a command, not as a consequence but as an expression of faith.

X. Conclusion

Sukkot is a holiday more rich and multifaceted of judaism.
Combining history, nature, liturgy, mysticism and universal hope. Represents the joy of living under the divine protection, recalling that all material is ephemeral, and that the true stability is found in the spiritual.

As it says in the Midrash Rabbah:

“When Israel out of their homes and firm enters cabins fragile, the Holy one, blessed be He, covers his head with his shadow, and says: ‘This is My people, that trust in Me.’”