SUKKOT

The Feast of Booths (Tabernacles)

It is traditional to start building a sukkah (booth) immediately after Yom Kippur even though the holiday begins five days after the Day of Atonement on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. Sukkot is associated with rejoicing, living in booths or, if that is not possible due to weather or other reasons, trying to eat some meals there. A sukkah is a temporary booth, which must be partially open to the sky and whose roof should be partially made up of plant material like palm fronds or branches.

Sukkot is both an agricultural holiday celebrating the end of the year’s harvest in the Land of Israel, as well as a time when we remember the Jewish people’s 40 year-long wandering in the desert after our Exodus from Egypt. This holiday is also called the “Festival of Ingathering.” It is a tradition to welcome guests to one’s sukkah, which is often decorated with hanging decorations and/or artwork.

In Israel and in Reform congregations, Sukkot is a seven-day festival while in Conservative and Orthodox congregations outside of Israel it is celebrated for eight days. For a more detailed description of the holiday, visit myjewishlearning.com.

Sukkot Date

2024: Starts at sunset on October 16 and ends at nightfall October 23.

Customs

Building a sukkah and inviting guests to join you in the sukkah for meals
Decorating the sukkah with hanging decorations and/or artwork
Sleeping in the sukkah
Holding together and shaking the four species of plants found in Israel—palm, myrtle and willow (lulav) along with a citron (etrog).

Blessings

Here are the blessings for this holiday, including blessings when shaking the lulav.

And to learn how to shake the lulav, watch this video.

Resources from My Jewish Learning

Recipes

5 Ingredient Shortcut Recipes for Sukkot