Sukkot

Sukkot is the annual festival during which we rejoice and give thanks for the autumn harvest. It also commemorates the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the wilderness after Sinai.

Sukkot is observed from the 15-21 Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar and usually falls in September or October.

Like Pesach and Shavuot, Sukkot began as an agricultural festival. It marks the gathering of the autumn harvest, symbolising the abundance of the land. In ancient times, it was one of the Shalosh Regalim (Three Pilgrimage Festivals), when Israelites brought offerings of their first fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem.

As a harvest festival, Sukkot was – and still is – a time of joy and gratitude for the earth’s bounty. For our ancestors, it was also a time of uncertainty as they looked to the skies for the rain needed to plant crops for the coming year. The custom of building temporary booths, or sukkot, in which to eat, socialise and even sleep, recalls the shelters the Israelites used during their journey through the wilderness and reminds us of human fragility and dependence on nature.

Traditions associated with Sukkot include:

• Building a sukkah – a temporary shelter made from branches and leaves and decorated with fruit. According to the Torah, this recalls the Israelites’ journey through the wilderness, though it may also reflect the practice of ancient farmers who built shelters in their fields to protect their harvest and maximise time outdoors.
• Waving the lulav – a bundle of palm, willow and myrtle branches-together with an etrog (a lemon-like citrus fruit). These are waved during the psalms of Hallel (praise) and may preserve echoes of an ancient rainmaking ritual.
• Attending special prayer services on the first day of Sukkot, when the moon is full. Many Progressive synagogues offer a range of formats, from traditional liturgy to explanatory, teen-focused and family-friendly services.
• Sukkot is often a springboard for social action, especially around homelessness, the environment and support refugees.

Today, Sukkot reconnects us with the natural world, reminding us of our dependence on it and our responsibility to reach out and connect with others. It is also a celebration of all that the natural world gives us – its beauty, its abundance and its essential role in sustaining life.

Falling in the same Hebrew month as Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Sukkot helps transition us away from the weightiness of the High Holy Days and into a period of rejoicing.

If you want to experience Sukkot in a welcoming, inclusive, and egalitarian setting, we’d love to welcome you into one of our Progressive congregations.