Sukkot — The Festival of Rejoicing and Temporary Dwelling
Sukkot (the Festival of Booths) is the most joyful of Jewish festivals — celebrated by living in temporary structures, inviting all who are hungry to eat, and recognizing the beauty and fragility of all existence.
Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) is called 'z'man simchateinu' — the time of our rejoicing — and is described in the Mishnah as the most joyful festival of the year. Jews are commanded to dwell in temporary booths (sukkot) for seven days — a practice that: commemorates the wandering in the wilderness and God's provision; reminds of the impermanence of all material structures; and creates a space of radical hospitality (the invitation to 'all who are hungry' is integral to the Sukkot observance). The mystic tradition adds ushpizin (exalted guests) — the invitation of the seven Patriarchs/Matriarchs to join each day of the festival. The four species (arba minim) — palm, myrtle, willow, and citron (etrog) — are waved in all six directions plus up and down, symbolizing God's presence throughout the entire universe. The morning after Sukkot ends, the etrog — so carefully preserved — is sometimes used to make jam, marking the transition from sanctity to everyday use.
You shall dwell in booths for seven days... so that your generations will know that I caused the Israelites to dwell in booths when I brought them out of Egypt.
The Torah commands dwelling in booths seven days 'so that your generations may know that I made the Children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of Egypt' (Leviticus 23:42–43). The fragile sukkah, open to the sky, and the four species (lulav, etrog, hadas, aravah) mark the festival the liturgy calls Zman Simchateinu, 'the season of our rejoicing.'
Torah
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- What Judaism says about rest
For seven days the commandment is to live in a hut you could push over, and the observance treats the invitation to all who are hungry as part of the dwelling. The Mishnah calls it the most joyful festival of the year, which puts joy and structural fragility deliberately in the same room.