I bet more Americans know what Pride Month is than what Sukkot is. More Americans probably know that Eid al-Fitr is a Muslim holiday than the fact that Jews continue to observe Sukkot, the autumn edition of the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals along with Pesach and Shavuot. In English those holidays are known as the Feast of Booths (aka Tabernacles), Passover, and the Feast of Weeks.
וְשָׂמַחְתָּ֖ בְּחַגֶּ֑ךָ אַתָּ֨ה וּבִנְךָ֤ וּבִתֶּ֙ךָ֙ וְעַבְדְּךָ֣ וַאֲמָתֶ֔ךָ וְהַלֵּוִ֗י וְהַגֵּ֛ר וְהַיָּת֥וֹם וְהָאַלְמָנָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר בִּשְׁעָרֶֽיךָ׃
You shall rejoice in your festival, with your son and daughter, your male and female slave, the [family of the] Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow in your communities.
שִׁבְעַ֣ת יָמִ֗ים תָּחֹג֙ לַיהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ בַּמָּק֖וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֣ר יְהֹוָ֑ה כִּ֣י יְבָרֶכְךָ֞ יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֗יךָ בְּכֹ֤ל תְּבוּאָֽתְךָ֙ וּבְכֹל֙ מַעֲשֵׂ֣ה יָדֶ֔יךָ וְהָיִ֖יתָ אַ֥ךְ שָׂמֵֽחַ׃
You shall hold a festival for your God יהוה seven days, in the place that יהוה will choose; for your God יהוה will bless all your crops and all your undertakings, and you shall have nothing but joy.
Sukkot is when observant Jews construct temporary shelters (Sukkah is the singular form of the noun) outside of their homes in which to eat meals and sleep, weather permitting. The holiday is a bit of a harvest festival (technically, Shavuot, also known as the Festival of First Fruits, is the official harvest festival, but that takes place in mid-summer) so many people use agricultural products like gourds, Indian corn, and corn stalks to decorate their Sukkahs (I’m going to stop italicizing that now). It’s official purpose is to commemorate the temporary tents and huts the Israelites used in the Sinai desert after the Exodus from Egypt. In a sense the festival is about God’s provisioning and protecting us, though obviously, since we have to grow the food and build the dwellings, we have an important role.
Not only are Jews commanded by God to leave their permanent homes and dwell in their Sukkahs for a week, they are also commanded to be happy. Actually, not just to be happy, but to be only happy.
”And you shall rejoice in your Festival… and you will be only happy.”
As a now single man, I don’t need a big Sukkah, mine is only 4’ x 4’, just big enough for me to eat my meals therein but still large enough for a second chair in case a friend wants to stop by and fulfill the mitzvah, the commandment, of sitting and eating in a Sukkah with me.
The Sukkah must be covered with some kind of plant material, called schach, a word that you can’t pronounce if you don’t know Hebrew, Yiddish, or German. Typically people use cedar boughs, bamboo poles, or rough cut lath, because you still have to be able to see some stars through the roof, the roof can’t provide complete protection from rain.
I actually once drove to northern Michigan with a chain saw and brought back a minivan full of cedar boughs, but most years I just cut down some overgrowth in the back yard. This year, though, the Indica harvest was two days before Sukkot and I thank God for a bountiful harvest.
If you’re in the neighborhood, stop by, enjoy some of the bounty, and be happy.
Chag Sukkot Sameach, Have a happy Sukkot.
“I bet more Americans know what Pride Month is than what Sukkot is. “
Only via your recommendation of “This Is My God” over at Riverside Green.
May G-d bless you Ronnie.