Sukkot

Originally a harvest celebration, the seven-day festival Sukkot Commemorates God's special concern for the children of Israel during their forty-year journey through the desert. God commands us to observe the Festival of Booths in Leviticus, Chapter 23: "In sukkot [booths] you shall dwell seven days, every citizen in Israel shall dwell in sukkot, in order that your generations shall know that in sukkot I made the children of Israel dwell when I brought them out from the land of Egypt."

The central symbol associated with Sukkot is the sukka, a flimsy, temporary, open-roofed hut in which we eat, entertain guests, and sometimes even sleep. Another mitzvah, or commandment, associated with this festival is the waving of the etrog and lulav. The citron is a fragrant fruit similar to a lemon. The lulav is a palm frond bound together with myrtle and willow branches. This foursome, known as the arba minim, or four species, is waved in all six directions, symbolizing God's universal presence.

Though Sukkot is a joyous festival, it comes at the end of the long, soul-searching season that begins in the weeks leading up to Rosh Hashanah. The serious mood of this season is reflected in the book of Kohelet, or Ecclesiastes, which is traditionally read on Sukkot.