THE FESTIVAL OF SUKKOT
Eric Levy, French, 1800's
Sukkot is called the “Festival of Ingathering” and” the” Festival of Booths”.
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TORAH SOURCES FOR CELEBRATING SUKKOT
Exodus 23:14 and in part 16 – states:
שָׁלֹשׁ רְגָלִים, תָּחֹג לִי בַּשָּׁנָה
“Three pilgrimages in a year shall you celebrate for Me”.
וְחַג הָאָסִף בְּצֵאת הַשָּׁנָה, בְּאָסְפְּךָ אֶת-מַעֲשֶׂיךָ מִן-הַשָּׂדֶה
“…and the festival of ingathering at the departure of the year, when you gather in your labors from the field”.
Exodus 34:22 (in part):
וְחַג֙ הָ֣אָסִ֔יף תְּקוּפַ֖ת הַשָּׁנָֽה
“…and the festival of the ingathering, at the turn of the year”.
Leviticus 23:34:
דַּבֵּר אֶל-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל, לֵאמֹר: בַּחֲמִשָּׁה עָשָׂר יוֹם, לַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי הַזֶּה, חַג הַסֻּכּוֹת שִׁבְעַת יָמִים, לַיהוָה
“Speak to the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month, is the Festival of Succoth, a seven day period to the Lord”.
“Now, the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the produce of the land, you shall keep the festival of Hashem, lasting seven days; a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day.
On the first day you shall take the fruit of majestic trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook; and you shall rejoice before Hashem your God for seven days.
You shall keep it as a festival to Hashem seven days in the year; you shall keep it in the seventh month as a statute forever throughout your generations.
You shall live in booths for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths,
so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am Hashem your God”.
Deuteronomy 16:13:
חַג הַסֻּכֹּת תַּעֲשֶׂה לְךָ, שִׁבְעַת יָמִים: בְּאָסְפְּךָ--מִגָּרְנְךָ, וּמִיִּקְבֶךָ
“You shall keep the feast of booths seven days, after that you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from your winepress”.
These Torah sources about Sukkot date back to the time of Moses, 3,500 years ago. There is a lot more to say about Sukkot in the time of King Solomon around 900 BCE, the return of the Exiles in the Book of Ezra and Nehemiah in the 6th century BCE, in the 2nd Temple period around the year 100 BCE and as recently as the 16th century.
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Some time ago, Rabbi Wein had somethings to say on Sukkot . Here are some excerpts:
The holiday of Sukkot is, perhaps, unique amongst all the holidays of the Jewish calendar year. The laws pertaining to the commandments particular to this holiday are almost all exclusively derived from the oral law given to our teacher Moshe on Sinai
There is no way that a succah can be successfully and traditionally constructed without recourse to the intricacies and nuances that the oral law that the Torah provides for us.
Here in Israel when Covid was rampart the construction of succah was much more muted and minimal than in previous years. There was a far greater reliance upon the so-called imaginary walls that the oral law envisions for us, to somehow be halachically acceptable and valid, and allowed much outside air to enter and escape, as mandated by the health authorities.
Simply reading the text in the Torah itself does not allow for partial walls to be considered as complete walls, and for walls and roofs to be considered as touching each other, even though strictly speaking to our human eyes, they do not touch.
There are myriad laws involved in the proper construction of a succah. But these laws are not readily apparent from the reading of the text of the Torah itself. It is only the oral law that breathes life into words and letters of the Torah and gives them meaning and practical vitality.
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DO NOT MISS THIS FILM: "USHPIZIN"
Ushpizin is an Aramaic word meaning "guests". It refers to a Kabbalistic tradition where "Exalted Guests" such as Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are invited into your succah. In the film, however, the exalted guests are escaped criminals.
Moshe and Mali Bellanga are an impoverished, childless couple in Jerusalem. They cannot pay their bills, much less prepare for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Sukkot. After some anguished prayer, they receive an unexpected monetary gift on the eve of the holiday.
Moshe admires a particularly beautiful etrog required for the holiday observance. Moshe buys the etrog for 1000 shekels, a large sum of money that is much more than he can afford.
The couple is visited by a pair of escaped convicts, one of whom knew Moshe in his earlier, sometimes violent non-religious life, and the story really takes off.
Don’t miss it…great acting…great characters.
https://dai.ly/x75803o
https://dai.ly/x75803o
https://dai.ly/x75803o
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Rav Kook on Sukkot, excerpted and adapted from Mo'adei HaRe’iyah p. 96, Chanan Morison:
The Talmud in Sukkah 27b makes a remarkable claim regarding the holiday of Succoth:
“For seven days... all who belong to the people of Israel will live in sukkot [thatched huts]” (Lev. 23:42).
This teaches that it is fitting for all of Israel to sit in one sukkah.
Obviously, no sukkah is large enough to hold the entire Jewish people. What is the meaning of this utopian vision — all of Israel sitting together in a single sukkah?
During the holiday of Succoth we absorb the light of Torah and a love for truth. Conflicting views become integrated and unified. Through the spiritual ascent of the Days of Awe, we attain a comprehensive unity, a unity that extends its holy light over all parts of the Jewish people. During this special time, it is as if the entire nation is sitting together, sharing the holy experience of the same sukkah.
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