Sukkot & Simchat Torah

The word Sukkot is derived from the Hebrew word sukkah, meaning booth or hut. During this holiday, Jews are instructed to build a temporary structure in which to eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep. The sukkah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, and is intended to reflect God's benevolence in providing for all the Jews' needs in the desert.

The sukkah is a temporary building used for meals throughout the holiday. It can be built of any materials, but its roof must be of organic material and partially open to the sky. The decor of the interior of the sukkah may range from totally unornamented to lavishly decorated.

The four species

On each of the seven days of Sukkot, the Torah requires the Jew to take Four Species of plants and to grasp and shake them in a specific manner. These species are: the lulav (date palm frond), hadass (bough of a myrtle tree), aravah (willow branch)—these three are actually bound together and collectively referred to as the lulav—and the etrog (a citron, a lemon-like citrus fruit). These plants are usually sold in religious communities during the days preceding the festival. However, in some Reform communities where these plants are not available locally, other plants such as reeds are substituted for one or more of the four species.

Some rabbinic authorities hold that the Four Species are meant to reflect four categories of plants that grow in Israel: those with a good taste and pleasant fragrance (the etrog), those with a good taste and no fragrance (the palm), those with a pleasant fragrance and no taste (the haddasim), and those with neither taste nor fragrance (the aravah). By taking all four, Jews symbolically request that God provide sufficient rain for all types of plants and crops to grow and thrive.

The Four Species are waved as follows: The first three species are held in the right hand, while the etrog is held in the left hand. The user holds his or her hands apart while saying the special blessing, "Blessed are You, God our Lord, King of the Universe, Who has sanctified us with His commandments and commanded us to take the lulav". Then the user brings his or her hands together so that the etrog touches the lulav bundle, and points and gently shakes the Four Species three times in each of the four directions, as well as up and down. Symbolically, this ceremony is a prayer for adequate rainfall for all the vegetation of the earth in the coming year.

In Orthodox circles, the mitzvah of waving the lulav and etrog is mandatory each day of Sukkot (except Shabbat) for men and boys over the age of bar mitzvah. Although women are not obligated to wave the lulav and etrog, they may do so if they choose, and traditionally, Orthodox women are considered to have taken the obligation upon themselves and perform it as their male counterparts. In Conservative and Reform circles, all Jews over the age of Bar or Bat Mitzvah perform the waving ceremony.

The waving ceremony is usually done in the synagogue during the daily prayer services, although it can also be done in the privacy of one's home or sukkah. During the first six days of Sukkot, all the worshippers in the synagogue leave their seats and make a complete circuit around the sanctuary in a procession with their lulavs. The lulav and etrog are shaken during the recital of Hallel. On the seventh day of the holiday, known as Hoshanah Rabbah, the worshippers make seven circuits around the sanctuary.

The mitzvah is derived from the Book of Leviticus: "And you shall take for yourself on the first day the fruit of goodly (meaning of Hebrew uncertain, but modern Hebrew "citrus") trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook" (Lev. 23:40). The use to which these species are to be put is not indicated; this gave rise to divergent interpretations at a later time. Two breakaway sects, the Sadducees and the Karaites, maintained that they were meant for building the sukkah, as would appear from Neh. 8:14-18, while their opponents contended that they were to be carried in the synagogue procession.

Sukkot laws and customs

In modern day Israel (and among Reform Jews), Sukkot is a 7-day holiday, with the first day celebrated as a full festival with special prayer services and holiday meals. Outside the land of Israel, the first two days are celebrated as full festivals. The remaining days are known as Chol HaMoed ("festival weekdays"). The seventh day of Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah and has a special observance of its own.

Many of the laws of Muktza that apply on Shabbat also apply on Sukkot, such as the prohibition of engaging in commerce, lighting a fire, and completing an electric circuit. Other Shabbat prohibitions, however, are relaxed. With various differences based on one's religious orientation, one is permitted to cook (so long as the fire is pre-existing), smoke (again, so long as the fire is pre-existing), and carry material things beyond the home or eruv boundaries.

The relaxed rules derive from the specific tasks and duties that were permitted to be done on Sukkot in the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) that were otherwise forbidden on Shabbat.

The applicable rules of Muktza only apply on the first day of Sukkot for those in Israel, and the first two days outside of Israel. For the remaining five days, known as Chol HaMoed other rituals are practiced, but Muktza does not apply.

When the first day or Sukkot falls on Shabbat (or one of the first two days outside of Israel), the greater restrictions of Shabbat take effect. As a practical matter, on Shabbat, the rituals and blessings over the four species are not performed.

Prayers

Prayers during Sukkot include the reading of the Torah every day, saying the Mussaf (additional) service during morning prayers, reading the Hallel, and adding special supplications into the Amidah and grace after meals.

On the first day of Sukkot (the first two days, outside of Israel), the prayer services are extended and similar to those of Shabbat.

Simchat Torah—The Joy of the Torah

What is Simchat Torah?

The holiday of Simchat Torah is a great invention of the Jewish People in their Exile. It celebrates the completion of and the beginning of the "Reading of the Torah."

What do you mean "invention?"

Since the Shmini Atzeret-Simchat Torah Holiday has no intrinsic Mitzvot, but is a celebration of the relationship between G-d and Israel, the Jewish People created a "Mitzvah," so to speak, which brought out and emphasized that relationship, which is based on the Torah.

What does "Reading of the Torah" mean?

This expression refers to the fact that Moshe had instituted the public reading of the Torah on each Shabbat. Much later generations defined the schedule such that the reading of the entire Torah would be completed on Simchat Torah and begun again that very day.

How is the completion-and-beginning celebrated?

On the night of the Holiday, the celebration is begun with the reading of a selection of verses, beginning "Ata Horayta," "You have been Shown," recounting how G-d revealed Himself to the Jewish People at Mt. Sinai, declaring G-d's uniqueness, and emphasizing our reliance upon Him to bring our final redemption. Then all eyes turn to the Ark, which contains the "Sifrei Torah," the actual Scrolls of the Torah. The Ark is opened and all the Scrolls are taken out, and everybody in the shul is given an opportunity to dance with them.

"Hakafot"—Dancing with the Torah

What are Hakafot?

On the night preceding Simchat Torah and again the following morning ("they could've danced all night!"), Jews all over the world (in Israel, Shmini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are rolled into one) dance joyously with the Torah.

Each dance is begun with a circuit of the bimah (the central platform in the synagogue from which the Torah is read), which symbolizes the altar in the Temple, by Jews carrying scrolls of the Torah taken from the Ark. This is done seven times, each to its own "lyrics," but all to a standard melody.

This is followed by exuberant dancing, to the sound of various Hebrew melodies, ranging from the ancient to the old to the new, a capello (without instrumental accompaniment).

The songs are based mainly on phrases from the Bible, or the Talmud, or Jewish tradition, and the dances continue for an undetermined length of time, or until they are stopped by the Rabbi, in the interest of allowing the congregants to get some sleep, or the Gabbai (Sexton)—an officer of the shul responsible for ritual matters, or until the dancers become exhausted, whichever comes first.