This fall, many Jews will be enjoying the outdoors while celebrating a holiday known as Sukkot.
Sukkot is a seven day festival that is part harvest festival, part remembrance of the journey through the desert after the exodus from Egypt that is described in the Old Testament.
“I think it is a wonderful holiday,” said Rabbi Micah Lapidus, director of Hebrew and Judaic studies at the Davis Academy. “Its’ somewhat overlooked but a very significant celebration throughout Jewish history and a special one.”
The holiday is celebrated chiefly through the construction of a sukkah, a temporary outdoor shelter.
“Among other things it’s a reminder of the temporary dwellings Israelites used when they were wandering for 40 years in the desert,” Lapidus said. “In the sukkah, ideally you are supposed to eat your meals there, even sleep there and invite guests there.”
Sukkahs can be built out of materials like wood and canvas and it is tradition to use an organic material like bamboo for the roof so the stars are visible at night.
In biblical times, people would make a pilgrimage to the Temple to make an offering during Sukkot.
“It’s one of the three pilgrimage festivals in Judaism, in the time when people used to go to Jerusalem in conjunction with the harvest,” Lapidus said.
Lapidus said there are many traditions associated with Sukkot, so different families will observe the holiday in different ways.
Some people will not build their own sukkah, but will go to a sukkah at their synagogue or friends’ homes, Lapidus said.
“But in the end it’s very simple: the temporary dwelling reminds you of God’s presence and God’s protection,” Lapidus said. “The idea of inviting people into your sukkah and sharing meals are some of the main things.”
Sukkot is a special time of year for Harve and Gail Linder, who celebrate not only the holiday but their wedding anniversary.
“I proposed to my wife in a sukkah,” said Harve Linder. “I actually hid the ring in a bag and hung it from the top of a sukkah in the roof.”
Linder said there are several things he enjoys about Sukkot.
“There are several aspects. One is personal. There’s a certain peace or solitude I get if I’m sitting out in a sukkah reading or looking at the sky,” Linder said. “Second it’s great to have your family out there. Family is a central part of Judaism. The third level is with friends.”
He said he and his wife often invite friends over to eat meals with them in their sukkah.
“In addition to people who are familiar, we try to invite one family who doesn’t do the normal traditional thing,” Linder said. “We’ve had a number of families in our sukkah over the years that this might be their first time in a sukkah. It’s fun to show them what you do. … It’s just nice to share the traditions of the religion. They create nice memories and maybe at some point in time they’ll create their own sukkah.”