Jewish Sukkot Date

Sukkot: The Feast of Tabernacles

Sukkot (סֻֻכוֹת, “booths”) starts on 15 Tishrei in the Hebrew calendar. That puts it five days after Yom Kippur, and on the Gregorian calendar it usually lands in September or October. The festival runs 7 days, or 8 in the diaspora, and recalls the 40-year journey of the Israelites through the desert after the Exodus from Egypt, when they lived in temporary shelters.

Throughout Sukkot, families build a sukkah, a temporary hut whose roof of branches (s’chach) has to be loose enough that the stars show through, and they take their meals inside it for seven days. Things wrap up with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, when the annual Torah reading cycle ends and starts over again with Genesis 1.

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Two rituals sit at the heart of the festival. The first is the Four Species (Arba Minim) — lulav (palm), etrog (citron), hadas (myrtle), and aravah (willow) — waved in six directions to symbolize God’s omnipresence. The second is Ushpizin, the mystical custom of inviting the seven biblical patriarchs (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David) as honored guests, one per night.

FAQ

Why is Sukkot called the “season of our joy”? The Torah comes right out and commands “you shall rejoice in your festival” (Deut. 16:14). The day carries two reasons for that joy: the autumn harvest in the Land of Israel, and gratitude for divine protection during the wilderness years.

Does it have to rain on Sukkot? Just the opposite. The prayer for rain (Tefillat Geshem) is held back until Shemini Atzeret, after Sukkot has ended. Rain during the festival itself is read as a sign that the offering was not accepted.

What is Hoshana Rabbah? It is the seventh day of Sukkot, held to be the final sealing of the divine judgment that opened back on Rosh Hashanah. Worshippers make seven processions around the synagogue with the Four Species, and bundles of willow are beaten against the floor.