At Sukkot we specifically welcome ushpizin, traditionally one of seven exalted men of Israel to take up residence in the sukkah with us: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David. Be creative and encourage your guests to welcome their own ushpizin — famous personalities and heroes, ancient or modern, Jewish or not Jewish, who lived exemplary lives and continue to inspire.
Make your home a joyful place with decorations in the spirit of the holiday: Decorate your front door with a harvest theme, hang paper chains from your ceilings or build a mini-sukkah out of graham crackers, pretzels and icing to serve as a fun treat. The space and financial investment needed to build a sukkah can be very real, but finding ways to celebrate the holiday only takes some creative thinking. You must be logged in to post a comment.
Please support us in any way you can, so we can keep you well informed with local, national, and worldwide Jewish news. Tweets by CTJewishLedger. Jewish Ledger. Jewish Life. Facebook Twitter. Email this page. Share on Facebook Share on Twitter. Torah Portion — Toldot. Happy Harlequin! Romance-book house works Chanukah into its seasonal novels. First, the Etrog , the yellow citron fruit, with its great taste and pleasing fragrance, represents an individual who has wisdom and performs good deeds.
Second, the Hadass , boughs with leaves from the myrtle tree, has a good fragrance, but is inedible and therefore represents individuals who perform good deeds but lack wisdom. Third, the Lulav , the frond from a date palm tree, is edible, but has no smell, which represents the individual with wisdom, but who does not perform good deeds. Finally, the Aravah. Branches from the willow tree, has neither taste nor smell and represents the individual with neither wisdom nor the performance of good deeds.
These four types of Jews come together in a unified way during Sukkot. We might all be different types of Jews, with different backgrounds, different positions, and different perspectives. But on this holiday, we celebrate together to create one nation as one union of these four species. Long ago, we would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem to joyously celebrate together. As a Jewish people, we find our joy by uniting as one, despite and even because of our differences.
First, we connect to the past. I have very fond and distinct memories growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, helping my father assemble our Sukkah each year and helping my Mom decorate it with favorite acquisitions from her travels. And we always welcomed guests to our Sukkah from many different walks of life.
The power of that memory grounds me to this day, especially during this time of year. Second, we continue the tradition to the present day. Anyone, however, who locks the doors of his courtyard and eats and drinks along with his wife and children, without giving anything to eat and drink to the poor and the desperate, does not observe a religious celebration but indulges in the celebration of his stomach.
And about such is it stated Hosea , "their sacrifices are like the bread of mourners, all who eat it will be contaminated; for their bread is for their own appetites. Is Rejoicing a physical or a spiritual concept according to Maimonides? In what way is it expressed through moral behavior? You shall rejoice before the Lord your God: This is the only festival prescribed in chapter 23 on which rejoicing is explicitly commanded.
In the festival calendar of Deuteronomy 16, rejoicing is also mentioned in connection with the Feast of Weeks. Elsewhere we read that sacrificial worship in the Temple is an occasion for rejoicing. It is not clear just why the Sukkot festival is singled out here, although it may be because Sukkot was the most prominent of the ancient pilgrimage festivals.
How is the joy we experience on Sukkot different from other holidays such as Passover, Chanukah or Purim? Do most Jews associate Sukkot with rejoicing - why or why not? The Kotzker Rebbe maintained that joyfulness follows as a by-product of holiness.
In many ways, Sukkot has become the model for this worldly enjoyment, which is why it is called the time of rejoicing. The depth of the joy also grows out of its relationship to Yom Kippur. Sukkot comes just four days after Yom Kippur, the most ascetic, self-denying, guilt-ridden, awesome holy day of the Jewish year.
On the Day of Atonement, Jews reenact their own death, only to be restored to life in the resolution of the day. Only those who know the fragility of life can truly appreciate the full preciousness of every moment.
The release from Yom Kippur leads to the extraordinary outburst of life that is Sukkot. On this holiday, Jews are commanded to eat, drink, be happy, dance, and relish life to the fullest in celebrating the harvest and personal wealth. But making joy holy means being selective in the enjoyment of God's gifts, not worshiping those gifts or those who own them. The first and foremost expression of this insight is to share the bounty and the joy.
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