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F4: Succot Page 1 -Introduction
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Sitting in huts decorated with branches and fruit in the garden to eat dinner with 7 imaginary guests? Shaking leaves, branches and citrus fruits all over the place? Praying for rain? It's either the latest episode of the X-Files... ...or perhaps another Jewish holiday...? To find out the secrets of Succot, read on...
Introduction
'Succot?' I hear you ask, 'But that's so obvious. Everyone knows all about Succot. It's that weird one where we eat fruit in the shed-thing next to the shul, whilst the rabbi shakes the sticks and the lemon. What else is there to know about it?' So, maybe you kind of know some of the customs related to this festival, but do you really know what it's all about, and why it's still one of the most important weeks in the Jewish year? As with many other chapters of our Jampacked Bible, to find out out more you have to dig a little deeper...
So what's it all about then?
Before we go any deeper, let's make sure we're all clear on the basics. Succot (known by R.E. teachers everywhere as The Feast of Tabernacles) is one of the three Pilgrim Festivals, along with Pesach and Shavuot, that are spoken about in the Torah. These three festivals have certain characteristics in common. Firstly, they all symbolise essential religious & ethical ideas (Pesach = the existence of God & freedom; Shavuot = revelation of God's Law; Succot = that God cares for and helps the Children of Israel). Secondly, they all refer to important events in ancient Jewish history. Thirdly, they all mark and celebrate the various harvest times (Succot being held at the same time as the fruit harvest in Israel). The reason that these three were known as the Pilgrim Festivals, was that during the days of the Temple, Jewish people from far and wide would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem with their sacrificial offerings at these times, as commanded in Deutoronomy 16:16.
Succot begins on the fifteenth day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (which usually falls some time in Septembr or October) and lasts for 8 days in Israel and in Reform and Liberal communities, and 9 days for Orthodox communities in the Diaspora.
The festival of Succot commemorates the protection given by God to the Israelites during their wanderings through the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt and their freedom from slavery (for more or this, see Book 1 Chapter 5 of the Jampacked Bible). It is also a festival of thanksgiving as it marks the end of the harvest.
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