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On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the Festival of Sukkot, seven days for the LORD. Leviticus 23:34

The Festival of Sukkot begins on Tishri 15, the fifth day after . It is quite a drastic transition, from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous. Sukkot is so unreservedly joyful that it is commonly referred to in and literature as Z'man Simchateinu , the Season of our Rejoicing.

Sukkot is the last of the Shalosh R'galim (three pilgrimage festivals). Like and , Sukkot has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival and is sometimes referred to as Chag Ha-Asif, the Festival of Ingathering.

The word "Sukkot" means "booths," and refers to the temporary dwellings that we are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of the period of wandering. The Hebrew pronunciation of Sukkot is "Sue COAT," but is often pronounced as in Yiddish, to rhyme with "BOOK us."

You will dwell in booths for seven days; all natives of Israel shall dwell in booths. Leviticus 23:42

The temporary is referred to as a (which is the singular form of the plural word "sukkot"). The sukkah is great fun for whole family. The commandment to "dwell" in a sukkah can be fulfilled by spending as much time in the sukkah as possible during the week, eating your meals there as well as sleeping in it.

CBM HOUSTON

Check out our Facebook page for pictures of some of the booths our members created in their backyards!

Text excerpts taken from 101 at www.jewfaq.org SUGGESTIONS TO CELEBRATE SUKKOT

• Join Beth Messiah at Pine Cove Retreat for a wonderful, peaceful time of worship, reflection, and community fun with family and friends! More information is available on our website.

• Build a Sukkah as a family project. Since the sukkah is not to be an elaborate or permanent structure, the most inexpensive materials may be used. You will need four sturdy posts for the corners and four smaller poles for the roof OR you can use an existing building for one side of your sukkah. Drape bedsheets or other coverings around the three sides and place tree branches on top of the roof – not too thick – you want to see the stars! Add a table and chairs or rug and pillows. OR for a more contemporary sukka, put up a or up in your backyard.

• Decorate a Sukkah. Decorate your “sukkah” or the congregational sukkah with pictures, hangings, and fruit that represent the land of Israel. Help decorate a community sukkah at Congregation Beth Messiah or the Jewish Community Center.

• Eat, drink, relax, and nap in your sukkah. Try to have at least one main meal each night in your sukkah. Let the children camp overnight inside the sukkah under the stars. If you don’t have a sukkah of your own, come eat lunch under Beth Messiah’s community sukkah during office hours.

• Tell Bible stories. Read how dwelt in and how the children of Israel wandered in the desert dwelling in booths. Read some of the many Bible prophecies that tell of Messiah’s reign over all nations (Psalm 2, 47, 93, 95-99. 110 and 126).

• Make and wave a . Collect and bind together (1) hardwood deciduous, (2) flowering or fruiting, (3) evergreen or palm (depending on your geography), and (4) leafy shrub or willow (as you have access). OR make a lulav out of construction paper for the children to wave.

• Pour water on the ground and read Yeshua’s proclamation (John 7:37).

• Read the Book of while sitting in your sukkah.

• Pray, sing and worship in your sukkah. Read aloud the verses telling of the feast, of Yeshua’s participation in the feast, and of the future Sukkot that is coming. Pray the from the .

• Make a miniature Sukkah craft with your children. Use popsicle sticks, leaves, creative.

YESHUA CELEBRATED SUKKOT

According to John Chapter 7, Yeshua arrived in Judea during the celebration of Sukkot. “Although his disciples had not expected Yeshua to attend the feast, the vast majority of the pilgrims from afar who had heard of Him entertained the hope that they might see Him at . They were not disappointed, for on several occasions He taught in ’s Porch and elsewhere in the temple courts” (Urantia Papers). On Hoshana Rabba, a day when the priests arrived through the Eastern gate waving twenty-five foot willow branches and water from the Pool of Siloam was poured over the alter and the people sang the and prayed for the latter rains and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Yeshua stood and cried out:

“If anyone is thirsty, let him keep coming to me and drinking! Whoever puts his trust in me, as the Scripture says, rivers of living water will flow from his inmost being!” John 7:1-38; also see John 4:14

“Let us know, let us strive to know Adonai. That he will come is as certain as morning; he will come to us like the rain, as the latter and former rain that waters the earth.” Hosea 6:3

During Sukkot, the light from the Golden candlesticks (50 cubits high) illuminated the whole city. Scholars suggest that Yeshua referred to this custom when He spoke those well-known words on the day after Hoshana Rabba,

“I am the light of the world; whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” John 8:12; see also John 1:1-9 and 9:5

ALL NATIONS WILL RECOGNIZE SUKKOT

“Finally, everyone remaining from all the nations that came to attack Yerushalayim will go up every year to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, and to keep the festival of Sukkot. If any of the families of the earth does not go up to Yerushalayim to worship the King, the Lord of Hosts, no rain will fall on them….moreover, there will be the plague with which Adonai will strike the nations that don’t go up to keep the festival of Sukkot…” Zechariah 14:16-19

THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES

In , it is customary to read the entire Book of Ecclesiastes during the Festival of Sukkot. The book teaches that “all” is pointless and utterly meaningless apart from the purposes of God. To totally rely on Adonai was the lesson being taught to the Israelites while they wandered in the wilderness and dwelt in booths. It is the same lesson for us today.

TEFILLAT GESHEM: THE PRAYER FOR RAIN

Water was also an important part of Sukkot. In Old Testament times, gold pitchers of water were brought from the pool of Siloam to the Temple. The Priest would pour out the water over the altar to signify Israel’s gratitude for the rain that had produced the harvest. He would pray a special pray for rain called Tefillat Geshem and recite:

On that day you will say: “I thank you, ADONAI because, although you were angry at me, your anger is now turned away; and you are comforting me. See! God is my salvation. I will trust and not be afraid for the LORD God is my strength and my song, and He has become my salvation!” Then you will joyfully draw water from the springs of salvation. Isaiah 12:1-3

This special libation was performed only during the seven days of Sukkot. This was done not only to ask God for abundant rain during the winter season, but also to remind the people of the coming Messiah who had promised to pour out His Holy Spirit on the people.

Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem! Rejoice in the LORD your God! For the rain He sends demonstrates His faithfulness. Joel 2:23

Hoshana Rabba is the name of the last day of Sukkot week, meaning the Day of the Great , taking its name from the word hoshana (“O Save!”). As the celebration continued, the priests blew the trumpets, waved the branches, and conducted the “water-drawing celebration”, while the people sang the Great Hallel (Psalms 113 through 118).

Shemini Azeret literally means “the assembly of the eighth day” from the scriptural command: “On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no manner of servile work” Numbers 29:35. The have understood this verse as a commandment to celebrate the eighth day of Sukkot as a separate festival. explains this day this way: Adonai is like a host, who invites us as visitors for a limited time, but when the time comes for us to leave, He has enjoyed Himself so much that He asks us to stay another day! On this day, the memorial service for the departed (Yizkor) and a special prayer for rain are recited as part of the prayer service in the .

Scriptures that reference Sukkot:

Genesis 33:17 Leviticus 23:34-43 Numbers 29:12-40 Deuteronomy 16:13-17 Ezra 3:4 Nehemiah 8:14-18 Zechariah 14:16-21 John 7:1-44

Text excerpts from “A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays” by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce, 2001 Tefillat Geshem (six stanzas with chorus)

O God and God of our fathers, Remember Abraham Who yearned for Your presence Who was blessed by You As a tree planted by streams of water, Who was shielded by You When in his faith He braved fire and water. For his sake, O refuse not the gift of water.

Remember Whose father was ready To offer him as a sacrifice to You, To his blood like water. His own faith soared high, Trusting in You He dug to find wells of water. For his sake, O refuse not the gift of water.

Remember Who trusted in You When staff in hand He crossed Jordan's water. His heart was whole in faith When he removed the stone From the well of water, When he wrestled with the angel, The prince of fire and water. You did promise to be with him Through fire and water. For his sake, O refuse not the gift of water.

Remember Who was drawn in an ark From the reeds by the edge of water. He found for his flock An ample store of water. And when Your chosen seed thirsted, He struck the rock And there came gushing water. For his sake, O refuse not the gift of water.

Remember the Temple priest; In the holy rites of Atonement Day He performed five ablutions. In prayer he raised hands Cleansed, sanctified in water. He read the Law And again poured on his flesh The cleansing water. He served in a lonely vigil Remote from his people Unstable as water. For his sake, O refuse not the gift of water.

Remember the twelve tribes of Israel For whom You did part water; For whom You did sweeten bitter water. For You their sons were ever set To shed their blood like water. Turn to us for we are encircled By many foes like water. For his sake, O refuse not the gift of water.

(Chorus) For you are the Lord our God who make the wind to blow and brings down the rain. For a blessing and not for a curse. Amen. For life and not for death. Amen. For abundance and not for famine. Amen.

Original prayer by Ellikar for Shimini Atzeret: Tefillat Geshem, the Prayer for Rain. From the website above: "Elazar Kallir is considered the greatest and most prolific of the early liturgical poets and one of the most influential. Although little biographical information is available about his life, we do know that he lived in Erez Yisrael (and resided in ) some time before the 8th century; his poems had a significant influence on the formation of the festival prayers already in the eighth and ninth centuries." http://www.jhom.com/topics/rain/tefillat.html

LULAV AND : THE

On the first day, you will take for yourselves a fruit of a beautiful tree, palm branches, twigs of a braided tree and brook willows, and you will rejoice before the LORD your God for seven days. Leviticus 23:40

Another observance during Sukkot involves what are known as the Four Species (arba minim in Hebrew) or the lulav and Etrog, which are used to “rejoice before the Lord”. The four species in question are an etrog (a citrus fruit similar to a lemon native to Israel; in English, it is called a citron), a (in Hebrew, lulav), two willow branches (aravot) and three myrtle branches (hadassim). The six branches are bound together and referred to collectively as the lulav, because the palm branch is by far the largest part. The etrog is held separately. With these four species in hand, one recites a blessing and waves the species in all six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down), symbolizing the fact that God is everywhere.

“Sukkot at the Wall” oil painting, artist unknown

Text excerpts taken from Judaism 101 at www.jewfaq.org

SOME SCHOLARLY DISCUSSIONS

Was the first Thanksgiving a Sukkot celebration?

Many Americans, upon seeing a decorated sukkah for the first time (and the holiday in general), are reminded of Thanksgiving, another harvest festival. The Pilgrims, who originated the Thanksgiving holiday, were deeply religious people. It has been discussed among scholars if the Pilgrims looked to the Bible and the Feast of Sukkot to find a way to express their thankfulness for survival and the harvest. [Note: Celebrating Thanksgiving on the third Thursday of November was later established by the American government and not necessarily the date of the Pilgrim’s first observance.]

Was Yeshua born during Sukkot?

Many scholars have discussed whether Yeshua was born during Sukkot. In old English, Sukkot is also known as the Feast of . The concept that “he 8abernacle among us” is expressed throughout scripture. He left his mansions of light above to dwell among us as foretold in the prophets. He had no permanent place to lay his head. These physical bodies we now occupy are only temporary dwelling places that eventually will be replaced with eternal “tabernacles”. (See Zechariah 2:11, Matthew 8:20, John 1:14, II Corinthians 4:7 and 5:1-10, II Peter 1:13-14, and Revelations 21:3-7.)

Although the Bible does not specifically say the date of Yeshua’s birth, we know it was not during the winter months because the sheep were in the pasture (Luke 2:8). Scholars base their discussion on Yeshua’s birth by looking at the conception of John the Baptist and when his father, Zechariah, was ministering in the temple. Knowing that Yeshua was conceived roughly six months after John’s conception (Luke 1:26-33), it is speculated that Yeshua was conceived in the winter and birth in the fall.

During Sukkot, Adonai required that all Jewish men come to Jerusalem. Possibly this requirement along with the known registration for taxes required by Caesar (Luke 2:1) would have filled the streets and inns of Jerusalem and the surrounding towns with pilgrims, leaving no room for and Mary. “And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manager; because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7). The Hebrew word “stable, booth, or shelter” is called a Sukkot in Genesis 33:17. In Nehemiah’s day, the people constructed their sukkot “on their roofs, in their courtyards, in the courtyards of the house of God, and in the open spaces by the Gates” (Nehemiah 8:16). The fields could have been dotted with booths during this harvest time and they could have been used to temporarily shelter animals.

Text excerpts from “A Family Guide to the Biblical Holidays” by Robin Sampson and Linda Pierce, 2001