Service under the Sukkah
You can see our 2011 list of Sukkot services and events.
The Festival of Sukkot begins on Tishri 15, the fifth day after Yom Kippur. It is quite a drastic transition, from one of the most solemn holidays in our year to one of the most joyous. Sukkot is the last of the Shalosh R’galim (three pilgrimage festivals). Like Passover and Shavu’ot, Sukkot has a dual significance: historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel 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.
“Sukkot” or “Sukkah” mean “booths,” and refers to the temporary dwellings that we are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of the period of wandering.
Each year, our Brotherhood and Sisterhood build a sukkah in our Silver Courtyard. We hold several services and picnics under the sukkah.