Today the Jewish people celebrate the holiday of Sukkot, but what Sukkot is? (THREAD)
Sukkot is a Jewish holiday, marks the Exodus, the third of the 3 pilgrimage festivals (Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot) on which the Israelites were commanded to perform a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.
In fact, the holiday - Passover also marks the Exodus from Egypt, so how are the two different? Meanwhile on Passover the Jews read the Haggadah which tells the story of the exodus, and eat matzah (in memory of the Israelites who didn’t have time to bake bread),
On Sukkot, they recreate how the Israelites lived in the desert after the Exodus. In the book of Leviticus, God commands the Israelites to live in Sukkot so future generations will remember how he brought them out of the slavery in Egypt.
So what Sukkah is? basically it’s a type of booth/tent, its roof is made of a thatch or palm fronds aka S’chach. It’s customary to decorate the interior of the sukkah with hanging decorations.
On this holiday the Jews are commanded to stay in the sukkah as if it were their home, they should eat and sleep there.
The holiday is characterized by 4 kinds of vegetarian that represent the kind of people in Judaism who are united into one nation - Am Yisrael. (Nation of Israel - the Jewish nation).
• Lulav is a palm branch, known for its taste but has no smell. The meaning of Lulav is that there are people who know the Torah and the commandments but don’t do the good deeds as written.
• Arava is two willows, it has no taste and no smell. The meaning behind Arava is that there are people who don’t know the Torah and its importance and they don’t do its good deeds as well.
• Hadas is a myrtle, known for its good smell but it has no taste. The meaning of Hadas is that there are people who do good deeds, they’re good people but they don’t know the Torah and its commandments.
• Etrog is cirton, known for both, its good taste and the good smell. The meaning behind Etrog is that there are people who know the Torah, follow it and do good deeds. This kind of people are the purest and the righteous.
The mitzvah of the holiday is bringing all the Four Kinds together and waving them to 7 directions. Bringing them together represents the unity of the nation despite their external differences.
Other customs that the Israelites did during the Temple period were to collect water in a golden container and bring it to the Temple where they would receive it with the sound of trumpets. In addition they would surround and dance around the temple with the Arava branches.
Another costumery is the Ushpizin, translated from Aramaic to “guests” and refers to 7 supernal guests, the fathers of the Jewish nation: Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, Aharon, Joseph and David, it’s customary to decorate the sukkah with their pictures.
Apart from the Jewish belief which is that every day the soul of a different biblical figure arrives, and there are those who even leave a seat for the prophet Elijah, the Jews tend to host their families and even strangers as part of the hospitality commandment.
Sukkot is considered the happiest holiday, due to its many customs, food, decorations, dances. The holiday is also called the harvest festival, in which the year of agriculture ends and the grain is collected. The holiday is celebrated for 7 days in Israel & 8 days in Diaspora.
Share this Scrolly Tale with your friends.
A Scrolly Tale is a new way to read Twitter threads with a more visually immersive experience.
Discover more beautiful Scrolly Tales like this.