Sukkot

Sukkot is seven days, from September 26 to October 2, 2026, 15–21 Tishrei 5787. Like every Jewish day, the holiday begins the evening before, at sunset on September 25. In 2026 its first day falls on Saturday: Shabbat and the holiday meet together.

A booth instead of a house. A sukkah is a temporary dwelling: light walls and a roof of branches and leaves through which you can see the sky. For a week the family moves its table there, and some even sleep there. Tradition recalls the booths the people lived in in the desert after leaving Egypt, and the clouds that sheltered them. The thought is simple and uncomfortable: the roof over our heads is not what holds us up.

How it is decorated. This is the best part for children: paper chains, garlands, drawings, fruit and pomegranates hanging from the roof, little lanterns. Every home has its own traditions, and they are passed down like recipes, from grandmother to granddaughter.

The four species. On these days four plants are held together: the etrog, a palm branch, myrtle and willow. Tradition compares them to people: one has taste, another has fragrance, a third has neither, and still they are held in one hand, because a people is whole only together.

Ushpizin: guests. There is a beautiful custom: every evening one of the forefathers is invited into the sukkah in thought. But there are real guests too; Sukkot is all about an open door: neighbours, people who are alone, those who have nowhere to go. The hostess has a lot of work these days, but she is also the one who gets the most joy.

Weekdays in the middle of the holiday. The first day is a festival day, and the following ones are called Chol HaMoed, "the weekdays of the festival": you can travel, go for walks, get things done, and still keep living in the sukkah. In Israel the whole country heads out into nature on these days. The last day, Hoshana Rabbah, is special, with its own prayers and customs.

Joy as a commandment. Sukkot is called "zman simchateinu", "the time of our joy". Being joyful on schedule sounds strange, but try sitting in a booth in the evening, with the stars showing through the branches and your family around you, and you will understand what it means.