Sukkot Date in the current year: October 17, 2024

Sukkot is also referred to as Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths because one of its main customs is building a sukkah, a temporary hut topped with branches. Sukkot is the plural of sukkah. The sukkah is built to symbolize fragile dwellings in which Israelites lived in the desert during their forty years of travel after the Exodus.

A waving ceremony with arba'a minim (the four species) must be performed on each day of Sukkot. Arba'a minim, also called arba'at ha-minim, are four plants with the symbolic meaning relevant to Sukkot. These four plants are:

• the fruit of a citron tree – etrog;
• a date palm branch – lulav;
• branches with leaves from the myrtle tree – hadass;
• boughs with leaves from the willow tree – aravah.

Each of these plants symbolizes a specific “type” of Jews in service of god.

Other Sukkot customs include special prayers and festive meals. During the holiday it is required to eat in the sukkah. Jews are also expected to sleep there if the weather allows.