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Candle Lighting Times
for Watford/London only

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Friday 2nd October
6:17pm

Shabbat 3rd October
after 7:22pm

Sunday 4th October
First days end 7:20pm

Friday 9th October
6:01pm

Shabbat 10th October
after 7:07pm

Sunday 11th October
Yomtov ends 7:04pm

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What is Succot?

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Succot is a weeklong Yomtov that comes five days after Yom Kippur. Succot celebrates the gathering of the harvest and commemorates the miraculous protection G‑d provided for the children of Israel when they left Egypt. We celebrate Succot by dwelling in a specially made structure known as a Succah, and by taking the Lulav and Etrog.

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Of all the Jewish holidays, Succot is the only one whose date does not seem to commemorate a historic event. The Torah refers to it by two names: Chag HaAsif (“the Festival of Ingathering,” or “Harvest Festival”) and Chag HaSuccot (“Festival of Booths”), each expressing a reason for the holiday.

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In Israel, crops grow in the winter and are ready for harvest in the late spring. Some of them remain out in the field to dry for a few months and are only ready for harvest in the early fall. Chag HaAsif is a time to express appreciation for this bounty.

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The name Chag HaSuccot commemorates the temporary dwellings G‑d made to shelter our ancestors on their way out of Egypt (some say this refers to the miraculous clouds of glory that shielded us from the desert sun, while others say it refers to the tents in which they lived for their 40-year trek through the Sinai desert).

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For seven days and nights, we eat all our meals in the Succah and otherwise regard it as our home. Located under the open sky, the Succah is made up of at least three walls and a roof of unprocessed natural vegetation, typically bamboo, pine boughs or palm branches.

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The goal is to spend as much time as possible in the Succah, at the very minimum eating all meals there, particularly the festive meals on the first two nights of the holiday, when we must eat at least an olive-sized piece of bread or mezonot (grain-based food) in the Succah. The Chabad practice is to not eat or drink anything outside the Succah. Some people also sleep in the Succah, although this is not the Chabad custom.

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Customs

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Besides the Succah as mentioned above, on Succot, we take (and shake!) the Arba Minim, the Four Kinds: an etrog (citron), a lulav (palm branch), three hadassim (myrtle twigs) and two aravot (willow twigs).

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On each day of the festival (except Shabbat), we take the Lulav and Etrog set, recite a blessing over them, bring them together and shake them in all six directions: right, left, forward, up, down and backward. The sages of the Midrash tell us that the Four Kinds represent the various personalities that comprise the community of Israel, whose intrinsic unity we emphasize on Succot.

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Every day of Succot we say Hallel, a collection of psalms of praise (Psalms 113-118) as part of the morning prayer service. Every day aside for Shabbat, we recite Hallel while holding the Four Kinds, waving them in all directions at certain key points in the service, which are outlined in the Siddur.

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Afterward, we circle the bimah holding the Four Kinds, reciting alphabetically arranged prayers for Divine assistance known as Hoshanot.

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The seventh day of the holiday is known as Hoshanah Rabbah. This is the day when our fates for the coming year, which were signed on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur, are finalised. On this day, we circle the bimah seven times. We also say a short prayer and strike the ground five times with bundles of five willows (also known as Hoshanot)

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Insights

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Succot in the Holy Temple

One of Succot’s most joyous observances was known as Simchat Beit Hashoeivah, the Celebration of the Water-Drawing. When the Holy Temple stood, every sacrifice included wine libations poured over the altar. On Succot, water was also poured over the altar in a special ceremony. This ritual engendered such joy that it was celebrated with music, dancing and singing all night long.

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Every morning of Succot at daybreak, a group of Levites and priests went down to the Shiloach stream, which ran south of the Temple Mount, and drew three log (a Talmudic liquid measurement) of fresh water to be poured on the altar after the daily morning sacrifice. Their arrival at the Temple with the water was accompanied by trumpet blasts. (For Shabbat, the water was collected before the onset of Shabbat and stored in a golden vessel in the Temple.)

There were two holes in the altar into which liquid was poured. One hole was for the wine that accompanied every sacrifice, and a second, smaller one was reserved for the Sukkot water. The holes were different sizes to allow the wine and water, which have different consistencies, to drain at the same speed.

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The nights of Sukkot were spent celebrating this once-a-year offering. The Talmud describes the celebrations of Simchat Beit Hashoevah in detail: Priests kindled fires on great candelabra, lighting up Jerusalem as if it were the middle of the day.Throughout the night pious men danced holding torches, scholars juggled and Levites played music while the lay people watched with excitement. The Temple courtyard was specially furnished to accommodate this event, and a balcony was erected for women so they could observe the revelry.

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Though not explicitly mandated in the Torah, the water libation is part of the oral tradition passed down from Moses. For this reason, the Sadducees, who rejected the Oral Law, bitterly disputed the practice. Once the priest honored to do the libation was sympathetic to the Sadducees and, instead of pouring the water into the hole in the altar, he spilled it on his own feet. The onlookers were horrified and pelted him with their etrogim. From that time on, whoever poured the water libation lifted the jug of water high in the air, so that all could see him perform the mitzvah properly.

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Celebrating Today

Even today, when we no longer have a Temple, and the water libation ritual is discontinued, many communities still celebrate Simchat Beit Hashoeivah with music and dancing during the nights of Succot, in keeping with the Torah’s directive, “You shall rejoice on your holiday.”

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Why was this event accompanied by such fanfare and celebration? Part of the answer is that Jews of old were happy to demonstrate their fealty to tradition, even those traditions not specified in the Torah. In addition, the water-drawing was said to be accompanied by a great awareness of G‑dliness, to the degree that it is said that, along with water, people would “draw” prophetic revelation.

The chassidic masters explain that the water celebration signifies a joy caused by a connection to G‑d so deep and so true that, like water, it has no describable taste. And like water, it sustains all life.

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Note: Some of the above practices as described may be curtailed in line with Covid regulations.

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Recipes

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Click here for a range of delightful recipes!

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