Sukkot - the Feast of Tabernacles, the sukkah, and the Four Species
Sukkot is the week-long Jewish Feast of Tabernacles beginning on 15 Tishrei, observed by dwelling in temporary booths (sukkot) and waving the Four Species (etrog, lulav, hadass, aravah). It is one of the three pilgrimage festivals of the Hebrew calendar, alongside Passover and Shavuot.
Religious observancePublished October 18, 2026
- Observed in
- Where observed
- When
- Sep - Oct
- Frequency
- Lunar calendar (date shifts)
- Days off
- 0 days - cultural observance only
- Public status
- Religious observance - schools / shops normally open
Sukkot is the week-long Jewish Feast of Tabernacles beginning at sunset on 15 Tishrei and continuing for seven days, observed by dwelling in temporary booths (sukkot) and waving the Four Species (etrog, lulav, hadass, aravah). It is one of the three pilgrimage festivals (Shalosh Regalim) of the Hebrew calendar, alongside Passover and Shavuot, and falls five days after Yom Kippur.
The one-line summary
A week-long autumn Jewish festival marked by the construction and dwelling in temporary outdoor booths, the waving of the Four Species, and the Sukkot processions around the bimah. It commemorates both the Israelites' 40 years in the wilderness after the Exodus and the autumn harvest. Public holiday in Israel and observed in Jewish communities worldwide.
Origin
Sukkot is one of the oldest festivals in the Hebrew liturgical calendar, with its origin in the three pilgrimage festivals commanded in the Torah. The festival has both an agricultural dimension - the autumn harvest of grapes, olives, and dates, marked historically by the bringing of the etrog (citron) and other species to the Temple - and a historical dimension, the commemoration of the Israelites' 40 years of dwelling in temporary booths during their wanderings in the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.
The Torah commands the festival in three places: Leviticus 23:33-43 sets the calendar and the dwelling-in-booths obligation; Numbers 29:12-34 sets the sacrificial schedule; and Deuteronomy 16:13-15 commands joy and the ingathering of the year's produce. The combination of the agricultural and historical meanings gave Sukkot its dual character: a harvest thanksgiving festival and a memorial of the Exodus journey.
When it is observed
Sukkot begins at sunset on 15 Tishrei and runs for seven days, ending at sunset on 21 Tishrei. In 2026, this means sunset Monday September 21 through sunset Monday September 28. The first day (15 Tishrei) is a full yontif (festival day) with work restrictions; in the diaspora, the first two days are full festival days, while in Israel only the first day is. The intermediate days, called Chol HaMoed (literally "weekdays of the festival"), run from 17 Tishrei through 20 Tishrei and are treated as semi-festive.
The festival closes with two final days: Shemini Atzeret ("the eighth day of assembly") on 22 Tishrei, which is a full festival day, and Simchat Torah ("rejoicing of the Torah") on 23 Tishrei, marked by the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle and the beginning of the new one. In the diaspora these are observed on two separate days; in Israel they are combined into a single day with both observances.
The sukkah
The central observance of Sukkot is dwelling in a sukkah - a temporary outdoor structure with at least three walls, a roof made of organic material (s'chach) such as bamboo or evergreen boughs, and sufficient space to fulfill the commandment. The s'chach must provide more shade than sunlight during the day but allow the stars to be visible at night. Observers eat their meals in the sukkah, study Torah in the sukkah, and - traditionally - sleep in the sukkah for the duration of the festival.
The sukkah has two symbolic meanings. The agricultural meaning is the temporary harvest booths that Israelites built in the fields during the autumn ingathering; the historical meaning is the booths in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years in the wilderness. The Talmud (Sukkah 11b) records the debate between the sage Hillel and the Sadducees about whether the sukkah commemorates the booths of the Exodus or the booths of the harvest; the rabbinic tradition embraced both meanings.
The Four Species
On each day of Sukkot (except Shabbat), observers take the Four Species (Arba Minim): the etrog (citron), the lulav (closed frond of the date palm), the hadass (myrtle), and the aravah (willow). The lulav, hadass, and aravah are bound together with the etrog held separately, and the bundle is waved in six directions - north, south, east, west, up, and down - to acknowledge divine presence throughout the world.
The etrog is the most carefully chosen of the four, with observant communities typically paying premium prices for an unblemished specimen. The etrog market in Israel is a significant seasonal industry, with prices for premium specimens running into hundreds of dollars per fruit. The custom of waving the lulav and etrog dates to the Second Temple period; the Mishnah (Sukkah 3:4) records the dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees about whether the lulav was waved only on the first day or throughout the festival, with the Pharisaic (and later rabbinic) view prevailing.
Hoshanah Rabbah
The seventh day of Sukkot, 21 Tishrei, is called Hoshanah Rabbah ("great salvation"). The day is marked by seven processions around the bimah carrying the Four Species, each procession concluding with a petition beginning "Hoshana" ("please save"). After the seventh procession, the aravah (willow) branches are beaten on the ground five times, symbolizing the dropping of the year's remaining judgments.
The tradition that Hoshanah Rabbah is the day when the verdicts of the High Holidays are "sealed" is found in the Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 16b). Many observers stay up the entire night of Hoshanah Rabbah to recite Psalms and Torah portions, in a custom called Tikkun Leil Hoshanah Rabbah. The day is the climactic note of the High Holiday season that began 22 days earlier with Rosh Hashanah.
Public status
In Israel, the first day of Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah are full public holidays under the Days of Rest (Hours of Work) Ordinance. Chol HaMoed (the intermediate days) is observed as a semi-festive period: schools are closed, many businesses operate on reduced schedules, and government offices are closed. In the diaspora, the first two days of Sukkot and the closing day are public holidays in Jewish community calendars, with work and school restrictions.
Sukkot in other traditions
The Christian Feast of Tabernacles, also called Sukkot, is observed by some Christian communities - notably certain evangelical and messianic groups - as a week-of-Thanksgiving celebration drawing on the Hebrew Bible. The feast is mentioned in John 7:2 as a context for Jesus's teaching in the Temple. The holiday is not universally observed in Christianity, and its observance varies by denomination.
In the Samaritan tradition, Sukkot is observed seven days with a particular focus on the construction of the sukkah on Mount Gerizim. The Samaritan community in Holon and on Mount Gerizim continues to observe the festival with a pilgrimage to the sacred site, distinct from the Jewish observance.
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org, Sukkot.
- chabad.org, What is Sukkot?
- jewishvirtuallibrary.org, Sukkot.
- britannica.com, Sukkot.
- sefaria.org, Leviticus 23.