Research Paper on "Jewish Holiday of Sukkot"

Research Paper 10 pages (3601 words) Sources: 6

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Sukkot, like many Jewish holidays, has multiple purposes in the Jewish culture, making it a religious celebration, but also a celebration of life. At this point in history, it is primarily a pilgrimage festival, and it commemorates the 40 years that the Jews spent wandering in the desert. When one examines the symbolism of the traditions connected with Sukkot that connection becomes very apparent as many of the rituals and prayers are focused on the idea of wandering. However, it also has an agricultural purpose. Sukkot is a harvest festival, as well, and one can see the overtones of the harvest celebration in many of Sukkot's traditions. Interestingly enough, many of the characteristics of life that are linked with wandering are also linked to the harvest, because, during the harvest, many workers lived in temporary structures that were closer to the fields in their daily homes. Thus, the relationship between the two natures of the festival seems to be a very natural one. Sukkot is also unique among the Jewish holidays in that it is the only holiday in which Jews are instructed to build a shelter ("Sukkot Theology and Themes").

It is believed that Sukkot developed originally as a harvest festival, prior to biblical times. This festival which probably predated the Israelites was then later incorporated into a religious festival. While that belief is speculative, and will probably remain speculative given the relative lack of a written history to provide support for pre-biblical theories, one finds support for it in the harvest themes that are still associated with the festival. In fact, "Much of the imagery and ritual of the holiday revolves around rejoicing and thanking God for the completed harvest. The sukkah represent the huts that farmers would live in during the last hectic period of harvest before the coming of the winter rains. As is the case with other festivals whose origins may not have been Jewish, the Bible reinterpreted the festival to imbue it with a specific Jewish meaning" ("Sukkot 101).

However, while Sukkot may have begun as a harvest festival, it became a religious festival, and the religious instruction to observe the holiday is an unambiguous directive in the Bible to do so. The Biblical support for Sukkot is found in Leviticus 23:33 et seq., which goes into a fairly in-depth description of the holiday. It obviously is meant to coincide with the harvest, and thus, with the harvest festival that would have preceded the religious holiday. Leviticus 23:3 et seq. provides as follows:

And HaShem spoke unto Moses, saying:

Speak unto the children of Israel, saying: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month is the feast of tabernacles for seven days unto HaShem. On the first day shall be a holy convocation; ye shall do no manner of servile work. Seven days ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto HaShem; on the eighth day shall be a holy convocation unto you; and ye shall bring an offering made by fire unto HaShem; it is a day of solemn assembly; ye shall do no manner of servile work. These are the appointed seasons of HaShem, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to bring an offering made by fire unto HaShem, a burnt-offering, and a meal-offering, a sacrifice, and drink-offerings, each on its own day; beside the sabbaths of HaShem, and beside your gifts, and beside all your vows, and beside all your freewill-offerings, which ye give unto HaShem.

Howbeit on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of HaShem seven days; on the first day shall be a solemn rest, and on the eighth day shall be a solemn rest. nd ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before HaShem your God seven days. nd ye shall keep it a feast unto HaShem seven days in the year; it is a statute for ever in your generations; ye shall keep it in the seventh month. Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are home-born in Israel shall dwell in booths; that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am HaShem your God. And Moses declared unto the children of Israel the appointed seasons of HaShem (Leviticus 23:33-44).

As one can see, this clearly instructs Jews about Sukkot, including the date it should begin, how long the festival should last, what they should do to celebrate the holiday, and even the theological explanations behind the holiday.

Probably the feature of Sukkot that is most remarkable to non-Jews observing the holiday is that is a very joyful holiday. For many people, there is a stereotype of solemnity among Jews, which is not true, but many Jewish holidays lack the overt festivity of Sukkot. In fact, "Sukkot is so unreservedly joyful that it is commonly referred to in Jewish prayer and literature as Z'man Simchateinu…the Season of our Rejoicing" (Rich). In fact, though all of the pilgrimage festivals are considered somewhat joyful, Sukkot is generally considered the most joyful of the three. In Jewish tradition, there are three different pilgrimage festivals or Shalosh R'galim: Pesach, Shavu'ot, and Sukkot (Rich). "As on Pesach and Shavuot, the people would bring a portion of their harvest's first fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem. There, it would be offered as a sacrifice to God by the High Priest (Kohein)" (Syme). All three of these harvest festivals are characterized by some joy, even though their historical basis may not seem to reflect that underlying joy. There is a cultural appreciation for the end of a difficult time or trial, and the joy with which these pilgrimage holidays are approached reflects the knowledge that good times should be celebrated when they occur, because they are fleeting.

However, it is important to understand that Sukkot is not a celebration of the end of the wandering in the desert, but the time of the wandering in the desert. Understanding this distinction is not only critical to an understanding of the holiday, but possibly also a significant key to Jewish theology. This joyfulness also captures the purposefulness behind the wandering in the desert. For many modern Jews, the idea of wandering seems both purposeless and aimless, but it is a mistake to characterize the 40 years in the desert in that manner, because the wandering itself was a purpose. "While traveling in the desert, the Israelites were not wandering aimlessly from place to place. As a young Jewish nation, they were trustingly following God as they ventured forth" ("Sukkot Theology and Themes"). They were a young nation, in a desert, and without God's benevolence, they would not have been able to survive that time. Therefore, this wandering in the desert should not be viewed as a time solely of difficulty and trials, though it contained those, but also as "a beautiful and joyous time of bonding and loyalty between Jews and God. The flimsy sukkah structures return today's Jews to this time in their history and to a celebration of devotion and dependence on God, who nurtures and cares for human beings" ("Sukkot Theology and Themes").

As one can see from reading the passage in Leviticus, Sukkot begins on Tishri 15 (Rich). This is the fifth day after Yom Kippur. However, for many Jews the festival preparations begin before then. "As soon after the conclusion of Yom Kippur as possible, often on the same evening, one is enjoined to begin building the sukkah, or hut, that is the central symbol of the holiday" ("Sukkot 101"). It lasts for seven or eight days, depending on the religious leanings and location of the adherents. "It is observed for seven days by Israelis and many Reform Jews, and for eight days by other Jews living outside of Israel" (Syme). In addition, there are two holidays, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah that immediately follow Sukkot, which many people believe are part of Sukkot, but are actually their own distinct holidays for many Jews (Rich).

Many people find the contrast between Sukkot and Yom Kippur to be quite dramatic, and this contrast is highlighted by the fact that they occur so near in time. Yom Kippur is rightfully considered to be one of the most solemn of all Jewish religious holidays; in contrast, Sukkot is considered one of the most joyful of the Jewish religious holidays (Rich). Therefore, that they occur in such close proximity may seem antithetical to those who associate holiday seasons with a continuous mood or emotion. However, this apparent contradiction is not really contradictory when one examines it. The entire Jewish cultural approach to life is a mix of great joy and great solemnity. Therefore, the proximity of these two significant, seeming diametrically opposed… READ MORE

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