This evening, the holiday of Sukkot begins – the Festival of Booths, also called “the time of our rejoicing.”
It was established in memory of that period in our history when the Jewish people, having left Egyptian slavery, lived in booths, enveloped by the “clouds of glory.” It falls in the autumn period – the time of the harvest – which is why Sukkot is sometimes called the “Festival of Ingathering.”
Sukkot is one of the three great festivals on which pilgrimage was made to the Jerusalem Temple. The special celebrations on one of the weekdays of the holiday – the festival of water drawing – remind us of the special meaning of the time of Sukkot.
The main mitzvos of the holiday are “dwelling in the sukkah” and “arba minim,” the mitzvah of the four species.
Our website is suspending its work for the duration of the first two days of the holiday, which have the status of “Yom Tov.”
We wish you a heartfelt Happy Sukkot!
