It also commemorates the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after the giving of the Torah atop Mt. Sinai. Sukkot is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th of the month of Tishrei and is marked by several distinct traditions. One, which takes the commandment to dwell in booths literally, is to erect a sukkah, a small, temporary booth or hut. Sukkot (in this case, the plural of sukkah) are commonly used during the seven-day festival for eating, entertaining and even for sleeping.

 

Sukkot also called Z’man Simchateinu (Season of Our Rejoicing), is the only festival associated with an explicit commandment to rejoice. A final name for Sukkot is Chag HaAsif, (Festival of the Ingathering), representing a time to give thanks for the bounty of the earth during the fall harvest.

 

In class students learned and discussed the customs and the traditions of the holiday. Each grade focused on age appropriate high order thinking questions that enhance and enable the students to make meaning as well as connect to the holiday’s themes.

 

Why do we sit in a Sukkah?

 

The connection between the Four Species (Arba’at Minim) and the unity of the people of Israel. Why do we have a responsibility to care for each other?

 

Compare the sukkah with a house: What are the similarities and differences? Which one do you prefer and why? Why do we continue the tradition of sitting in the sukkah while we have our permanent homes?

 

What is happiness? How do we make ourselves happy?

Why were we obligated to be happy on Sukkot? In your opinion, what is the role of the Four Species?

 

Sukkot is a time when we invite guests and welcome them into our sukkah.

What is the value of welcoming guests? Why do you think “inviting the Ushpizin” to our sukkah is an important one in Jewish tradition?

 

How does the idea of sitting in the sukkah relate to the sense of gratitude, equality, the idea of the Exodus? The Midrash of the Lulav and Etrog: Symbolic of the different kinds of people that unite as one. Can you write your own midrash about the lulav and etrog?

 

 

Based on the Torah texts, determine the role of the sukkah in our lives today. What values are connected with the ideas of celebrating Sukkot? How does Sukkot reinforce the idea of humility?

 

Students learn various stories and commentaries from the Midrash, Rashbam, Philo, Rabbi Isaac Moshe Arama and discuss the following: Why does a person have to remember one's past in order to appreciate one's present. (Reference to the King's fable.) Looking at a commentary from Philo: How does Philo instruct us to build a just society?

 

Examine four different Jewish texts (Torah, Commentary, Mishnah and Kitzur Shulchan Aruch) that explain the reasons for sitting in the sukkah. Students are asked to explain which reason makes the most sense to them personally and explain why.

 

What is the connection between peace among people and happiness? (And not only during Sukkot?) What symbols of peace or happiness would you include in your sukkah? What different people in our community would you like to invite to the sukkah and hear their life story? How does the notion of peace that was discussed in class connect to Rambam’s idea of happiness? (Shalom, peace, caring for others, and wholeness).

 

!חג סוכות שמח

 

Irit Eliyahu                              Rabbi Andrew Feig               Judaic Studies Teachers

Judaic Studies Director         School Rabbi