Sukkot: The Basics
When is Sukkot: Sukkot is a seven day holiday that occurs in the Seventh Month of the Jewish calendar. Sukkot runs from the 15th day of the Seventh Month, and lasts for seven days until the 21st of the Seventh Month. (On the 22nd of the Seventh Month, we are commanded to celebrate a separate holiday named “Shemini Atzeret.”)
What is Sukkot: The formal name for the holiday of Sukkot is Hag HaSukkot, or the Feast of Booths. In English, the holiday is also referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles. A sukkah (the singular form of “sukkot”) is a booth, and during the holiday we are commanded to dwell in booths (Leviticus 23:42) to remember that when the Israelites left Egypt, we wandered in the desert for forty years and dwelled in temporary structures.
Today, it is common for Jews throughout the world to build sukkot (“booths”) at their residences. Sukkot is also the final of the three pilgrimage festivals, during which the male Israelites are required to travel to Jerusalem. (The other pilgrimage festivals are Hag HaMatzot and Hag HaShavuot.)
In the Tanakh, Sukkot is also referred to as Hag Ha-Asif, which means the “Feast of Ingathering,” because Sukkot occurs around the time that the Israelites would gather their fall harvest. (See Exodus 34:22 and Leviticus 23:22.)
What does the Torah Say: The Torah actually does not expressly command us to build sukkot. It only requires us to dwell in them. The Torah says that on the first day of the holiday you are supposed to “take” the “fruit of the splendid tree [or a splendid fruit tree], date palm branches, and branches of thick trees, and willows of the brook and you will rejoice before Hashem your God seven days.” (Leviticus 23:39-40.) In the next verse, it commands us to dwell in Sukkot. The Jews living at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah understood that we are commanded to build the sukkah out of the materials listed in Leviticus 23:39. (See Nehemiah 8:15.)
The Karaite Take on Sukkot: The majority of the Karaite Sages, in accordance with the practice recorded in the book of Nehemiah, determined that we are to build our sukkot out of the materials listed in Leviticus. Some Karaite Sages, such as Hakham Yefet ben ‘Ali, believe that the “splendid fruit tree” is the “olive tree,” based on the practice described in Nehemiah 8:15, in which the Israelites gathered olive branches, among other items, in order to build their sukkot. A minority of Karaite Sages believe that the items mentioned in Leviticus were intended to fulfill the requirement to “rejoice before Hashem your God,” which appears immediately after Leviticus’ list of greenery. (Leviticus 23:40.) According to these Sages, the Israelites would make bundles of greenery and fruits of all kind to eat throughout the festival.
Want More Information: You can read more about Karaite views of Sukkot in our Virtual Reading Room or here.
Songs: Karaites have composed some wonderful songs for Sukkot. One of the songs is “Hogi Yehudah”, and the words in Hebrew are in the linked document. It is customary for a different member of the congregation to sing each verse, with the entire congregation joining for the chorus – which appears in bold.
The Karaite community of Jerusalem is singing Hogi Yehudah in this 1981 video. (The song begins at :31, and if you skip to the 1:40 second mark, you can hear the congregation singing chorus prior to the second verse.)
What is Sukkot: The formal name for the holiday of Sukkot is Hag HaSukkot, or the Feast of Booths. In English, the holiday is also referred to as the Feast of Tabernacles. A sukkah (the singular form of “sukkot”) is a booth, and during the holiday we are commanded to dwell in booths (Leviticus 23:42) to remember that when the Israelites left Egypt, we wandered in the desert for forty years and dwelled in temporary structures.
Today, it is common for Jews throughout the world to build sukkot (“booths”) at their residences. Sukkot is also the final of the three pilgrimage festivals, during which the male Israelites are required to travel to Jerusalem. (The other pilgrimage festivals are Hag HaMatzot and Hag HaShavuot.)
In the Tanakh, Sukkot is also referred to as Hag Ha-Asif, which means the “Feast of Ingathering,” because Sukkot occurs around the time that the Israelites would gather their fall harvest. (See Exodus 34:22 and Leviticus 23:22.)
What does the Torah Say: The Torah actually does not expressly command us to build sukkot. It only requires us to dwell in them. The Torah says that on the first day of the holiday you are supposed to “take” the “fruit of the splendid tree [or a splendid fruit tree], date palm branches, and branches of thick trees, and willows of the brook and you will rejoice before Hashem your God seven days.” (Leviticus 23:39-40.) In the next verse, it commands us to dwell in Sukkot. The Jews living at the time of Ezra and Nehemiah understood that we are commanded to build the sukkah out of the materials listed in Leviticus 23:39. (See Nehemiah 8:15.)
The Karaite Take on Sukkot: The majority of the Karaite Sages, in accordance with the practice recorded in the book of Nehemiah, determined that we are to build our sukkot out of the materials listed in Leviticus. Some Karaite Sages, such as Hakham Yefet ben ‘Ali, believe that the “splendid fruit tree” is the “olive tree,” based on the practice described in Nehemiah 8:15, in which the Israelites gathered olive branches, among other items, in order to build their sukkot. A minority of Karaite Sages believe that the items mentioned in Leviticus were intended to fulfill the requirement to “rejoice before Hashem your God,” which appears immediately after Leviticus’ list of greenery. (Leviticus 23:40.) According to these Sages, the Israelites would make bundles of greenery and fruits of all kind to eat throughout the festival.
Want More Information: You can read more about Karaite views of Sukkot in our Virtual Reading Room or here.
Songs: Karaites have composed some wonderful songs for Sukkot. One of the songs is “Hogi Yehudah”, and the words in Hebrew are in the linked document. It is customary for a different member of the congregation to sing each verse, with the entire congregation joining for the chorus – which appears in bold.
The Karaite community of Jerusalem is singing Hogi Yehudah in this 1981 video. (The song begins at :31, and if you skip to the 1:40 second mark, you can hear the congregation singing chorus prior to the second verse.)
Below is a recording of an 80+ year-old Hazzan from the Karaite community of Turkey singing “Hogi Yehudah” in a different tune. (Note, he says "Hagi Yehudah" - but in traditional Hebrew the first word is pronounced "Hogi.")