Chag Sameach Succot!
Tuesday, October 7, 2014
Our Sukkah
Understanding the Holiday of Sukkot
In the Bible it is referred to as simply chag—"the festival" (Lev. 23:39, 41; 1 Ki. 8:2, 12:32); since the holiday was so important, Solomon chose it as the occasion to celebrate the consecration of the Temple; and according to Deuteronomy, the public reading of the Torah was to take place every seven years on Sukkot (31:10–13). Sukkot was the first sacred occasion observed after the resumption of sacrifices in Jerusalem after the Jews returned from Babylonian captivity (Ezra 3:2-4). A measure of the importance of a holiday is the number of sacrifices specified for the occasion. By this measure, Sukkot is unmatched; Numbers 29:12–39 deals exclusively with all the sacrifices that are to be offered during the holiday: no less than 70 bullocks are required along with numerous other sacrifices. Zechariah wrote that in messianic times, all of the world's nations will come to Jerusalem on Sukkot to celebrate the holiday (14:16).
Sukkot has other names besides Chag and Chag ha-Sukkot: it's also referred to as chag ha-asif, "festival of the ingathering" (Ex. 23:16), chag Adonai, "festival of the Lord" (Lev. 23:39; Judg. 21:19), chag ba-chodesh hashvei'e, "festival of the seventh month" (Ezek. 45:25; Neh. 8:14) and zeman simchateinu, "season of our rejoicing" (Deut. 16:14).
