6. The Sukkah

Basic Sukkot Information:

Sukkot is an eight-day holiday with three special mitzvahs:

• To dwell in a sukkah
• To hold the Four Species (see The Four Kinds for more on this)
• To be happy (yes, that's also a mitzvah)

The first two and the last two days are Yom Tov, when work is forbidden. During the five days in between, for the most part work is permitted, albeit with certain restrictions.

In order to stay connected during this year's odyssey, best you first rehearse the steps in a controlled environmentThe Sukkah

"For seven days, all Jewish people should live in sukkahs, in order that all your generations will remember that I had the Jewish People living in sukkahs when I took them out of Egypt." —The Five Books of Moses, Book III (Leviticus)

"The sukkahs were the clouds of glory that surrounded and protected us."—The Talmud

Now your spaceship's bright and spiffy and ready to fly. But in order to stay connected during this year's odyssey, best you first rehearse the steps in a controlled environment.

That's the sukkah; an all-encompassing, embryonic, virtual world where whatever you do is a mitzvah. Eat, you're doing a mitzvah. Talk, you're doing a mitzvah. Just sit there—you're powerfully connected from head to toe.

Upon release from this immersive environment, you'll treat the big world the same way: Discovering how everything you do is another way to connect to the Infinite. Which is the whole idea of Torah.

How to do the sukkah thing:

Before Sukkot, construct a temporary, 3–4 walled structure directly under the sky—no trees or overhang above. For roofing, toss on any cut, inedible vegetation that will last for seven days. Favorites are western cedar, bamboo and corn husks (without the corn). Use enough to provide more shade than sunlight. Time-hungry? There are pre-fab sukkah kits that go up in a matter of minutes—just make sure your walls are secure and firm. Check with a salted sukkah-dweller for more details.

For seven days, make the sukkah your official home. Don't panic: As long as you eat your meals there, you're okay. But try to include anything else that you would normally do in the house—like reading a book or talking with a friend.

Fill your sukkah with guests, enjoy great meals, sing songs, tell stories...Fill your sukkah with guests, enjoy great meals, sing songs, tell stories and speak words of Torah wisdom. Every night of Sukkot invite one of the Seven Shepherds of Israel, in this order: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David.

On the first night of Sukkot, regardless of weather conditions, make kiddush and eat at least part of the meal in the sukkah. The rest of Sukkot, if the weather gets awful, you can leave the sukkah. After all, you would leave your own house if the roof were leaking buckets, wouldn't you?

Each time you leave the sukkah and return to eat a grain-based meal, say a blessing:

Ba-ruch A-tah Ado-nai E-lo-he-nu Me-lech ha-olam a-sher ki-de-sha-nu be-mitz-vo-tav ve-tzi-va-nu le-shev ba-sukkah.

[Blessed are You, L-rd our G‑d, King of the universe, who has sanctified us with His commandments, and commanded us to sit in the Sukkah.]

Click here for more about building a sukkah and the mitzvah of dwelling in the sukkah.