The Media Line Wishes You a Happy Sukkot

Jews around the world began the weeklong celebration of the festival of Sukkot at sundown on Monday.

The third of the holy day observances that began with Rosh Hashana (the New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), Sukkot is notable for the temporary booths erected for the week where meals are eaten and social time spent in a reference to the housing Jews utilized during their 40-year trek through the desert en route to the Holy Land. Its festive mood is enhanced by the four plant species carried to prayer during morning services: citron fruit, date palm frond, and branches of the myrtle and willow trees.

Immediately following the seven-day Sukkot festival comes yet another holiday, Shemini Atzeret (the Eighth Day of Assembly, celebrated for one day in Israel and two days abroad), a joyous festival that begins the rainy season in Israel and celebrates the completion of the annual reading of the Five Books of Moses and its initiation for the coming year.

In the Christian world, the Feast of Tabernacles is celebrated. In pre-COVID years, thousands of Christians would flock to Israel to participate in religious celebrations capped off by an annual march through the streets of Jerusalem in an event organized by the International Christian Embassy in Jerusalem.

The Media Line extends best wishes for a joyous holiday to all those celebrating.