Sukkot

Background
Leviticus 23: You shall observe the festival…on the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees (This is etrog, which looks like a lemon but isn’t), branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees (myrtle) and willows of the brook and …you shall live in booths seven days…..

Customs
Live and eat in huts (Sukkot in Hebrew) and shake the lulav and etrog as a reminder of God’s presence all around us.

The Sukkah reminds us of Judaism’s ancient agricultural background. This is why huts are decorated with produce. The Israelites lived in sukkahs when they left Egypt, and farmers rested in their sukkahs during the harvest season.

The Sukkah is also a reminder of how fragile life is. The sukkah is not a sturdy structure; we are reminded that we are also fragile and vulnerable.

Greetings
This is a joyful holiday. Gut yontiff or chag samayach—happy holiday in Yiddish and Hebrew—are most appropriate.