Chag Sukkot Sameach!

 

Tishrei 14, 5787/September 25, 2026

 

"You shall make yourself the Festival of Sukkot for seven days, when you gather in the produce from your threshing floor and your vat. And you shall rejoice in your Festival - you, and your son, and your daughter, and your manservant, and your maidservant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the orphan, and the widow, who are within your cities. Seven days you shall celebrate the Festival to HaShem, your G-d, in the place which HaShem shall choose, because HaShem, your G-d, will bless you in all your produce, and in all the work of your hands, and you will only be happy." (Deuteronomy 16:13-15)

The Torah could not be more explicit: We are to be exceedingly happy on Sukkot! We have coronated HaShem as Sovereign over all creation on Rosh Hashana and stood in His judgment. We have stood naked before HaShem on Yom Kippur, confessing all our misdeeds and asking for atonement, and HaShem has welcomed us into the new year! And now, as an expression of His great love for us, HaShem is inviting us into our fragile sukkot for seven days of rest and festivities. Leaving the security of our well built houses equipped with air conditioning and king sized mattresses, we eat and sleep and host friends and family, including our prestigious ancestors, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Yosef, Moshe, Aharon and David, the seven ushpizin, underneath a frail roof of reeds and palm fronds above us, secure in the knowledge that it is HaShem, and only HaShem Who keeps us safe and secure every day of our lives. 

And if all this is not enough to kindle our sublime joy, there is also the tradition of the Simchat Beit HaShoeva nightly celebration once held in the Holy Temple courtyard and today a feature of every Jewish community. There is also the remembrance of the Water Libation Ceremony conducted every morning throughout the seven days of Sukkot, the arba minim, (four species), the hakafot, (encircling around the Temple altar/Sifrei Torah), and the sweet sound of chatter ans song as we walk by the sukkot of our neighbors. 

Sukkot is also the time of the ingathering of the Gentiles, who, fulfilling the prophecy of Zecharia, ascend each Sukkot to partake in the Sukkot festivities in Jerusalem. Every facet of Sukkot is a joyful expression of gratitude and faith in HaShem, our Father who loves us all.

The Temple Institute extends our sincere wishes for all our friends and followers, our generous supporters and fellow travelers, and all who stand by the people of Israel and seek the blessings of the G-d of Israel, a very happy Chag Sukkot! Chag Sukkot Sameach!

The Festival of Sukkot in the Holy Temple!   The special joy that marks the celebration of the Festival of Sukkot in the Holy Temple renders Sukkot unique among the three pilgrimage festivals. Sukkot is the Festival of the Harvest. The Jewish farmer, having gathered the fruits of his labor into his home and enjoying the abundance of HaShem’s blessing, comes to the Holy Temple with his heart filled with exuberance and thanksgiving for all that G-d has given him. The waving of the four species, circling around the great stone altar, singing the Hallel prayer and calling out, “Ana Hashem Hoshiya Na!,” the performance each morning of the water libation ceremony and the celebration each night of the Simchat Beit HaShoeva all added to the heightened atmosphere of joy and gratitude. Learn more about the festival of Sukkot as it is celebrated in the Holy Temple!

The Festival of Sukkot in the Holy Temple!