Sukkot/Simchat Torah

Sukkot, is a week-long celebration that includes shaking a lulav and etrog and eating meals in an outdoor structure called a Sukkah, marking the end of the Summer, ushers in the fall Harvest, and marks the beginning of the rainy season in Israel.

Five days after Yom Kippur, the moon grows full. It lights up a special celebration called Sukkot (soo-COAT), a harvest festival that lasts for an entire week. Sukkot is known as “the time of our joy.” On Sukkot we celebrate completing the hard work of teshuvah (turning ourselves around). Now we can relax and embrace life’s simple joys.  

Sukkot literally means “small huts.” For the week of Sukkot, it is a tradition to build a sukkah outdoors to relive experiences from the Jewish past. These include the desert encampments of our ancestors fleeing slavery in Egypt, the field tents used by farmers in ancient Israel during the fall harvest, and the tents of pilgrims visiting the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. It is traditional for people to welcome many guests and share meals together.

If you are looking for videos, crafts, explanations, recipes,or more, JKidLA has it all in one place for you and your family to make your homes’ Sukkot full of fun!