5 Ways to Celebrate Sukkot

Sukkot is the Festival of Booths — one of the three pilgrimage festivals, celebrating the harvest and the temporary dwellings (sukkahs) the Israelites lived in during the 40 years in the desert. Here are 5 ways to celebrate:

1. Build a Sukkah

A sukkah is a temporary outdoor hut with three walls and a roof of greenery (schach). Build one in your backyard, on a balcony, or even at a community space. The walls can be canvas, fabric, lattice — the schach needs to be natural and let some starlight through.

2. Eat in the Sukkah

For 7 days (or 8 in the diaspora), meals are eaten in the sukkah — weather permitting. String lights, hang fruit, decorate with kids' artwork. It's joyful and intimate.

3. Shake the Lulav and Etrog

The arba minim (four species) — etrog (citron), lulav (palm), hadassim (myrtle), and aravot (willow) — are waved together in six directions. A beautiful ancient ritual.

4. Invite Ushpizin

Ushpizin are the seven "guests" — biblical figures (Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, David) who are symbolically invited to join you in the sukkah each night. Many families also invite the seven matriarchs.

5. Sleep in the Sukkah

If weather allows. Especially fun for kids. There's something magical about looking up through the schach at the stars.

Sukkot is one of the most underrated Jewish holidays — nature, hospitality, community, harvest. It's a 7-day reset.