Oct 13, 2008 7:00 pm US/Eastern
Jews Around The World To Celebrate Sukkot
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
For millions of Jews around the world, Monday night at sundown marks the beginning of the holiday of Sukkot, the harvest festival.
The holiday comes days after Rosh Hashana – the Jewish New Year – and Yom Kippur, the holiest and most solemn of Jewish holidays.
Sukkot, a somewhat lesser known observance, is one of the most joyous.
Observers build Sukkahs or booths outdoors that represent the temporary dwellings Jews lived in while wandering the desert, as told in the Bible.
The roof, or s'chach, is made of things that came from the grounds such as branches, leaves, and bamboo. Beginning Monday night and continuing for the next seven days, observant Jews will dwell and have meals inside the Sukkahs and celebrate.
As is custom, a group of important elements called the "Four Species" are held together and shaken together to become one, to be united. The Four Species consist of the "Aravah," a branch from a willow tree; the "Etrog," fruit from a citron tree; the "Hadass," leaves from a myrtle tree; and the "Lulav," a green frond from a date palm tree.
For more information on Sukkot and the building of the Sukkah,
click here.
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