Walls and s'khakh
At least three walls (two and a handbreadth are enough by law), and a roof of cut branches, reeds or mats, with more shade than sun.
Holidays15–21 Tishrei · Seven days
The sukkah and its guests, the four species waved the way of the Arizal, the Hoshanot, and Hoshana Rabba.
NextBegins at sundown Friday, October 15 · ends at nightfall Friday, October 22, 2027
"You shall dwell in sukkot for seven days... so that your generations will know that I made the children of Israel dwell in sukkot when I brought them out of Egypt" (Leviticus 23:42–43).
Five days after Yom Kippur we leave our homes for a temporary hut under the sky, and take in hand the four species. It is the harvest festival, the festival of the clouds of glory, and the one the Torah singles out for joy.
Sephardic families fill the sukkah with rugs, fabrics and fruit, set a chair for the holy guests, and keep the door open for real ones: the sukkah is a house of hospitality.
Dwelling in the sukkah
At least three walls (two and a handbreadth are enough by law), and a roof of cut branches, reeds or mats, with more shade than sun.
The blessing is said when eating bread, or cake and pastries of more than an egg's volume, in the sukkah. On the first night, eat at least a kezayit of bread there.
Each night we invite the seven holy guests, Avraham, Yitzhak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and David, in the words of the Zohar. Many Sephardim set a decorated chair for them, with holy books on it.
Moroccan and Middle Eastern families decorate with carpets, tapestries, lamps and hanging fruit, and above all with guests: the poor, the stranger and the lonely.
If rain would spoil the food, one may eat inside. One who is uncomfortable in the sukkah is exempt.
Arba'at haminim
The four species are taken every day of Sukkot except Shabbat: the etrog, the lulav, three hadassim and two aravot. Sephardim follow the order of waving taught by the Arizal.
With the spine of the lulav facing you, the three hadassim go on its right and the two aravot on its left, the hadassim a little higher than the aravot. Bind them with rings made from lulav leaves.
Take the lulav in the right hand and say "al netilat lulav," and on the first day Sheheheyanu. Then take the etrog in the left hand, its pitam (tip) upward, and hold it against the lulav. Left-handed people follow their rabbi's guidance on which hand holds which.
Following the Arizal, stand facing east and wave three times in each direction: south (to your right), north (to your left), east (in front of you), up, down, and west (behind you, waving back over your right shoulder without turning around). Each time, extend the species outward and bring them back to your chest.
Following the Shulhan Arukh (651:8), we wave at the first "Hodu laAdonai ki tov," at both "Ana Adonai hoshi'a na," and at the final "Hodu," in the same six directions.
Circling the Torah
After Musaf (in many Sephardic synagogues, after Hallel), the congregation circles the tevah once with the four species, singing the Hoshanot, as the priests circled the altar in the Temple.
On the seventh day we circle seven times, then beat a bundle of five aravot on the ground. It is the final sealing of the judgment of the year.
Many stay awake to read the Book of Deuteronomy and Tehillim, with the prayers of the Kabbalists.
In the synagogue
The festivals of the year. Maftir: Numbers 29:12–16.
Haftarah: Day 1: Zechariah 14. Day 2: 1 Kings 8:2–21
Four aliyot from the offerings of Sukkot.
Moses asks to see God's glory. Maftir from Numbers 29.
Haftarah: Ezekiel 38:18–39:16
The harvest
Peppers, zucchini, onions and grape leaves filled with rice and meat, for a table full of the harvest.
Stuffed grape leaves, cooked slowly with lemon.
Steamed couscous with autumn vegetables and meat, easy to carry out to the sukkah.
Half-moon pastries filled with cheese or chickpeas.
Side by side
South, north, east, up, down, west (the Arizal)
East, south, west, north, up, down (the Rema); Hasidim follow the Arizal
Not worn
Worn in many communities
A decorated chair for the guests
Ushpizin prayer, often with posters
Keep learning
Questions
Following the Arizal: facing east, three times each to the south (right), north (left), east (front), up, down and west (back over the right shoulder, without turning around), bringing the species back to the chest each time.
No. Sephardim do not put on tefillin during Hol HaMoed.
When eating bread, or more than an egg's volume of cake or pastry, in the sukkah.
The seven holy guests: Avraham, Yitzhak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef and David, invited into the sukkah each night.
The seventh day of Sukkot, when we circle seven times with the four species and beat the aravot, sealing the judgment of the new year.