Sukkah: Living in Joy

Mere hours after Yom Kippur comes to an end, sounds of building and banging can be heard in Jewish communities around the world as Jews begin to build their temporary shelter known as a sukkah. Five days later we will inhabit our sukkah for an entire week as we celebrate the biblical holiday of Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. This holiday, which centers on the sukkah, connects the inspiration and introspection of the High Holy Days with our everyday living. It is a time of celebration and the only holiday on which we are explicitly commanded to be joyful. In this month’s Limmud, we will explore the different aspects of the joy surrounding the sukkah and understand what the sukkah has to teach us about living a happy, contented life. As we conclude the intense time period that began on the Jewish New Year and ends upon the conclusion of Sukkot, this message of joy is an important teaching that will accompany us throughout the coming year. We hope you will join us as we learn these lessons — and the secret of a joy-filled life — together.