The Jewish festival of Sukkot, often referred to as 'Chag Ha-Asif', 'Festival of Ingathering' or 'Feast of Tabernacles' is known for the rejoicing and celebrating life. It has both historical and agricultural origins and will be observed from 16- 23 October 2016.
16 October, 2016: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth sits next to etrogs, citrus fruit used in rituals performed during the upcoming Jewish holiday of SukkotAmir Cohen/ Reuters
Sukkot comes five days after Yom Kippur, and is the last of the Shalosh R'galim– the three major festivals in Judaism which are Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Weeks or Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles, Tents or Booths). Sukkot is observed as a way of commemorating the 40 year period during which the children of Israel were released from slavery and began the Exodus from Egypt. As they wandered through the desert to find their new homeland, they lived in temporary shelters. Serving as a reminder of this, Jewish households rebuild these temporarily shelters, which are called sukkahs and are to be used as much as possible during the Sukkot celebrations. The word 'Sukkot' translates as 'booths', referring to the temporary dwellings that Jews are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of the period of wandering.
16 October, 2016: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man carries palm branches used to cover a ritual booth known as a sukkah during the upcoming Jewish holiday of SukkotAmir Cohen/ Reuters16 October, 2016: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man (R) holds the Four Species, used in rituals during the upcoming Jewish holiday of SukkotAmir Cohen/ Reuters16 October, 2016: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man holds an oddly-shaped etrog, a citrus fruit used in rituals performed during the upcoming Jewish holiday of SukkotAmir Cohen/ Reuters
A sukkah can be made out of any material, such as wood or metal, providing that the roof is made of organic material, known as s'chach. Many use palm branches and leaves. The interior of the sukkah must be decorated with four plants or 'species' which are used to celebrate the harvest. These are etrog– a citrus fruit, a lulav– a palm branch, a brava– a form of willow branch and a hadas, which is a branch from a myrtle tree. Sukkah's are often decorated with fruit and vegetables, which hang from the ceiling. The four plants are bound together and are waved in all directions (North, South, East and West) during the Hallel prayer, to symbolise that God can be found everywhere and not just in one place. Throughout Sukkot, special prayers are read inside the sukkah each day and all meals are to be eaten there.
13 October 2016: An Ultra Orthodox Jewish man builds the Sukkah, a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot in an Ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of JerusalemMenahem Kahana/ AFP13 October 2016: Ultra Orthodox Jewish men build the Sukkah (Tabernacle), a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot in an Ultra-Orthodox neighbourhood of JerusalemMenahem Kahana/ AFP13 October, 2016: Members of the Samaritan sect decorate with fruits and vegetables a traditional hut known as a sukkah, which is a ritual hut used during the Jewish holiday of SukkotAbed Omar Qusini/ Reuters13 October, 2016: A woman from the Samaritan sect decorates with fruits and vegetables a traditional hut known as a "sukkah", which is a ritual hut used during the Jewish holiday of SukkoAbed Omar Qusini/ Reuters13 October, 2016: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks by palm branches used to cover a ritual booth known as a sukkah during the upcoming Jewish holiday of Sukkot in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhoodAmir Cohen/ Reuters13 October, 2016: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men inspect the 'Hadas' or 'Myrtle', one of four species used during the celebration of Sukkot in an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of JerusalemMenahem Kahana/ AFP13 October 2016: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man inspects a Lulav, one of four species used during the celebration of Sukkot, the feast of the Tabernacles, in an Ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of JerusalemMenahem Kahana/ AFP8 October, 2014: Rabbis Yehuda Teichtal (L) and Shmuel Segal inaugurate Germany's biggest sukka, a ritual booth, at the Jewish education centre 'Chabad Lubawitsch' in Berlin, GermanyHannibal Hanschke/ Reuters7 October, 2014: Ultra-Orthodox Jewish children play inside a ritual booth, known as a sukkah, in the southern city of Ashdod, IsraelAmir Cohen/ Reuters4 October, 2015: A group of Orthodox Jewish worshipers hold the four plant species, as they attend the Hoshana Rabbah prayers on the seventh day of the Jewish Sukkot holiday at the Western Wall in the old city of JerusalemMenahem Kahana/ AFP25 September, 2015: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man inspects a Loulav, one of four plant species to be used during the celebration of Sukkot, the feast of the Tabernacles, in the Israeli Mediterranean coastal city of NetanyaJack Guez/ AFP24 September, 2015: An ultra-Orthodox Jewish boy carries palm branches during preparations for the upcoming Jewish holiday of Sukkot in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhoodRonen Zvulun/ Reuters20 September, 2010: A Jewish man carries a wooden plank as he builds a sukkah, a ritual booth used during the upcoming holiday of Sukkot, outside his house on the West Bank Jewish settlement of Yitzhar, south of NablusRonen Zvulun/ Reuters
