Sukkot
Etrog Box by Oded Davidson
Sukkot, a Hebrew word meaning "booths" or "huts", refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest, as well as the commemoration of the forty years of Jewish people wandering in the desert after Sinai.
Sukkot is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th of Tishrei, and is marked by several distinct traditions. One tradition, which takes the commandment to "dwell in booths" literally, is to build a sukkah, a booth or hut. A sukkah is often erected by Jews during this festival, and it is common practice for some to eat and even live in these temporary dwellings during Sukkot.
Of the many symbols associated with Sukkot, the most important are the Four Species. In Leviticus 23:40, it is written that God commanded that on the first day of the festival, “you shall take the products of godly trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you will rejoice before the Lord your G-d for seven days.”
The Four Species are:
Etrog – the fruit of the godly tree, also known as the citron
Palm Branch – known as the lulav
Myrtle branches – the hadas
Willow branches – the aravah
According to Jewish tradition, the Four Species may symbolize four types of Jews. The etrog has taste and smell, and stands for those who possess knowledge and good deeds; the lulav has taste but no smell, representing knowledge but not good deeds; the myrtle, having smell but no taste, portrays those who have good deeds but no knowledge; the willow has neither taste nor smell and represents those without either good deeds or knowledge.
