by Rabbi Daniel Huebner

All around the world this Friday evening Jews will be celebrating the beginning of the holiday of Sukkot. Sukkot is unique among the Jewish holidays in that it doesn't commemorate a specific date. It is not associated with a particular historic event.

Referred to in the Torah as the Holiday of Ingathering and the Holiday of Booths, it comes at a time when farmers in the Holy Land would bring in their crops before the rainy season after having let them summer in the fields. This, then, is a celebration of gratitude for abundance.

One of the main themes of Sukkot is it being a celebration of unity. This is highlighted by the two mitzvot (commandments) particularly associated with the holiday, the taking of the Four Species and dwelling in the Sukkah.

The Four Species

The commandment of the Four Species involves taking the four plants: the lulav (date palm branch), etrog (citron), willow branch and myrtle, together and giving them a shake. Interestingly, this mitzvah that can only be done with all four of the species. If only one of them is, it's not kosher.

Each of the Four Species has a different combination of features: The citron has both a pleasant scent and taste, date (palm branch) has a sweet taste but not much of a scent, myrtle has a pleasant scent but not much flavor, while the willow has neither. These four combinations of qualities refer to four types of people. Some people seem to have it all, good scent and taste; they are always doing good things. Others aren't so pleasant, possessing one quality but not the other. Still others have neither flavor nor scent to recommend them, excelling at nothing. The message of the Four Species is inclusion. To be complete as a community we need to include everyone and not write anyone off just because we don't see how they can contribute.

The Sukkah

Sukkot, or booths, refer to the sukkah, the temporary structure in which we are commanded to dwell during this week-long holiday. The sukkah commemorates the shelter and protection the Israelites had on their journey from Egypt to Israel.

The message of dwelling in the sukkah is also one of unity, as the sukkah is a place to get to get together and connect with others. So come join us for an open house in the Sukkah this Sunday afternoon, October 1, between 3 and 6:30pm.

Wishing you a happy, unifying, meaningful Sukkot.

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Rabbi Daniel and Raizel Huebner moved to San Miguel from New Jersey in 2018 with their family to start Chabad SMA. They enjoy living in San Miguel and integrating with the community through classes, Jewish activities and social events.

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