Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah

Sukkot begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Tishrei, in September or October. Sukkot 2024 begins at sundown on Wednesday, October 16. Shmini Atzeret (and Simchat Torah in some communities) begins at sundown on Wednesday, October 23. Communities that celebrate Simchat Torah seperate from Shmini Atzeret will observe this additional day of holiday beginning in the evening on Thursday, October 24 and concluding in the evening on Friday, October 25.

Sukkot, the Festival of Booths, commemorates the Biblical period of wandering in the desert. A temporary shelter (a sukkah) is built outside the home and used to take meals and even sleep in it for the duration of the one-week holiday. The "eighth day" of Sukkot, known as Shmini Atzeret, can be considered a separate holiday. It marks the beginning of the rainy season in Israel and the year's first prayer for rain, so that the ground might be prepared for planting when springtime arrives.

The sukkah has at least three sides, and the roof is made of branches called schach that provide shade during the day yet also allow people to see the stars through them at night. Meals in the sukkah are often shared with family and friends — and through a welcoming ceremony called ushpizin, Biblical ancestors are symbolically invited in as well. Sukkot is also a harvest festival, which in ancient times involved a pilgrimage to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem. To give thanks for the harvest bounty, particularly that of the Land of Israel, four plant species are held together and waved in the air: lulav (palm), etrog (citron), hadas (myrtle) and arava (willow).

Simchat Torah celebrates the completion of one year's cycle of weekly Torah readings during Shabbat services and the beginning of another. Synagogues' Torah scrolls are brought out to the congregation for singing and dancing, which sometimes spills into the street outside. Some unroll an entire Torah scroll while the congregation stands in a circle and holds it. The last Torah portion is read as many times as necessary so that all those who wish to can be honored with an aliyah, an opportunity to say a blessing before and after the Torah reading.