The bustle of the Sukkot holiday season is in full gear. Sukkahs (Sukkot) are being built and lulavs and etrogs purchased.
Wood being sold in Jerusalem for the building of Sukkot (lit. booths; temporary dwellings used for the duration of the festival by the same name)
Cars can be seen with wood sticking out every window and door as residents try to transport it home
A "s'chach" (greenery for the Sukkah's roof) dealer with his merchandise - in this case matured palm fronds
Jerusalem's balconies fill with Sukkahs, which are required to be located in an unobstructed area under the sky
A courtyard in Jerusalem's Meah She'arim neighborhood begins to fill with Sukkot
An electrical store advertises special decorative Sukkah lighting
The Sukkot holiday is filled with meaning and symbolism. Its timing only five days after the purification of Yom Kippur leads to special joy, and in fact it is known as the "time of our rejoicing." The holiday involves elements such as:
* the Sukkah in which we dwell for a week, commemorating G-d's Providence following the Exodus from Egypt and forever;
* the Four Species - lulav (palm branch), etrog (citron), hadassim (myrtle branches) and aravot (willow branches);
* nightly celebrations commemorating the joyous water-drawing ceremonies in the Holy Temple;
* all-night Torah study on Hoshana Rabba;
* a time of harvest in the Land of Israel;
* the conclusion and re-beginning of the public annual Torah reading cycle;
and more.
* the Sukkah in which we dwell for a week, commemorating G-d's Providence following the Exodus from Egypt and forever;
* the Four Species - lulav (palm branch), etrog (citron), hadassim (myrtle branches) and aravot (willow branches);
* nightly celebrations commemorating the joyous water-drawing ceremonies in the Holy Temple;
* all-night Torah study on Hoshana Rabba;
* a time of harvest in the Land of Israel;
* the conclusion and re-beginning of the public annual Torah reading cycle;
and more.
The main "shuk arba minim" (four species marketplace) in Meah She'arim
Some dealers specialize in a specific one of the four species (palm-lulav, myrtle-hadasim, willow-aravot and citron-etrog)
The middle of the lulav should be straight and not split or cut off
The Sukkot Festival is called "zman simchateinu" ("the time of our joy"), in the prayers
Three myrtle branches are taken as part of the four species
The Hareidi-religious 'Eida Hareidis' has a table set up to check the Kosher status of one's four species
Outside the "shuk" and all over Jerusalem, street venders have been replaced with four-species hawkers
An Etrog boutique in Meah She'arim
The Etrog (citron) - this one is without a pitom (stem)
Sukkot material:
* Secrets of Sukkot - Tzvi Fishman
* The Aravah and the Leviathan - Rabbi Shlomo Riskin
* Rav Kook on Sukkot: The Role of the Lowly Willow - Rabbi Chanan Morrison
* You Know it's Sukkot in Jerusalem When... - Judy Lash Balint
* Sukkot on Israel National Radio's Mikdash Kids Children's program with Judy Simon
* Jacob Richman's Sukkot super site
(Photos: Yehuda Boltshauser - Yehuda@topshot.com )
Hillel Fendel contributed to this report
