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On Sukkot, the Jewish 鈥楩estival of Booths,鈥� each sukkah is as unique as the person who builds听it

Sukkot is a Jewish festival that follows right on the heels of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, Judaism鈥檚 High Holy Days. The harvest holiday, which begins on Sept. 29,听lasts for seven days when celebrated in Israel and eight days when celebrated elsewhere.

Like many Jewish rituals and traditions, from lighting Friday night candles to hosting Passover seders, Sukkot is primarily celebrated in the home鈥搊r rather, in the yard. Translated as the 鈥淔estival of Booths,鈥� Sukkot is celebrated in an outdoor structure called a sukkah, which is carefully built and rebuilt each year.

础蝉听a Jewish Studies scholar, much of my work looks at how diverse Jewish American identities are today. From听,听, to Jewish communities from all over the world, there have always been a听鈥揳nd home-based holidays like Sukkot help people honor all these parts of their identities.

Harvest holiday

Held during听, Sukkot likely has origins in huts that ancient farmers erected so they could sleep in the fields. Yet tradition also says that these booths represent听听while they wandered the desert for 40 years following the Exodus, their escape from slavery in Egypt.

Some aspects of Sukkot happen in the synagogue, including special prayers and readings from the Bible. Yet the main action takes place at home,听鈥搕he singular form of the word 鈥渟ukkot鈥� in Hebrew. For Jews who observe the holiday, tradition says to start building the sukkah as soon as possible after Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement; some people even start building the structure are soon as they have broken听.

The makeshift walls, of which there must be at least three, can be made out of anything one wants, from pre-made walls printed with blessings said during the holiday to tablecloths or rugs. People often decorate to say something about who they are: photos of Jerusalem, quilts made by relatives. I have always imagined that, if I had a sukkah, I would use Indian tablecloths for walls, merging that piece of my heritage with my religion.

The roof, however, is supposed to be made out of natural materials like palms or branches; one friend of mine likes to use cornstalks. The roof should provide shade but must allow gaps to see the stars. Those of us who do not have yards can get creative with our balconies or, like me, drop hints that they would welcome invitations to other people鈥檚 sukkot. One New Yorker friend turns her living room into a faux sukkah鈥搚ou cannot see the stars, but it is filled with nature and decorations.

In the United States, many families decorate their sukkot with classic elements of the American harvest season: corn husks, colorful dried ears of corn, harvest gourds and even the occasional bale of hay. In New Mexico, you sometimes see 鈥渞istras,鈥澨�听that hang from porches.

The traditional plants of Sukkot, however, are four distinct species: a citrus fruit called an etrog, and fronds of palm, myrtle and willow, which are bound together and referred to as the 鈥渓ulav.鈥� The lulav and etrog are blessed and shaken together on a daily basis throughout the festival.

Our yard, our holiday

Beyond this, Jews are supposed to live in the sukkah for the festival, which technically means eating and sleeping there. But as with all religious holidays, individuals celebrate Sukkot in a wide variety of ways.

Many Jews do not construct sukkot at all, let alone sleep in them for a week. Of those who do, some sleep every night in the sukkah; some have one night of family 鈥渃amping鈥�; others do not sleep in it at all. Many people entertain guests there: I have been to many a meal鈥揳nd one graduate seminar鈥搃n sukkot all over the country.

It is the fact that so much of Sukkot is held at home that accounts for the holiday鈥檚 immense flexibility. Like at Passover, most Jews who celebrate Sukkot encounter it in spaces where people can honor their values, cultures or histories.

What this looks like is as diverse as the world of American Jews.

For instance, for the years that I taught outside of Philadelphia, I attended a multinight open house, called 鈥淲hiskey in the Sukkot,鈥� hosted by an interfaith couple. The Jewish wife explains that when she and her husband鈥揳 whiskey aficionado from Appalachia鈥揼ot married, his thought process went: 鈥渉arvest festival, grain, whiskey.鈥�

Each year, he curates a selection to share with his guests, with new offerings for each night. Accompanied by pungent cheeses and other nibbles, this festival of whiskey offered him a way to make the holiday his own. In the process, the couple created an event that welcomes their Jewish鈥揳nd non-Jewish鈥揷ommunities.

翱苍听, the chef, culinary historian and author听听created a听听for Sukkot, which he notes uses 鈥渢raditional Southern ingredients and flavors.鈥� His soup is vegetarian, but he also offers a 鈥渢rayf alternative,鈥� meaning a version that is not kosher鈥揳 recipe that swaps out olive oil for bacon grease. Even in the most liberal Jewish settings, one cannot usually serve pork in a synagogue setting, but this is your Sukkot table. If you,听, why not go full-on Southern in your flavors?

Not everyone sees their full identity reflected on Sukkot.听, a cartoonist who is Jewish and Muscogee (Creek), has written a comic called 鈥�,鈥� imagining what Sukkot could look like if, like many contemporary Passover celebrations, it emphasized social justice. Cohen muses on the parallels she saw between Sukkot celebrations and 2016 protests to block an oil pipeline at听听in North Dakota. At the time, both were events where people talked about valuing nature as sacred. Yet no one mentioned the protests in the sukkot she visited that week.

Indeed, some Jews are finding ways to realize the social justice potential in the holiday. Fiber artist听听used a sukkah as the basis for an art exhibition called 鈥�,鈥� decorating its walls with stories of unhoused New Yorkers and with art made by children staying in the city鈥檚 shelters.

Perhaps the time will come when Sukkot, too, becomes infused with possibilities for a more just future.

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