Sukkot is the first religious celebration-themed week we will be celebrating this academic year. Throughout this week, all pupils will be learning about the importance and significance of this festival for the Jewish community. Challah Bread, fresh fruit and vegetables will be available in the dining hall as a way of marking this celebration.
Sukkot begins on the evening of Sunday 9th October to the evening of Sunday 16th October, lasting seven days just like God commanded in the Torah, the Jewish holy scripture. Sukkot is also known as Feast of Tabernacles (a portable sanctuary constructed, while journeying to the Promised Land).
Sukkot commemorates the 40 years the Jewish people spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land (modern-day Israel) after escaping slavery in Egypt. Today, the sukkah is a reminder that only God creates a real sense of security and protection.
To celebrate Sukkot, Jewish people build a hut, known as the ‘sukkah’, in their garden. The sukkah must consist of two and a half walls and a roof made of branches and leaves. It is important that one can still see the sky when inside the sukkah. Jewish families have their meals and some even sleep inside the sukkah. Every day, they shake the branches of the four different species of plants mentioned in the Torah: Etrog, Palm, Myrtle and Willow.