Sukkot, the Jewish harvest festival, also known as the Festival of Booths, takes place this year from sundown on Friday, Sept. 25, until nightfall on Friday, Oct. 2.
Sukkot is a holiday of joy and thanksgiving. It commemorates both the autumn harvest and the memory of the Israelites taking shelter in temporary huts while wandering in the desert following the Exodus. The Hebrew word “sukkot” is the plural of “sukkah,” meaning “hut” or “booth.”
Families and congregations build sukkot, temporary dwellings with at least two and half walls and a roof made of organic materials such as palm fronds, through which you can see the stars at night. They decorate the sukkah with harvest symbols. Families traditionally take some or all their meals in a sukkah. Another custom is waving the lulav and etrog, known as the Four Species. A lulav is a bundle of branches that includes palm, willow and myrtle, and an etrog is a citrus fruit that looks like a large, bumpy lemon.
Congregations in Southern Arizona also hold Sukkot Festival services and parties. Here are some of the sukkot and celebrations you can visit this year:
Congregation Anshei Israel: Sept. 25, 5:45 pm Community Shabbat/Sukkot Service and Dinner, in the Rabbi Eisen Beit Midrash and on Zoom. Dinner at approximately 7 pm. Registration and payment required for dinner no later than Wednesday, Sept. 23.
Sept. 26: 9:30 am Shabbat and 1st Day Sukkot Service, In Person and on Zoom
Sept. 29, 7 pm, Sip, Schmooze, & Shake! Young Adult Sukkah Night in the Anshei Israel Sukkah; RSVP here
Oct. 1, 6 pm, Sisterhood in the Sukkah. RSVP by Sept. 17.
Congregation Beit Simcha: Sept. 23, 3 pm, Build the Sukkah Party
Sept. 25, 6:30 pm, Sukkot Shabbat Service
Sept. 26, 9 am, Sukkot Bagels and Lox Torah Study; 10 am Sukkot Morning Services in the Sukkah
Sept. 27, 6 pm, Potluck Dinner in the Sukkah for new members, prospective members, members and friends
Congregation Bet Shalom: Sept. 26, 9:15 am, Shabbat and Yom Tov Services
Sept. 27, 9:15 am, Yom Tov Services followed by Light Kiddush Lunch in the Sukkah
Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 5:30-7:30 pm, Dwell in the Sukkah and Learn with Rabbi Lopez
Beth Shalom Temple Center (Green Valley): Sept. 25, 7 pm, Sukkot Service
Chabad Tucson/Congregation Young Israel: Sept. 26, 9:30 am, Morning Service; 12 pm, Kiddush in the Sukkah
Chabad Oro Valley: Sept. 26, 10 am Sukkot Service
Sept. 27, 10 am Sukkot Service; 4-5 pm, Open Sukkah at the home of Rabbi and Mushkie Zimmerman
Congregation Chaverim: Sept. 23, 4-5:30 pm, Sukkah Decoration
Sept. 25, 5:30 pm, Sukkot Dairy Potluck, 6:30 pm Sukkot Services
Kol Ami Synagogue: Sept. 25, 6:30 pm Erev Sukkot Shabbat Evening Service, in the Sanctuary and Virtual
Sept. 26, 10 am Shabbat Sukkot Festival Morning Service, in the Sanctuary and Virtual
Handmaker: Sept. 26, 9 am, Sukkot Festival Services in the Great Room, followed by Kiddush in the Sukkah at approximately 1 pm
Tucson Jewish Community Center: Sept. 29, 4:15-5:45 pm, PJ Library Snacks in the Sukkah
Oct. 2, 6-9 pm, Young Adult First Friday Shabbat in the Sukkah; email [email protected] to register for the potluck
Tucson Hebrew Academy: Sept. 30, 4:45-6:30 pm, Sukkot Carnival with Dinner/Snacks for Sale. Registration required
Tucson Torah Center: Sept. 28, 4-5:30 pm, Sukkah Party. RSVP at tucsontc.org/sukkahparty
The weeklong celebration of Sukkot is immediately followed by another two days of celebration (one day in Israel) of Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah, observed this year on Oct. 3 and 4. For more Sukkot events plus Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah services, please consult congregational websites.
