SUKKOT: Sunset Oct. 16-Nightfall Oct. 24

Sukkot: This seven-day festival (eight days in the Diaspora) celebrates the abundance of the fall harvest and commemorates the 40 years the Jewish people wandered in the desert after the exodus from slavery. The sukkah, a temporary three-sided dwelling covered with leafy branches, gives the holiday its name. The sukkah is a reminder of the temporary dwellings our ancestors in ancient Israel used for shelter in the fields during the harvest, as well as the booths they lived in for 40 years in the desert. The festival has two additional main symbols: the lulav and etrog. The lulav consists of palm, myrtle and willow branches bound together. The etrog is a citron, a yellow citrus fruit that looks and smells like a bumpy lemon. It is traditional to bless the Four Species (the lulav and etrog held together) while waving them towards the four compass points, heaven and earth on each day of the holiday except Shabbat.

Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah (Oct. 24-25) The days immediately following the end of the festival of Sukkot are the semi-independent holidays Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Some liberal congregations celebrate both in one day as Atzeret-Simchat Torah. These two holidays formally end the season of the High Holy Days. The Torah is a central symbol of Simchat Torah as we read the final verses of Deuteronomy, then immediately recommence the cycle by reading the opening verses of Genesis. The celebration of the annual cycle includes marching around the synagogue with Torah scrolls and flags.