BITE-SIZED GUIDE

A weeklong festival that makes room for joy

Sukkot is a Jewish harvest festival traditionally celebrated over a week. Its best-known symbol is the sukkah, a temporary outdoor structure used for meals, gathering and, in many communities, time spent beneath an open or natural roof.

The sukkah turns hospitality into a practice. Its temporary walls remind us that welcome does not require perfect conditions: people can gather, eat and share gratitude even when life feels unfinished.

Many communities also use the lulav, a bound set of palm, myrtle and willow branches, together with the etrog, a citron fruit. Traditionally, they are held and waved during the festival as an embodied expression of gratitude and connection.