What is succoth?

Answer 1

The third pilgrimage feast is Succoth, a seven-day festival, also known as the feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles, or just Tabernacles. The word Succoth is the plural of the Hebrew word succah, meaning booth or hut. Until the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Jews made their way to Jerusalem to celebrate each of the three pilgrimage feasts. "Three times in the year shall all thy males appear before the Lord God, the God of Israel. For I will cast out nations before thee, and enlarge thy borders; neither shall any man covet thy land, when thou goest up to appear before the Lord thy God three times in the year" (Exodus 34:23-24). "And it shall come to pass, that every one that is left of all the nations that came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the Lord of hosts, and to keep the feast of tabernacles" (Zechariah 14:16).

During this holiday, Jews eat their meals, entertain guests, relax, and even sleep in a succah, a temporary structure. The succah is reminiscent of the type of huts in which the ancient Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. This holiday marks and celebrates the ingathering of grain and fruit harvests.