How might celebrating Sukkot might affect the life of a Jew?

Answer 1

On Sukkot, Jews eat all their meals in outdoor arbor-canopied booths (Sukkah) in order to commemorate the Israelites' wanderings in the desert. Some will also sleep in the Sukkah. During the morning prayers on these days, we take the 4 minim consisting of a Lulav (young palm branch), an Etrog (Citrus Medica; citron), three Haddassim (Myrtle branches) and two Aravot(willow branches).

The Jewish festivals including Sukkot are to be found in Leviticus ch.23. Every one of them has as its purpose "remembering the Exodus from Egypt" (as stated in our prayers and the kiddush over wine).

In addition, Passover is a Thanksgiving to God for the barley-harvest, Shavuoth is a thanksgiving to God for the wheat-harvest, and Sukkoth is a thanksgiving to God for the ingathering of grain.

Shavuoth also celebrates the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, and Sukkoth remembers God having protected us in the wilderness.

It may also be noted that it is instinctive and a moral and emotional need and imperative to celebrate in front of God every so often. This was Cain's motivation in making his offering in Genesis ch.4 without having been commanded.

Had God not given us the Torah-festivals listed above, we might instinctively seek out those of the Canaanites, which the Torah warns against (Exodus 34:15) immediately before listing the Jewish festivals (in the following verses).

Answer 2

People sleep in the sukkah and eat a feast with blessings on sabbath!!!

Answer 3

Immediately after Yom Kippur, you start putting up the Succah, or at least cataloging the pieces you have on hand to see if anything needs replacing. By the morning before Succot, you hope to have the frame and walls up, and you may spend part of that day trimming hedges or cutting brush to get the schach -- the cut vegetation that forms the roof. Some people use manufactured bamboo mats as schach. So long as they're made with linen or cotton string, they're OK. Others like the natural green of palm fronds or tree branches, whatever is locally available.

The second issue is getting a lulav and etrog (palm frond, willow branches, myrtle branches and citron) required to fulfill the commandment to wave them on Succot. Many synagogues put in orders for these, and they can be had by mail order. In cities with big Jewis populations, there are places to buy them retail.

The final part of preparation is putting together the festive meal for the first day of the Succot. It's traditional to host guests in your succah, so in addition to buying food, there's the issue of inviting guests. Some congregations have a congregational succah. Some host congregational dinners. There are 7 days of succot, and you might invite guests any of those days, or go visit others any of those days.

The Erev Succot meal, in the Succah, begins with candle lighting and kiddush over bread and wine, just like the usual Shabbat meal, with the addition of a special blessing praising God for the commandment to settle in the succah.

Succot morning prayers follow the standard festival liturgy, similar to the Shabbat liturgy augmented with the Hallel psalms, but with a special version of the Amidah, and with an added poetic segment during which the congregation parades around the synagogue. The lulav and etrog are waved at key points during the Hallel psalms, and held during the parade. The central subject of the parade is a prayer for rain, so some people have compared it to a Jewish rain dance.

The 7 days of Succot follow essentially the same pattern, except that, during the intermediate days which are only half-holidays, the morning service is simpler. People who say their prayers at home frequently do it in the Succah. The final day of Succot, Hoshanna Raba (the Great Hoshanna -- the latter word means save us) is the most intense of the prayers for rain.