Questions tagged [sukkot]
Sukkot begins on the 15th of Tishrei and lasts for 7 days, plus an additional day (two outside of Israel) of Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. It is the festival of booths ("tabernacles"), one of the three main chagim.
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Why wait to eat if it rains on the first night of Sukkot?
If it is raining on the first night of Sukkot, Rema Orach Chayyim 639:5 writes:
לילה הראשונה צריך לאכול כזית בסוכה אף אם גשמים יורדין ויקדש בסוכה כדי שיאמר זמן על הסוכה
On the first night, one ...
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Sukkot water libations - from the Torah, from Sinai, or from the Rabbis?
There's a disagreement recorded in the Mishna, Zevachim 13:6, regarding the Sukkot water libation. R' El'azar includes this ceremony in the list of Temple activities that are prohibited by the Torah ...
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Why does the Chazon Ish not allow supporting the schach with nailed planks?
The Chazon Ish in Hilchos Sukkah 143:2 writes:
ולכן לדידן שאנו נוהגין להחמיר בדין המעמיד הסכך בדבר המקבל טומאה כדעת
רמב"ן ור"ן, אין לקבוע הכלונסות במסמרים.
Therefore according to us, who ...
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Ushpizin in the Rain
Does one say Ushpizin if one is eating inside a house and not in the Sukkah due to heavy rain? Is Ushpizin about inviting the guest to the sukkah, or is it about inviting to the se'udah, where ever it ...
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Does one have to eat in a sukkah if they were going to eat outside anyways?
If a sukkah is a temporary replacement for a home, does one need to eat in a sukkah if they were in a park or at a restaurant?
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Why we have to say Keriat Shma on the bed in the Sukkah?
It is known that on Passover night the custom is not to say Keriat Shma on the bed since it is called Shimurim night - a night that is preserved from the 'bad winds' (Mazikim). We don't put a Mezuza ...
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Can I refrigerate an esrog?
I recall a teshuva of R Moshe (which I can’t find and may be remembering wrong) that says that an esrog that was stored in a vacuum from last year is not kosher even though it’s perfectly yellow and ...
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Leyning on Chol Ha-moed Sukkot
Can anyone explain the rationale for the Ashkenazi leyning in chutz la-aretz on Chol Ha-Moed? For example, on the first day of chol ha-moed, we leyn as follows: first aliya - uvayom ha sheni; second ...
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There is no Shabbat Chol Hamoed for Sukkot this year. Why is Kohelet not read on the same day in both E"Y and chu"l?
I can understand why Kohelet is not read on Shmini Atzeret in E"Y, because it's already a long davening. However, why doesn't everyone read it on the first day of the chag, which is also Shabbat?
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Why is mercy the only characteristic that is quantified?
In the Hoshana poem L'ma'an Amitach, various characteristics of God are enlisted as a reason for God to save us. The version appearing in my prayerbook, and recited in congregations I have been ...
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Zecharia 14:4 vis-a-vis the reality of Har haZeisim being a cemetary?
This question has bothered me on and off over the years - typically around this time as we read this perek on the first day of Sukkot as the haftarah:
וְעָמְד֣וּ רַגְלָ֣יו בַּיּוֹם־הַ֠הוּא עַל־...
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Saying Hashem's name quickly in Hallel on Sukkos
During Hallel on Sukkos, we shake the lulav during the הודו לה' כי טוב and אנא ה' הושיעה נא. The standard practice I've seen is the one the Mishna Berurah describes there - one direction per word in ...
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What do/can/should you do if you daven Succos Hallel slower than the tzibur, and why?
If you daven Hallel on Succos slower than the shaliach tzibur, what do you do when everyone else gets to the parts that involve oral responses and/or shaking the lulav? Is it better to join in with ...
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Contrast Hol Hamo'ed Torah readings for Pesach vs. Hol Hamo'ed Succot
I realize that the sacrifice for each day of Succot was different, whereas on Pesach they were the same for all days of Pesach. Somehow, this affects the Torah reading during Hol Hamo'ed.
For ...
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Smelling the Haddas when the first day is Shabbos
According to the Ta”z (OC 665), who holds that it is forbidden to smell the Haddas once it was bundled - even before it was used for the Mitzvah - is one permitted to smell it on the first day of ...
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Connection between the fall of Jericho and Sukkoth
Regarding the haqafoth (circumabulations) performed on Sukkoth around the mizbeah (altar), the Yerushalmi (Sukkah 4:3) records the following:
אותו היום מקיפין את המזבח שבע פעמים. א"ר אחא זכר ...
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Ashkenazi hoshanot schedule when first day Sukkot is Monday
When the first day of sukkot is a Monday, the following is the standard Ashkenazi hoshanot schedule for the first six days (found in all siddurim/machzorim that I've seen and e.g. in Levush here):
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Greatest Happiness on Earth?
The Mishnah in Sukkah (5:1) says, “כָּל מִי שֶׁלֹּא רָאָה שִׂמְחַת בֵּית הַשּׁוֹאֵבָה לֹא רָאָה שִׂמְחָה מִיָּמָיו – Anyone who never witnessed the water drawing of the Simchas Beis HaShoeva never saw ...
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No sales Tax == Lulav Hagazul?
Depending on the rules of the state, one might need to pay sales tax on food items. Thus, If I buy my arba minim off of some vendor and pay in cash, there is a non-zero probability that somewhere in ...
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Why don't Sephardim read Kohelet on Sukkot?
It is the custom among Ashkenazim to read Kohelet on the Shabbat of Chol HaMoed Sukkot.
Is there any reason why Sephardim never took on (or stopped) this custom?
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The reason Sukkos is connected to Gog U'Magog
In sefer Or Shiva't HaYamim, Rabbi Eliezer Zev Raz writes that the war of Gog U'Magog will be fought on Hoshana Rabbah, e.g. on Sukkos and Moshiach ben David will fight the war, prevail and defeat the ...
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Questions About Jeroboam (son of Nebat)'s "Festival...in Imitation of the Festival in Judah"
1 Kings 12:26-33 records Jeroboam's religious "reforms." Among these were the establishment of a "festival...in imitation of the festival in Judah":
32 He stationed at Bethel the ...
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Sources that are against אושפיזין custom?
Are there any rabbinic sources that speak against the Sukkoth custom of inviting אושפיזין into the Sukkah? Or the formulation of its attendant text(s)?
I of course do not intend the righteous and ...
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Hoshanot without a Minyan - removing the Torah from the Aron Hakodesh
There are nine men at Shacharit on Hol HaMoed Sukkot, one short of a minyan. Hoshanot can be recited without a minyan. Should the Torah be removed from the Aron when reciting Hoshanot with only nine ...
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Does the law of pi tikrah apply to temporary structures such as a sukkah?
In Eruvin 94b the Sages are debating about the Sinaitic law of partitions, more specifically “pi tikrah” ( פי תקרה יורד וסותם .) Here the topic is about permanent homes. Presently, I am in the process ...
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Torah reading for foreigners in Israel on Chol HaMoed Sukkot
The Torah reading on Chol HaMoed Sukkot is different in Israel (each day’s mussaf sacrifice is read four times) and the Diaspora (more than one day’s portion is read to take account of sfeika d’yoma (...
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Rain on Sukkos a bad sign outside the land of Israel
The Mishnah (Taanis 1:1) says:
...אֵין הַגְּשָׁמִים אֶלָּא סִימַן קְלָלָה בֶּחָג
...the descent of rain on the festival of tabernacles is to be considered an unpropitious event
The ...
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Can you touch a Sukkah decoration over Sukkot that extends outside of the Sukkah?
This Sukkot, we had a rather interesting setup with one of our decorations. We have a chain made out of foam links. We've been building it up for years - it's got over 850 links by now. It's so big ...
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Placement of the Hoshanot service
I’ve noticed that some congregations (generally nusach ashkenaz) recite Hoshanot after Musaf on Sukkot, whereas others (generally edot mizrach, nusach sefard, some Israeli nusach ashkenaz) recite them ...
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Making a sukkah your house
They say your sukkah should become like your house for all of Sukkot, meaning you eat there, sleep there, and just spend most of your time there. However normally, one doesn’t always let’s say eat in ...
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Hoshanot Order in Sukkot
In Nusach Sfard (Ashkenazi) there are different Hoshanot at the different days of Sukkot. Why does the order and the content of the Hoshanot depend on the day of the first Sukkot Yom Tov? Is there any ...
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Did the Chofetz Chaim check his esrogim with a magnifying glass?
Many people hold that an esrog can be checked with the naked eye, but in practice many people use a magnifying glass.
Did the saintly Chofetz Chaim zy”a use a magnifying glass when inspecting his own ...
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Why is the prayer on leaving the Sukkah unique?
Many have a custom to recite a short prayer upon leaving the sukkah - the yehi ratzon found in many machzorim/soddurim. Why don’t other mitzvot have a similar phenomenon? Why don’t we find similar ...
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Why is the laining identical on the first 2 days of Sukkot?
The laining is chosen (on many holidays) to deal with the holiday, itself. As the Rambam explains,
וקוראין בעניין המועד, לא בסדר השבת. ומשה רבנו תיקן להן לישראל, שיהיו קוראין בכל מועד, עניינו; ...
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What to buy for Sukkot
If one is poor, should he buy an Etrog for Sukkot or food for his family? I am researching the halacha with regard to this as a response to the story by Agnon.
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Source that Lulav is a banner representing life
I am reading a Devar Torah by an esteemed Rosh Yeshiva which says "Furthermore, the Midrash explains that when we lift our lulavim and esrogim on Sukkos, it is essentially a celebration of life. The ...
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Birkat haMazon (Grace after Meals) during Sukkot outside the sukkah
Since during Sukkot holiday one can have a meal with bread only in sukkah (i.e., only the sukkah space could be the one that will require you to say birkat hamazon, to be kovea seudah), if one ate in ...
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What to do on Sukuot if there is no sukkah?
Sometimes it happens that it is not possible to either build a sukkah or find one due to the absence of a nearby synagogue. What is the way out of this situation?
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Talking between lulav and hoshanos
Before the shofar blowing, usually there's an announcement not to make a hefsek until after the last tekios post-Musaf.
Is there something similar for lulav? Should you not talk between the bracha ...
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Can a geodesic dome with a large flat open space on top be used as a kosher sukkah?
I have a friend who proposed the idea of building a geodesic dome sukkah this year - but with a flat open space atop the dome so that the schach can lay flat atop the sukkah. we are intending this ...
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Circumambulations around the Temple altar
The Mishnah records the following ritual having been performed in the Temple on Sukkoth (Sukkah 4:5):
בכל יום מקיפין את המזבח פעם אחת ואומרין אנא ה' הושיעה נא אנא ה'
הושיעה נא רבי יהודה אומר אני והוא ...
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Esrog: How do you tell if a scratch or mark on the top half is a problem?
Esrog: How do you tell if a small scratch, nick, or mark on the top half (near the pitum) is a problem? If it's not mehudar, or חסר? What are the practical guidelines?
People often bring such cases to ...
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Musaf korban for second day Sukkos outside Israel
In our observance of second day Yom Tov when we continue the minhag of our forefathers even though we now have a fixed calendar and know very well which day it is. Gem Beitzah 4b.
The result is that ...
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Why is manna not a part of the celebration of Sukkot?
Manna was an important feature of the daily lives of the Jews in the 40 years in the midbar. Why is this daily miracle not even mentioned during the celebration of Sukkos?
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Seven Ushpizot on Sukkot?
In a number of places online, I've seen reference made to a teaching from Menachem Azariah of Fano, or Rama MiPano, about seven female "guests" which visit the Sukkah over Sukkot, in paralel to the ...
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R. Bachaye's understanding of why Sukkos is split up in the Pesukim
(All quotes are from Parshas Emor, Vayikra 23.)
In pesukim 33-36, the Mitzvah of the karbanos on Sukkos in mentioned. In verses 37-38, the Torah records the concluding line of Eileh Moadei... which ...
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Difference in Torah readings Israel vs. Diaspora and Pesach vs. Succot
This question has a link in one of the comments referring to an article explaining why each day of Pesach has a different Torah reading.
During Succot, I notice that the 2nd day of Yom Tov in ...
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Are Beis Shammi and Beis Hillel really arguing about the minimum size of a succah or dwellability?
What are Beis Shammi and Beis Hillel really arguing about in Succah Daf 3a when the Mishna states: מי שהיה ראשו ורובו בסוכה ושולחנו בתוך הבית ב"ש פוסלין ובית הלל מכשירין?
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