Teaching about Sukkot

Even though the High Holidays begin in just a few days, us Jewish educators know it’s time to start preparing lessons for the next festival on the calendar — Sukkot!

As you know, this is the first of three regalim (pilgrimage festivals) celebrated over the course of the Jewish calendar. Beyond that distinction, though, there are myriad relevant themes to explore in the classroom, the lecture hall, or any other educational setting. Wondering where to get started? Here are some resources to explore.

Four Species and Spiritual Guests

The two main rituals commonly practiced during Sukkot are dwelling in the sukkah itself and blessing the four species — aravah (willow branches), hadas (myrtle branches), a lulav (closed frond of a palm tree), and an etrog (citron fruit).

If you’re looking for more information on the four species and related practices, a good place to start is our dedicated Topic page, curated by Sefaria’s learning team. You can also check out the traditional blessing said over the lulav, a source sheet by Sefaria Education about how to shake a lulav, and this text from Leviticus (23:40) describing the commandment to gather these flora in honor of the holiday. Also, this midrash from Vayikra Rabbah, positing that the four species may be analogous to four types of people.

In addition to inviting family and friends to celebrate together in the Sukkah, many also invite historical figures, known as ushpizin, to the sukkah as well. If you’re teaching about this tradition, take a look at Ushpizin: Welcoming Virtual Guests, a source sheet by Sefaria Education with ideas about the value of being welcoming when we can't host people physically. Originally created to explore how this custom might impact our sense of community during a time of pandemic restrictions, the questions and sources in this sheet offer lasting opportunities for reflection on what it means to care for others, redefine the ways we think about hospitality, and make room for vulnerability and connection.

Giving Praise

On Sukkot, as on the other regalim and holidays, many recite Hallel, a selection of psalms (113–118) that praise God for blessings and bounty received. For lesson plans about Hallel, you might want to take a look at these relevant selections from the Talmud and the Mishnah:

In tractate Ta'anit of the Talmud, find an explanation of the specific days of the year on which Hallel is recited in the land of Israel and in the diaspora, where the holiday calendar is slightly different.

Hallel is an expression of praise, gratitude, and (sometimes) request. In tractate Pesachim, the Talmud describes both spontaneous recitations of psalms and suggestions about how Hallel’s current structure was formalized.

While Hallel is recited throughout the year, on Sukkot it’s customary to incorporate a lulav into the recitation. Tractate Sukkah in the Moed order of the Mishnah describes the customary way to incorporate the lulav into Hallel.

The Laws of the Sukkah

Of course, not just any souped-up tent can be a sukkah! If you’re teaching about the details of holiday observance, these texts by various halakhic scholars throughout the ages may be useful:

The first two chapters of tractate Sukkah, a section of Seder Moed (the “order of festivals”) of the Mishnah, discuss the structure of a sukkah and the obligation to dwell therein.

In chapters four and five of his foundational halakhic work, the Mishneh Torah, Rambam (a preeminent medieval Torah scholar and physician) describes the laws of building a sukkah and dwelling in it during the holiday.

The Shulkhan Arukh, written by Rabbi Joseph Karo in 16th-century Safed, includes an extensive section dedicated to halakhot of Sukkot.

For some outside-the-box ideas about Sukkah construction, check out Not Your Grandmother’s Sukkah, a source sheet collection created by Sefaria Education in collaboration with Neot Kedumim, a biblical landscape reserve in Israel.

There are as many ways to engage with the themes of this festival as there are unique ways to decorate your sukkah.

For more educational inspiration for Sukkot-related study, check out the curated Topic pages on Sefaria, like Sukkot, Sukkah, Etrog, Lulav, The Four Species, and Shalosh Regalim. If you can’t find something on the site, you can always fill out our text request form or post on our Facebook group, The Sefaria Classroom.