Posted on September 25, 2007 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Art and Culture, Featured 1 Comment
Yet another Jewish holiday is upon us, and this time it’s Sukkot. The practices related to this week of celebration are probably among the strangest offered by Judaism: we build wobbly huts that have leaves or twigs as roofs, and eat and sleep in them for seven days. We also make sure to shake a combination of palm fronds (whatever they are), myrtle (whatever that is), hyssop (ditto), and etrog (obviously).
Yes, we shake it, ok? I mean, what else would you do if you were holding a hyssop and palm frond?
Anyways, of course there is deep meaning behind all of this, which you can find out about on Wikipedia’s Sukkot entry, or in other places. Or, it really comes down to the usual reason we Jews hold any celebration:
“They oppressed us, we survived. Let’s eat.”
True. I gotta start cooking.
Check out this video on the shaking that goes on during this holy holiday. Chag sameach!
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Have a happy and safe Sukkot!
PS
Aren’t all your holidays like that?
They oppressed us. We beat them. Lets eat.
At least your celebrations have an interesting twist to them.
~Darnell