Jewish Holidays

“They shall live in the sukkot for seven days; every citizen in Israel shall live in the sukkot. So that your generations will know that in the sukkot I had Bnei Yisrael live when I took them out of the Land of Egypt; I am Hashem, your G-d” (Vayikra 23:42-43). In the midrash (Sifra, Emor 12) we find three explanations for this mitzva. There is an opinion that the sukka is to be made from the four species which are waved on Sukkot, which implies that it is essentially part of one unit with the mitzva of the four species. It is difficult, though, to divorce the mitzva from the historical context to which the p’sukim refer explicitly.

We have the privilege to reach the days known as the Yamim Noraim (Days of Fear = High Holy Days). We will take a look at the spiritual content of this period, from Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur through Sukkot/Hoshana Rabba, while connecting it to Parashat Nitzavim.

have some questions about the simanim (symbolic foods) we eat on Rosh Hashana. Should we have them both nights? Is it done before or after washing, and how does this impact on the berachot made on them?