(33) And God spoke to Moses, saying: (34) Say to the Israelite people: On the fifteenth day of this seventh month there shall be the Feast of Booths to the Lord, to last seven days. (35) The first day shall be a sacred occasion: you shall not work at your occupations; (36) seven days you shall bring offerings by fire to the Lord. On the eighth day you shall observe a sacred occasion and bring an offering by fire to the Lord; it is a solemn gathering: you shall not work at your occupations.
*The Eight Day gathering is now called "Shemini Atzeret".
Commentary from the Etz Chaim Chumash:
Solemn Gathering: Rabbi Hersch understand the words to mean "to gather, to store up". Even as farmers gather up the harvest to last through the winter, the Israelites are urged to store up the feelings of gratitude and dependence that mark the holiday season, for the months that follow that have no special holidays.
(39) Mark, on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the yield of your land, you shall observe the festival of the Lord to last seven days: a complete rest on the first day, and a complete rest on the eighth day. (40) On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your God seven days. (41) You shall observe it as a festival of the Lord for seven days in the year; you shall observe it in the seventh month as a law for all time, throughout the ages. (42) You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths, (43) in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt, I the LORD your God.
(13) You shall keep the feast of tabernacles (Chag HaSukkot) for seven days, after you have gathered in from your threshing-floor and from thy winepress. (14) And you shall rejoice in thy feast, you, and your son, and your daughter, and your man-servant, and your maid-servant, and the Levite, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are within thy gates. (15) Seven days you shall shall keep a feast unto the Lord your God in the place which the Lord shall choose; because the Lord thy God shall bless you in all your increase, and in all the work of your hands, and you shall be altogether joyful.
A Drash/Commentary About Sukkot -- Based on the Commentary of Rashbam
And therefore we come out of homes full of all sorts of goodness at the time of the ingathering and dwell in sukkot, to remember that The Children of Israel had no inheritance in the wilderness and no houses to inhabit. And it was for this reason that the Holy One established the Festival of Sukkot at the time of the ingathering of grain and wine, “Lest your heart grow haughty over your houses full of all sorts of goodness;” “Lest you say, ‘Our hand has performed this valor for us.’"
(א) סֻכָּה שֶׁהִיא גְבוֹהָה לְמַעְלָה מֵעֶשְׂרִים אַמָּה, פְּסוּלָה. רַבִּי יְהוּדָה מַכְשִׁיר. וְשֶׁאֵינָהּ גְּבוֹהָה עֲשָׂרָה טְפָחִים, וְשֶׁאֵין לָהּ שְׁלֹשָׁה דְּפָנוֹת, וְשֶׁחַמָּתָהּ מְרֻבָּה מִצִּלָּתָהּ, פְּסוּלָה. סֻכָּה יְשָׁנָה, בֵּית שַׁמַּאי פּוֹסְלִין, וּבֵית הִלֵּל מַכְשִׁירִין. וְאֵיזוֹ הִיא סֻכָּה יְשָׁנָה, כָּל שֶׁעֲשָׂאָהּ קֹדֶם לֶחָג שְׁלשִׁים יוֹם. אֲבָל אִם עֲשָׂאָהּ לְשֵׁם חָג, אֲפִלּוּ מִתְּחִלַּת הַשָּׁנָה, כְּשֵׁרָה:
(ב) הָעוֹשֶׂה סֻכָּתוֹ תַחַת הָאִילָן, כְּאִלּוּ עֲשָׂאָהּ בְּתוֹךְ הַבָּיִת. סֻכָּה עַל גַּבֵּי סֻכָּה, הָעֶלְיוֹנָה כְשֵׁרָה, וְהַתַּחְתּוֹנָה פְּסוּלָה.
(1) A sukkah taller than twenty cubits is invalid. Rabbi Yehudah validates it. And one which is not ten hand-breadths tall, or does not contain three walls, or whose whose [area of] sun is greater than its shade is invalid. Regarding an old sukkah, Beit Shammai invalidate it, and Beit Hillel validate it. What is an old sukkah? Any [sukkah] which one made it thirty days before the festival. But if one made it for the sake of the festival, even [if he made it] from the beginning of the year, it is valid.
(2) One who makes his sukkah beneath a tree, it is as though he made it inside a house [and is thus invalid]. Regarding a sukkah on top of a sukkah, the top one is valid, and the bottom one invalid.
How's of a Sukkah from the Mishnah:
A sukkah must have at least three walls. The walls of the sukkah can be made out of anything: canvas, wood, bricks, even metal or stone. They may even be a permanent structure, such as the side wall of a house.
Certain rules about the roof of a sukkah:
- it must be made out of something which grew from the ground.
- the material it is made from must no longer be connected to the ground.
- it must be possible to see at least 3 stars in the night sky through the sukkah roof.(also known as schach)
The Lulav and Etrog -- Two Drashot -- From Sefer HaHinuch (13th Century Spain)
Each of the four species relates to a particular limb through which a person is to live to the best of his ability:
#1)"Etrog refers to the heart, the place of understanding and wisdom. Lulav refers to the backbone, uprightness. Myrtle corresponds to the eyes, enlightenment. Willow represents the lips, the service of the lips (prayer)."
#2) Another explanation - According to the Midrash in Vayikra Rabba, taste represents learning and smell represents good deeds. The etrog has both taste and smell. The lulav has taste but not fragrance. The myrtle has smell but no taste. And the willow has neither. Each represents a different type of person. Some have both learning and good deeds; some have one without the other; and some have neither. Real community is found in their being bound together and brought under one roof.
Guests on Sukkot -- Ushpizin
Zohar Emor, 103-104
Guests, and they are the souls of the seven forefathers: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Each day one is invited into the Sukkah. In order to merit in having the spiritual guests, one should invite physical guests as well.
What is Gratitude? Are you grateful? What are you grateful for?
Our research has led us to conclude that experiencing gratitude leads to increased feelings of connectedness, improved relationships, and even altruism… when people experience gratitude they feel more loving, more forgiving and closer to God. Gratitude, we have found, maximizes the enjoyment of the good – our enjoyment of others, of God, of our lives. Happiness is facilitated when we enjoy what we have been given, when we ‘want what we have’. ..
Gratitude elevates, it energizes, it inspires, it transforms. People are moved, opened, and humbled through experiences and expressions of gratitude. Gratitude provides life with meaning by encapsulating life itself as a gift. (Robert Emmons – Thanks! - page 12)