Sukkot Inspires Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has much in common with the festival of Sukkot.
The Bible was an important book for the early American settlers. They named their children Benjamin, Joshua, and Rachel after people in the Bible, and called their towns Sinai, Canaan, and Jordan after places in the Bible.
The pilgrims compared their voyage to America to the Exodus from Egypt. The Atlantic Ocean was their Red Sea, and America was their Promised Land. In 1621, when they gathered to give thanks for a good harvest after a hard year in the New World, the settlers were reminded of the Biblical holiday of Sukkot, and created their own harvest festival.

Is your celebration of Sukkot similar to your celebration of Thanksgiving? How?

Excerpt from All AboutSukkot by Judyth Groner and Madeline Wikler

Four Species, Four Types of People

Did you know?

The etrog is both sweet-smelling and tasty.

Dates, from the lulav, have taste but no smell.

Hadasim (myrtle) have smell but no taste.

Aravot (willow) have neither taste nor smell.

The rabbis said they are like the many kinds of people who make up the Jewish community…those who study, those who pray, those who give tzedakah, and those who rely on the goodness of others.
Which one are you?

From All About Sukkot by Judyth Groner and Madeline Wikler

(photo of four species from Wikipedia)

Tzedakah at Sukkot

Tzedakah was an important mitzvah for Jewish farmers, especially at the time of harvest.

The Torah commands farmers to leave a portion of crops unpicked, so the poor might glean (gather) them for food.

Farmers also are required to set aside a tithe (a tenth) of their grain, oil, wine, and livestock. A portion was used to feed the priests at the Holy Temple, and a portion to feed the poor.

Today, some families help glean crops to donate to food banks. Others contribute funds to shelters and soup kitchens that help feed the hungry.

What mitzvot are you doing this Sukkot?

From All About Sukkot by Judyth Groner and Madeline Wikler.