The document provides information about the Jewish holiday of Sukkot through descriptions, images, and explanations of various symbols and rituals associated with Sukkot, including: the four species; decorations for sukkah booths such as painted scenes, papercuts, and textiles; and decorative etrog containers and boxes for holding the citron fruit used during the holiday observances.

1. THIS MATERIAL IS FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY

2. THE ART OF SUKKOT Tishri 15-22, 5771 September 23-29, 2010 Simchat Torah is the 7 th day of Sukkot Shemini Atzeret is the 8 th day of Sukkot Myrna Teck, Ph. D. Independent Scholar

3. TORAH SCROLL Sukkot is described in the Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses It is one of three pilgrim or harvest festivals Those holidays are: Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot Sukkot commemorates the Israelites wanderings in the wilderness These wanderings followed the Exodus from Egypt

4. Deuteronomy 16:16 Three times a year--on the feast of unleavened bread, and on the feast of weeks, and on the feast of Booths-- all your males shall appear before the Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose: … Lieber, D. (Ed.) (2001). Etz Hayim . NY: JPS SUKKOT is Hebrew for “TABERNACLES” or “BOOTHS” It is one of three PILGRIM or HARVEST festivals It is a 7 day festival beginning on the 15th of Tishri It is the happiest of biblical festivals It celebrates God’s bounty in nature and God’s protection

5. THE FOUR SPECIES the palm, etrog, willow, and myrtle The Lulav (palm branch) has fruit etrog is both fruit and odor The Myrtle is perfumed The willow has no fruit or odor They symbolize hope

7. MAN WITH HEADLESS SHADOW Kosofsky, S. M. (2004). Book of Customs. San Francisco: Harper Collins There is a Jewish folk belief that seeing a headless shadow is bad It means that one will not survive until the next New Year festival A headless shadow was a sign that the person would die that year

8. Leviticus 23: 40 On the first day you shall take the product of Hadar trees, branches of palm-trees, and boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the LORD your GOD seven days. Lieber, D. (Ed.) (2001). Etz Hayim . NY: JPS

9. THE LULAV -Minhogimbukh, Venice 1593 Kosofsky, S. M. (2004). Book of Customs. San Francisco: Harper Collins. Four species represent the agricultural world They are the palm, etrog, willow, and myrtle The Lulav (palm branch) has fruit etrog is both fruit and perfumed The Myrtle is perfumed The willow has no fruit or perfume lulav and the Etrog are symbols on ancient Mosaic floors They symbolize hope for redemption They are also Jewish emblems

10. THE SUKKAH -Minhogimbukh, 1723 Kaniel, M. (1989). A Guide to Jewish Art . New York: Allied Books The word “SUKKAH” is Hebrew for “TABERNACLE” The Sukkah (booth) is a symbol of fragility People eat in the Sukkah Some Jews sleep there, too The Sukkah is a reminder that God protected the Israelites That was during their wanderings in the desert

11. Leviticus 23: 41-42 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. You shall live in booths seven days; all citizens in Israel shall live in booths Lieber, d. (Ed.) (2001). Etz Hayim . NY: JPS

12. THE SUKKAH Wigoder, G. (1972). Jewish Art & Civilization , Fribourg, Switz: Chartwell This is a Linoleum cut Each evening 7 biblical characters are invited to the Sukkah They are spiritual guests and are called “USHPIZIN” Their presence is a reminder to host others for the festival

13. EATING IN THE SUKKAH- Picart, B., Amsterdam, 1723 Korn, I. (1996). A Celebration of Judaism in Art . New York: Todtri This is a Copperplate engraving It is by Bernard Picart It is From Ceremonies & Costumes of Religions of peoples of World This image is in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam This Sukkah is so heavily decorated that it looks permanent In the background is a less ornate Sukkah

14. HAKKAFOT- Picart, B. Amsterdam, 1723 Snyder, J. (2004). the Jewish World 365 Days. NY: Harry N. Abrams Hakkafot is the custom of circumambulating the bima 7 times All the Torah Scrolls are taken out of the Ark Various piyyutim (religious songs) are sung One explanation for the ritual is the 7 times Joshua circled Jericho This is an etching on paper The citation above the print is puzzling In the English edition of Picart’s book, the citation is from John 7:37 It ends the reading of the Torah Simchat Torah (REJOICING OF THE LAW) begins the reading of Genesis It begins on 23 Tishri and is celebrated for 2 days Shemini Atzeret is the last day

15. SUKKOT POT- Gomez family, 18 th c . Grunberger, M. (Ed.) (2004). From Haven to Home . Wash, D.C. Library of Congress The Gomez family transformed this mustard pot They made it into an Etrog holder It is made of Silver It is in the collection of the American Jewish Historical Society

16. CORNER OF PAINTED SUKKAH- Late 19 th c. Keller, S. (Ed.) (1992). The Jews . NY: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc This painted Sukkah was put together by numbered panels An emphasis is placed on the abundance of fruits and flowers There is also a REAL window in this Sukkah That may have been where the women handed in the food to the men The anonymous painter included columns and an arch He/She also painted a panel of the 10 Commandments

18. PAINTED SUKKA (Detail)-Germany, e. 19 th c. Snyder, J. (2005). The Israel Museum. Jerusalem, Israel: Harry Abrams. Collection of the Israel Museum This is a detail from the previous image It is of Painted wood The painted detail depicts hakafot (circuits) in the synagogue It is done with lulav and etrog

19. SUKKAH DECORATION- 18 th , c. Barnavi, E. (Ed.) (1992). Historical Atlas of the Jewish People. NY: Knopf A man carries the symbols of the Festival of Tabernacles He is on his way to the synagogue This image is from Bischwiller (Haut-Rhin) He looks like a colonial American in his flat-top hat

20. SUKKAH DECORATION -Moravia, 18 th c. Snyder, J. (2005). The Israel Museum. Jerusalem, Israel: Harry Abrams Parchment cutout, painted . 31 x 21.2 cm. (17 3/4”) A large oval is in the center of this intricate and delicate papercut Note Moses holding the Tablets of the Law on the left The tablets show Roman numerals, a Christian influence That is, instead of Hebrew alphabetical number It has the inscription: “This is the table that is before the Lord” It is from Ezekiel 41: 22 A scene illustrated the central biblical commandment relating to the holiday: “ You shall sit in the Sukkah seven days, all the people of Israel shall sit in Sukkot (Leviticus 23: 42)

21. MENORAH SUKKAH DECORATION- Szeged, Hungary, l. 19 th / e. 20 th c Snyder, J. (2004). the Jewish World 365 Days. NY: Harry N. Abrams Oil on canvas Collection of Israel Museum This SUKKAH panel is part of a set They decorated the SUKKAH of Rabbi Loew Immanuel (1854-1945) He was from Szeged, Hungary He was the head of the neological community Neologians were a mainstream Hungarian group It loosely resembled Reform Judaism

22. ASTROLABE SUKKAH DECORATION- Israel David Luzzatto, c. 1775 Korn, I. (1996). A Celebration of Judaism in Art . NY: Todtri Productions Ink and watercolor on paper. 20 x 15 1/2 in. (50.8 x 39.4 cm H. Ephraim and mordecai Benguit Family Collection Jewish Museum, New York Micrography of the text of Ecclesiastes is shaped as an astrolabe That was an instrument used to measure the sun’s altitude Ecclesiastes is the traditional text read in synagogue on Sukkot This is due to the references to the sun and its movement

23. FESTIVAL OF SUKKOT- New Synagogue, London, 1850. Burman, R. etc (2006). Treasures of Jewish Heritage, London This is an interior view of the New Synagogue in London It shows the celebration of the festival of Sukkot The image is in paper-mache It is on a round-topped table 813 x 588 mm 1851-Images of Windsor and Winchester castle were exhibited

25. SUKKAHS IN MEA SHEARIM This is a photograph of sukkahs in Mea Shearim It is the most orthodox Jewish neighborhood in jerusalem

29. ETROG CONTAINER- Ottoman Empire, 19 th c. Grossman, G. (1995). Jewish Art , China: Hugh Lauter Levin Assoc., Inc. Silver Collection of The Israel Museum This duck form is quite unusual

39. THE FOUR SPECIES- I. Kauffmann Unterman, A. (1991). Dictionary of JEWISH Lore & Legend . London: Thames and Hudson. Depicts a young Hasidic Jewish boy holding the four species

40. PAINTING OF RABBI AND CONGREGANTS ON SUKKOT- 19 TH /E. 20 TH C. The Jewish Museum. Oil on canvas. 42 1/2 x 53 in. Gift of Mr. And Mrs. Oscar Gruss. JM 89-56 This painting may have belonged to Isser and Freidl Reiffer They fled their home in Vienna in 1938

49. PHOTOGRAPH AT THE WESTERN WALL ON SUKKOT

56. THE RABBIS AND THE TORAHS- STEINHARDT, Jakob, woodcut Kolb, L. (Ed). (1962) The Woodcuts of Jakob Steinhardt . Phila: JPS Steinhardt was the leading printmaker of the mid-20 th century Here the Rabbis carry the Torah Scrolls It is not clear where they are going Perhaps it is a celebration of the Torah on Simchat Torah

57. CELEBRATION ON SIMCHAT TORAH -Moshe Ryenicki Backlight creates silhouettes of the rabbi carrying the Torah The paint is applied in a painterly manner, a modernist approach

58. SIMCHAT TORAH (REJOICING OF THE LAW)- Chaim Gross, 1967 Soltes, A., Abrams, J. & Blecher, A. (1968 ). The Jewish Holidays , Customs and Traditions by Chaim Gross . NY: Assoc. American Artists