Sukkah

A sukkah or succah (Hebrew: סוכה‎‎, plural, סוכות sukkot ; sukkoth, often translated as "booth") is a temporary hut constructed for use during the week-long Jewish festival of Sukkot. It is topped with branches and often well decorated with autumnal, harvest or Judaic themes. The Book of Vayikra (Leviticus) describes it as a symbolic wilderness shelter, commemorating the time God provided for the Israelites in the wilderness they inhabited after they were freed from slavery in Egypt. It is common for Jews to eat, sleep and otherwise spend time in the sukkah. In Judaism, Sukkot is considered a joyous occasion and is referred to in Hebrew as Yom Simchateinu (the day of our rejoicing) or Z'man Simchateinu (the time of our rejoicing), and the sukkah itself symbolizes the frailty and transience of life and its dependence on God.

The halakha requires eating and traditionally sleeping in the sukkah. However, Jews are not expected to remain in the sukkah if they would be very uncomfortable there. For this reason, Jews living at northern latitudes will generally not sleep in the sukkah due to the cold temperatures of autumn nights. Some Jews in these locales will spend some time in the sukkah eating and relaxing but go indoors to sleep.

When rain falls on the sukkah, one is not required to stay inside. The Mishna in Sukkah 28b compares rain falling on a sukkah to a master who receives a drink from his servant and then throws it back in the servant's face. The analogy is that through the rainfall, God is showing displeasure with the performance of the mitzvah by not allowing the Jews to fulfill their obligation of sitting in the sukkah.

In Israel and other temperate climates (such as Florida, Australia, Texas, and Southern California), observant Jews will often conduct all their eating, studying, and sleeping activities in the sukkah. Many Jews will not eat or drink anything outside the sukkah. Others will drink or eat fruit outside the sukkah.

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