They encroach on the space of the sidewalks, we see them appear on the terraces of the houses, overflowing the balconies. They bloom everywhere, adorned with palms, fruits and tea lights. There are even along the Western Wall. It’s the Feast of the Huts in Judaism (October 9-16) and the streets in Israel aren’t quite the same. Even cafes set up their tents on the terrace.
In Hebrew, the holiday is called Sukkot, “the huts”. It finds its origin in the book of Leviticus (Lv 23) where God prescribes that, for seven days, the people live in huts.
The playful nature of the cabin is ideal for involving children in the party. But for the hut to correspond to the divine prescriptions, there are a few conditions. The most important is that its roof is made of branches that allow you to see the sky through it. As a result, Israeli architects compete in ingenuity so that the balconies of the buildings are built in staggered rows so as not to deprive each other of the view of the sky.
If the first two days of the holiday are non-working, the following ones guarantee traffic jams in the city of Jerusalem, because Sukkot is also the third festival of pilgrimage to the temple.
It is the most universal festival of Judaism, where it is customary to invite non-Jews to one’s tent. Sukkot is above all an agrarian festival during which the fruit of the harvest is celebrated. This is why one of the most important rites consists of bringing together four species of plants and praying: “Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the world, who gave us life, brought us into existence and brought us to this moment. »
God definitely has a sense of humor. At the time when the man could be satisfied with the result of his labor, he enjoins him to live under the tent, to expose himself to the nights which begin to cool off especially since mid-October often marks the time of the first rains. . God commands us to experiment with a form of precariousness. As such, the spirituality of Sukkot is found in that of the season of Lent, when we are invited to dispossess ourselves.
And the text of Leviticus says: “You shall rejoice seven days in the presence of the Lord your God. » Because he remains.
Chateaubriand spoke of the genius of Christianity, but there is, without a doubt, a genius of Judaism to give flesh to the law. Following the law is the best way to experience the presence of God.
Surprisingly, the Gospels seem to skip over this feast. We just find in Jn 7, 2 the mention: “The Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near. » So much so that it seems that it left no traces in Christianity. Yet John offers him the most striking development in a verse from the Prologue, a literal translation of which would read: “The Word became incarnate and made itself tempted among us. » The law is the word of God, the Word is Christ made man, and he is our tent, our dwelling place.
Suffice to say that by walking through the streets and entering the tabernacles as they are also called, the mystery becomes deeper that our Jewish brothers can live so concretely (unlike us) what still escapes their understanding.