The Jewish community prepares to receive the festival of Sukkot

After fasting on the Day of Atonement, the Jewish community prepares to receive the commemoration of Sukkot, called the Feast of Booths.

This festivity, which manifests and promotes the union and harmony of the Jewish people, will begin on the night of this Sunday, October 9, and will end on the evening of Tuesday, October 18, with Simchat Torah, the joy of having the Word of Gd written.

To highlight the special significance of this commemoration, the Superior Rabbinate of the Argentine Republic issued a message. It recalls the importance of honoring the path that our ancestors traveled through the desert after leaving Egypt, and not forgetting that “what protects us and keeps us united as a people is the spiritual strength from divine providence.”

“We left the Day of Atonement in which God absolved us of our mistakes, and in which we approach God by recovering the harmony between the Creator and humanity,” said Rabbi Eliahu Hamra, secretary general of the Superior Rabbinate.

“Now we are on the eve of Sukkot, the festival of the cabins. A holiday in which we leave the security provided by our usual homes to live for 7 days in the Sukkah, a precarious dwelling. This reminds us that what protects, cares for and shelters us is the divine connection with our spiritual part and not the material aspect, ”he added.

“This precept commemorates the protection of Gd, with his divine presence during the 40 years of pilgrimage in the desert, from the exit from Egypt to the arrival in Israel, the promised land. Its observance, which includes living, eating, sleeping and spending as much time as possible inside the Sukkah, has the uniqueness of including our entire being”, highlighted Rabbi Hamra.

“In this way, we recognize that the strength of our people is given by our traditions, sacred sources and spirituality, instead of material conditions,” he warned.

“Another precept that we fulfill on the festival of Sukkot is attending the synagogues with the Arbaat HaMinim, the four traditional species associated with this festival. They are the Etrog (citron), the Lulav (leafy date palm branch), the Hadasim (myrtle branches) and the Arabot (willow branches).”

“According to Kabbalah, the four species by their respective forms symbolize the constituent parts of the human being. The Lulav represents the spine; the Etrog, the heart; the Hadasim, the eyes, and the Arabot, the mouth. This symbology reminds us that we must serve Gd with our whole being and in harmony, between our actions, words and emotions,” Rabbi Hamra noted in his message.

“Let us unite these four species with our hands and approach the synagogues to comply with this sacred precept, understanding that this festival calls us to meet with all our loved ones in the Sukkah. Our strength lies in spirituality and the Jewish people are one big family. Let us live these special days feeling the divine force that accompanies us and protects us”, concluded the rabbi.

The Jewish community prepares to receive the festival of Sukkot – Jewish Journal Mexico