1. Sukkot has three other names:

• Ḥag HaAsif, “The Festival of Gathering”

• Ḥag, “Festival”

• Zeman Simḥateinu, “The Time of Our Rejoicing”

2. Sukkot is a seven-day festival – the eighth day that follows it, Shemini Atzeret, is a separate festival.

3. Sukkot is one of the three annual Shalosh Regalim (the three pilgrimage festivals), when there was a special mitzva to travel to Jerusalem and participate in the Temple service (the other two pilgrimage festivals are Pesaḥ and Shavuot).

4. The main mitzva of Sukkot is to “live” in a sukka all eight days.

5. The sekhakh that forms the roof of the sukka must be made of organic material that has not been processed or made into something for another purpose.

6. The other unique mitzva of the festival of Sukkot is to take the Arba Minim – the Four Species. The mitzva is fulfilled by waving them in six directions. The Four Species are:

• lulav (palm frond)

• etrog (citron)

• hadassim (myrtles)

• aravot (willows)

7. Each day of Sukkot (apart from Shabbat), we walk around the bima in shul while holding the Four Species and saying special prayers called Hoshanot.

8. The last day of the festival of Sukkot is called Hoshana Rabba (The Great Hoshana), when we circle the bima seven times with our lulav and etrog, saying Hoshanot.

9. During Temple times there were special joyous water-drawing celebrations called Simḥat Beit HaSho’eva, where water was poured over the altar.

10. Many people have the mystical custom to say Ushpizin in their sukka: seven biblical characters are welcomed to the sukka, a different one each night.