Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah סֻכּוֹת
Sukkot is a seven-day festival beginning on the 15th of Tishrei, five days after Yom Kippur. Jews eat – and many sleep – in a sukkah, a temporary hut, and wave the four species. It is followed by Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, the celebration of completing the Torah.
Feast of Tabernacles · Festival of Booths · Chag HaAsif · סוכות · 15–22 Tishrei (23 in the Diaspora)
What is Sukkot?
The Torah commands dwelling in booths for seven days “so that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths when I brought them out of Egypt” (Leviticus 23:43). The Talmud records two views: real huts, or the “clouds of glory” that protected Israel in the desert. Sukkot is also Chag HaAsif, the harvest festival, and the Torah calls it a time of joy – it is known in the prayers as zeman simchatenu, “the season of our rejoicing”.
Leaving a solid house for a fragile hut right after the High Holidays expresses trust: security comes from God, not from walls. The four species – etrog, lulav, myrtle and willow – are held together, which the Midrash compares to the different kinds of Jews united as one people.
The eighth day, Shemini Atzeret, is a separate festival. In the Diaspora it lasts two days, and the second is Simchat Torah, when the yearly cycle of Torah reading is completed and begun again with dancing (hakafot). In Israel both are celebrated on one day.
How Sukkot is observed
The sukkah
- A sukkah needs at least three walls and a roof of schach – cut plant material such as branches, bamboo or palm leaves – thick enough to give more shade than sun but loose enough to see stars through. It must stand under the open sky, not under a tree or a balcony.
- Meals with bread or cake are eaten in the sukkah, with the blessing leishev basukkah. Many also sleep there; in cold climates and in rain one is exempt.
- On the first night (and in the Diaspora also the second) eating at least a kezayit of bread in the sukkah is an obligation, even in light rain according to many authorities.
The four species and the holiday days
- Each day except Shabbat the lulav (palm), two willows and three myrtles are held in the right hand and the etrog in the left; after the blessing al netilat lulav they are waved in six directions.
- The first day (two in the Diaspora) is Yom Tov; the following days are Chol HaMoed, intermediate days when necessary work is permitted.
- Hallel is said every day, with the hoshanot processions around the bimah. On Hoshana Rabbah, the seventh day, seven circuits are made and willows are beaten on the ground.
- Shemini Atzeret includes the prayer for rain (Geshem) and, for Ashkenazim, Yizkor. On Simchat Torah all the Torah scrolls are carried in seven hakafot and everyone, children included, is called to the Torah.
Sephardi and Ashkenazi customs
- Ushpizin: many invite symbolically the seven “guests” – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David – one each night; Sephardim set aside an ornate chair for them.
- Waving order: most Ashkenazim wave right, left, front, up, down, back (Rema); Sephardim follow the Arizal: south, north, east, up, down, west.
- Tefillin on Chol HaMoed: most Sephardim and Chassidim do not wear them; some Ashkenazim do, without a blessing.
- In many Sephardi communities hakafot are also held on the night after Simchat Torah outside Israel (hakafot shniyot), a custom also widespread in Israel.
Sukkot dates 2025–2028
Dates follow the Diaspora schedule. Jewish days begin at sundown: a holiday starts in the evening before its first day and ends at nightfall.
| Holiday | Begins | Ends | Hebrew date | In Israel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sukkot | Sundown, Monday, October 6, 2025 | Nightfall, Monday, October 13, 2025 | 15 Tishrei 5786 – 21 Tishrei 5786 | Same |
| Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah | Sundown, Monday, October 13, 2025 | Nightfall, Wednesday, October 15, 2025 | 22 Tishrei 5786 – 23 Tishrei 5786 | Ends Tuesday, October 14, 2025 |
| Sukkot | Sundown, Friday, September 25, 2026 | Nightfall, Friday, October 2, 2026 | 15 Tishrei 5787 – 21 Tishrei 5787 | Same |
| Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah | Sundown, Friday, October 2, 2026 | Nightfall, Sunday, October 4, 2026 | 22 Tishrei 5787 – 23 Tishrei 5787 | Ends Saturday, October 3, 2026 |
| Sukkot | Sundown, Friday, October 15, 2027 | Nightfall, Friday, October 22, 2027 | 15 Tishrei 5788 – 21 Tishrei 5788 | Same |
| Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah | Sundown, Friday, October 22, 2027 | Nightfall, Sunday, October 24, 2027 | 22 Tishrei 5788 – 23 Tishrei 5788 | Ends Saturday, October 23, 2027 |
| Sukkot | Sundown, Wednesday, October 4, 2028 | Nightfall, Wednesday, October 11, 2028 | 15 Tishrei 5789 – 21 Tishrei 5789 | Same |
| Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah | Sundown, Wednesday, October 11, 2028 | Nightfall, Friday, October 13, 2028 | 22 Tishrei 5789 – 23 Tishrei 5789 | Ends Thursday, October 12, 2028 |
Israel and the Diaspora
In Israel Sukkot is seven days with one day of Yom Tov at the start, and Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are the same day (22 Tishrei). In the Diaspora the first two days are Yom Tov and the festival ends on 23 Tishrei.
Candle-lighting times
Candle-lighting and havdalah times for Shabbat and Yom Tov in 94 cities, computed for your location: Shabbat & holiday candle-lighting times
Related prayers
- Shabbat Candle Blessing הדלקת נרות שבת
- Friday Night Kiddush קידוש ליל שבת
- Havdalah הבדלה
Greetings
- Chag Sameach (חג שמח) – “Happy holiday” – the general festival greeting.
- Moadim LeSimcha (מועדים לשמחה) – “Festivals for joy”, said on Chol HaMoed; Sephardim answer Chagim Uzmanim LeSasson.
- Chag Sukkot Sameach (חג סוכות שמח) – “Happy Sukkot”.
Frequently asked questions
- When is Sukkot in 2027?
- In 2027, Sukkot begins at sundown on Friday, October 15, 2027 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, October 24, 2027. In Israel it ends one day earlier, at nightfall on Saturday, October 23, 2027.
- What is the difference between Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah?
- Sukkot is the seven-day festival of the sukkah and the four species. Shemini Atzeret is the separate festival on the eighth day, without these mitzvot. Simchat Torah celebrates finishing the yearly Torah reading – in Israel on Shemini Atzeret itself, in the Diaspora on the following day.
- Can I build a sukkah on a balcony?
- Yes, if nothing covers it from above – no upper balcony, roof overhang or tree branches over the area used. The schach must be the only covering.
- Do women have to sit in the sukkah?
- Women are exempt, as from most time-bound positive mitzvot, but many eat in the sukkah and say the blessing according to their custom (Ashkenazim usually with the blessing, many Sephardim without).
- What is an etrog?
- A citron, a fragrant citrus fruit. It must be whole and clean, ideally with its pitam (tip); it is bought before the holiday, often with the lulav set.
Sources
- Leviticus 23:42–43
בַּסֻּכֹּת תֵּשְׁבוּ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים כָּל־הָאֶזְרָח בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל יֵשְׁבוּ בַּסֻּכֹּת
“You shall dwell in booths seven days” – so that the generations know that God made Israel dwell in booths after the Exodus.
- Leviticus 23:40
וּלְקַחְתֶּם לָכֶם בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן פְּרִי עֵץ הָדָר כַּפֹּת תְּמָרִים וַעֲנַף עֵץ־עָבֹת וְעַרְבֵי־נָחַל וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם לִפְנֵי יְהוָה אֱלֹהֵיכֶם שִׁבְעַת יָמִים
The four species: the fruit of a beautiful tree (etrog), palm branches, myrtle and willows of the brook.
- Leviticus 23:36
שִׁבְעַת יָמִים תַּקְרִיבוּ אִשֶּׁה לַיהוָה בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי מִקְרָא־קֹדֶשׁ יִהְיֶה לָכֶם וְהִקְרַבְתֶּם אִשֶּׁה לַיהוָה עֲצֶרֶת הִוא כָּל־מְלֶאכֶת עֲבֹדָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ
The eighth day is an atzeret, a closing festival – Shemini Atzeret.
- Talmud Bavli, Sukkah 2a, 11b, 41b
The height and roof of the sukkah, the debate on the “clouds of glory”, and the four species.
- Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 625–669
The laws of the sukkah, the lulav, Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.
Hebrew verses: Westminster Leningrad Codex (public domain) via the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible. The explanations on this page are our own, not translations.
This holiday on our Hebrew site · All holiday guides
For learning and general information only. Customs differ between communities; for halachic questions ask your rabbi.