The first time the word סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/ appears in the Bible, it isn't built for people.
It's בְּרֵאשִׁית /be-re-'sheet/ Genesis 33. יַעֲקֹב /ya-a-'kov/ Jacob has just made peace with his brother עֵשָׂו /e-'sav/. He builds a house for himself, and for his animals he builds shelters. וּלְמִקְנֵהוּ עָשָׂה סֻכֹּת /oo-le-meek-'ne-hoo a-'sah soo-'kot/. And he names the place סֻכֹּת /soo-'kot/.
סֻכֹּת /soo-'kot/ is the plural. One hut is a סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/, more than one are סֻכֹּת /soo-'kot/, and the holiday takes the plural for its name.
The holiday you know as the Feast of Tabernacles, or the Feast of Booths, carries a word that first shows up in the Bible as a cattle shed.
In Short
Sukkot's name comes from סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/, a shelter, first used in Genesis for Jacob's animals, not people.
Four Hebrew words carry the holiday's real meaning: the hut itself, the word for holiday, the command to feel joy, and a cry for help that made its way into Christian tradition through Palm Sunday.
Sukkot Starts With Jacob's Cattle
Here's where the holiday sits. Sukkot begins five days after Yom Kippur ends, and lasts seven days. You build a hut outside. You eat in it, and many people sleep in it. In Israel, balconies, backyards, and public spaces fill up with them, and the greeting you'll hear all week is חַג שָׂמֵחַ /khag sa-'me-akh/.
Both of those words, חַג /khag/ and שָׂמֵחַ /sa-'me-akh/ are two of the four words at the center of this holiday. Let's start with the hut.
The House Built to Let Things Through
סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/ is built from סְכַךְ /s-'khakh/, to cover, to screen. And the covering is the whole point.
The walls of a סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/ can be almost anything. Nearly every rule there is about a סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/ is about the roof. It has to be made from something that grew from the ground. It has to give more shade than sun. And ideally, you can still see the stars through it.
In Israel today, סְכַךְ /s-'khakh/ is the word every Israeli reaches for in September. It's what you buy for the roof.
So sit with that. A house whose entire definition is what it lets through.
Yom Kippur is about being sealed. Five days later, you're told to go sit under a roof with holes in it.
Chag: Every Holiday Is a Circle
חַג /khag/, the word for holiday.
In the Bible, Sukkot is THE חַג /khag/. מְלָכִים א׳ /me-la-'kheem 'a-lef/, First Kings, chapter 8. שְׁלֹמֹה /sh-lo-'moh/ Solomon dedicates the Temple, and the text says all of Israel gathered "at the chag, in the seventh month." בֶּחָג הוּא הַחֹדֶשׁ הַשְּׁבִיעִי /be-'khag hoo ha-'kho-desh ha-sh-vee-'ee/. No name. Nobody needed one. When the Bible says the holiday, it means this one.
Here's what's inside the word. חַג /khag/ is built from the same root as חוּג /khoog/, a circle, to go around.
In Israel today, חַג שָׂמֵחַ /khag sa-'me-akh/ is what everyone says this week, and for every holiday. It's the generic happy holiday greeting. Some people add to it for this specific holiday and say חַג סֻכּוֹת שָׂמֵחַ /khag soo-'kot sa-'me-akh/. And חוּג /khoog/ is what Israeli kids do after school. Ballet, chess, soccer. Every one of those is a חוּג /khoog/. A circle.
So a holiday is a circle. You come back around to the same place, the same table, the same week of the year.
And the whole question is whether you arrive differently. It's what שָׁנָה /sha-'nah/ told you at Rosh Hashanah, said from the other side. If you haven't read that one yet, it's linked below.
Simcha: Joy You're Commanded to Have in a Hut
שִׂמְחָה /seem-'khah/. Joy.
The Torah commands joy on this holiday three times. Twice in דְּבָרִים /d-va-'reem/ Deuteronomy 16: וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְּחַגֶּךָ /ve-sa-'makh-ta be-kha-'ge-kha/, and you shall rejoice in your חַג /khag/. And once more in וַיִּקְרָא /ve-yee-k-'ra/ Leviticus 23. No other holiday gets it three times. That's why the prayer book calls Sukkot זְמַן שִׂמְחָתֵנוּ /z-'man seem-kha-'te-noo/, the time of our joy.
In Israel today, בְּשִׂמְחָה /be-seem-'khah/ is what an Israeli says when you ask them for anything. Gladly. A wedding is a שִׂמְחָה /seem-'khah/. Any celebration is a שִׂמְחָה /seem-'khah/. One of the common ways to say my pleasure, you're so welcome, in Israel today, is בְּשִׂמְחָה /be-seem-'khah/.
So look at the order. You return. You get sealed. And then, five days later, you're commanded to be glad. Not in your house. In the flimsiest structure you own.
Hebrew doesn't think joy is what happens when everything is finally in place. It thinks joy is what you do in a hut.
Hoshana: The Hebrew Word Behind Palm Sunday
הוֹשַׁעְנָא /ho-sha-a-'na/. The last day of Sukkot is called הוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּא /ho-sha-a-'na ra-'ba/, the great הוֹשַׁעְנָא /ho-sha-a-'na/. It comes from תְּהִלִּים /te-hee-'leem/ Psalm 118: הוֹשִׁיעָה נָּא /ho-'shee-ah na/, save, please. It's said walking in circles, palm branch in hand.
And here's the one worth sitting with. הוֹשַׁעְנָא /ho-sha-a-'na/ is Hebrew.
The word Christians sing every Palm Sunday, holding palm branches, is this word. From this holiday. הוֹשַׁע נָא /ho-sha na/, save, please.
In Israel today, לְהוֹשִׁיעַ /le-ho-'shee-a/, to save, stayed literary. You'll see it in the prayer book, not on the street.
So the holiday of joy ends with a cry for help. And Hebrew sees no contradiction in that at all.
You can be commanded to be glad and still say save me, in the same week. That's the whole season in one word.
Common Questions About Sukkot's Hebrew Name
Where does the word Sukkot actually come from?
It comes from סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/, meaning a covering or shelter. Its first appearance in the Bible, in Genesis 33, describes shelters Jacob built for his animals, not the holiday itself.
Why is the roof of a sukkah so specific?
The roof has to be made from something that grew from the ground, give more shade than sun, and ideally still let you see the stars through it. Nearly every rule about building a sukkah concerns the roof, since the structure is defined by what it lets through.
Is "hoshana" really connected to Palm Sunday?
Yes. הוֹשַׁעְנָא /ho-sha-a-'na/ comes from Psalm 118 and means "save, please." It's the Hebrew word behind "hosanna," sung by Christians on Palm Sunday, and it comes directly from this holiday's closing day.
Why does Judaism command joy specifically on Sukkot?
The Torah commands rejoicing on this holiday three separate times, more than any other, which is why Jewish prayer tradition calls it "the time of our joy." Coming right after Yom Kippur, it places joy immediately after a season of seriousness, and in a temporary hut rather than a permanent home.
What do you call this holiday: Sukkot, Tabernacles, or Booths?
All three names are used, depending on tradition and translation. The Hebrew word סֻכָּה /soo-'kah/ underneath all of them means a covering or shelter, which is where every version of the name comes from.
Related Articles
- Rosh Hashanah: The Biblical Name You Need To Know
- The Words Israelis Actually Use Every Day
- How to Speak Hebrew: A Guide for English Speakers
One Thing to Sit With
Tell me in the comments: Sukkot, Tabernacles, or Booths? What do you call it, and where did you first hear it?
חַג שָׂמֵחַ /khag sa-'me-akh/. A happy holiday to you.
And if you want to understand Hebrew yourself, biblical and modern, instead of waiting for someone to translate it, that's what my programs are built for. Practically Speaking Hebrew (online Hebrew course) is where the understanding happens. Add Hebrew 1-2-3 and you'll read it too.
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Inbal Amit is a native Israeli Hebrew teacher, Amazon bestselling author, and the creator of Practically Speaking Hebrew - a speaking and understanding program built specifically for English speakers.