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A Sukkot Guide for the Perplexed, 2024
An observant Jewish man examines a palm branch, known as a lulav, for imperfections in the Mea Shearim neighborhood of Jerusalem on Sept. 21, 2010, a few days before the Jewish holiday of Sukkot. Photo: Abir Sultan/Flash 90.
Ahead of this year’s celebration of Sukkot, here are some things you should know about the “Feast of Tabernacles”:
1. Sukkot is a Jewish national liberation holiday. It commemorates the Biblical Exodus — the transition of the Jewish people from bondage in Egypt to liberty in the Land of Israel, and the sustained Jewish ingathering to the Land of Israel, which inspired the US Founding Fathers and the Abolitionist Movement.
2. Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles, derives its name from the first stop of the Exodus — the town of Sukkot — as documented in Exodus 13:20-22 and Numbers 33:3-5. Sukkot was also the name of Jacob’s first stop west of the Jordan River, upon returning to the Land of Israel from his 20 years of work for Laban in Aram (Genesis 33:17).
The construction of the Holy Tabernacle, during the Exodus, was launched on the first day of Sukkot.
3. Sukkot is the third Jewish pilgrimage holiday (following Passover and Shavuot/Pentecost). It highlights faith, reality-based-optimism, can-do mentality, and the defiance of odds. It is also the third major Jewish holiday — following Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur — in the month of Tishrei, the holiest Jewish month.
According to Judaism, three represents divine wisdom, stability, and peace. In addition, the third day of the Creation was blessed twice.
4. Sukkot underscores the gradual transition from the spiritual state-of-mind during Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, to the normal routine of every day life, and from religious tenets of Judaism to the formation of the national, historic, and geographical Jewish identity.
5. The roots of the Hebrew word Sukkot (סוכות) are wholeness and totality (סכ), shelter (סכך), and attentiveness (סכת). The numerical value of סכך (every Hebrew letter has a numerical value) is 100 (ס=60, כ=20, ך=20), representing the totality and unity of the Jewish people, and our history, roots, education, and legacy.
6. The seven days of Sukkot — which is celebrated in the 7th Jewish month, Tishrei — are dedicated to seven supreme guests-in-spirit and notable care-takers (Ushpizin in Aramaic and Hebrew): Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. They were endowed with faith, reality-based-optimism, humility, magnanimity, principle-driven leadership, compassion, tenacity in the face of daunting odds, and the belief in peace-through-strength.
7. Sukkot features the following four species (Leviticus 23:39-41): citron (representing King David, the author of Psalms), the palm branch (representing Joseph), three myrtle branches (representing the three Patriarchs) and two willow branches (representing Moses and Aharon, the role models of humility).
These four species are bound together, representing unity-through-diversity and strength-through-unity. They embody four leadership prerequisites: a solid backbone (palm branch), humility (willow), a compassionate heart (citron), and penetrating eyes (myrtle).
These species also represent the agricultural regions of the Land of Israel: the southern Negev and Arava (palm); the slopes of the northern Golan Heights, Upper Galilee and Mt. Carmel (myrtle); the streams of the central mountains of Judea and Samaria, including Jerusalem (willow); and the western coastal plain (citron).
8. Traditionally, Sukkot is dedicated to the study of the Biblical Scroll of Ecclesiastes (Kohelet, ,קהלת in Hebrew, which was one of King Solomon’s names), written by King Solomon, which highlights humility, morality, patience, learning from past mistakes, commemoration and historical perspective, and more.
9. During the holiday of Sukkot, it is customary to highlight humility by experiencing a seven-day-relocation from one’s permanent dwelling to the temporary, humble, wooden booth (Sukkah in Hebrew) — which sheltered the people of Israel during the Exodus.
The author is a commentator and former Israeli ambassador.
The post A Sukkot Guide for the Perplexed, 2024 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Canada Is Evaluating Ties With Israel After Qatar Attack, Foreign Minister Says
Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand speaks during a High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution at UN headquarters in New York City, US, July 28, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Canada is evaluating its relationship with Israel after the attack on Hamas leaders in Qatar, foreign minister Anita Anand said on Wednesday, in the latest sign of unhappiness with the Israeli government.
Anand reiterated that Canada considered the attack to be unacceptable, especially given Qatari attempts to mediate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas.
Anand made her comments when asked whether Canada might follow the lead of the European Commission, which said it would propose the suspension of trade-related measures in a European Union agreement with Israel.
“We are evaluating our relationship with Israel,” Anand told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the ruling Liberal Party in Edmonton.
Asked specifically whether Canada was considering any kinds of sanctions against Israel, she replied: “We will continue to evaluate our next steps.”
Canada has noticeably hardened its line on Israel under Prime Minister Mark Carney, who replaced Justin Trudeau in March. Carney announced in July that Canada would recognize Palestinian statehood, angering Israel.
Trudeau was generally supportive of Israel‘s campaign against Hamas, while occasionally criticizing actions of the Israeli military.
Carney on Tuesday condemned the Israeli airstrike, calling it “an intolerable expansion of violence” that risked escalating conflict throughout the region.
He said last month that Israel‘s plan to take control of Gaza City was “wrong”.
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Iran Says More Talks Needed to Bring About IAEA Inspections
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi speaks during a meeting with foreign ambassadors in Tehran, Iran, July 12, 2025. Photo: Hamid Forootan/Iranian Foreign Ministry/WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Handout via REUTERS
A new agreement between Iran and the UN nuclear watchdog does not guarantee inspectors’ access to Iranian nuclear sites and Tehran wants further talks on how inspections are carried out, the country’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reached a deal on Tuesday on resuming inspections at sites including those bombed by the US and Israel but gave no specifics, and Tehran said the deal was off if international sanctions were re-imposed.
“I have to reiterate the agreement does not currently provide access to IAEA inspectors, apart from the Bushehr nuclear plant,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told state TV in an interview.
“Based on reports that Iran will issue in the future, the nature of access will have to be discussed at an appropriate time,” he added.
Diplomats said the devil would be in the details of Tuesday’s agreement. No joint press conference was held in Cairo to provide details on what the IAEA has been calling “modalities” regarding the resumption of inspections.
The agreement comes against the backdrop of an ongoing threat by European powers to re-impose international sanctions against Iran that were lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and major powers.
The IAEA‘s Grossi said in a statement on Wednesday that the “technical document” agreed provided for “a clear understanding of the procedures for inspection, notifications, and implementation.”
“These include all facilities and installations in Iran and also contemplates the required reporting on all the attacked facilities, including the nuclear material present at those.”
While Iran‘s enrichment sites have been badly damaged or destroyed, it is less clear what has happened to the stockpile, which includes uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity, a short step from the roughly 90 percent required for weapons-grade.
Araqchi said the IAEA‘s board of governors’ meeting on Wednesday would be crucial concerning how cooperation with the IAEA develops.
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Israel Attacks Sanaa, Al-Jawf in Latest Strikes on Houthis in Yemen
Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Sanaa, Yemen, Sept. 10, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Israel struck the Yemeni capital Sanaa and the northern province of al–Jawf on Wednesday, with the Iran-backed Houthis rebels who control much of Yemen saying it killed nine people and wounded 118 others in an initial toll.
The strikes are the latest in a series of attacks and counterstrikes between Israel and Houthi terrorists in Yemen, part of a spillover from the war in Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had struck military camps, the headquarters of the Houthi military “propaganda” department, and a fuel storage site.
The Houthi’s military spokesperson denied in a statement later that Israel targeted missile launchers. “Its strikes targeted purely civilian targets,” he said.
He added that two newspapers were targeted, with journalists and passers-by falling between dead and wounded.
Sanaa residents told Reuters the attack was on a hideout between two mountains that is used as a command and control headquarters. The extent of any damage was not immediately clear.
The Israeli strikes also targeted the Houthi defense ministry, witnesses said.
The attack came days after an Aug. 30 strike on Sanaa killed the prime minister of the Houthi-run government and several ministers, in the first such assault to target senior officials.
“The strikes were carried out in response to attacks led by the Houthi terror regime against the State of Israel, during which unmanned aerial vehicles and surface-to-surface missiles were launched toward Israeli territory,” the Israeli military said.
The Iran-aligned Houthis, an internationally designated terrorist group, have attacked vessels in the Red Sea in what they describe as acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza.
They have also fired missiles towards Israel, most of which have been intercepted. Israel has responded with strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the vital Hodeidah port.