Sukkot, But For The Girls

Your Pre Sukkot Checklist:

1. Give money to the poor so they can also have a nice meal too. Before you get into your sukkah and have a lavish meal, take a moment to care for another Jew and give to them.

2. Make everyone happy:

• It is obligated for a husband to buy his wife a gift: jewelry, clothes, or something she likes for the holiday.
  
• Buy the kids candies and stuff they like.
  
• Make the husband delicious food, especially meat and wine.
  
• If you are single, buy yourself something new (clothing, jewelry) for the Chag.
  

3. Decorate and beautify your sukkah.

4. For the men: In preparation for the holiday, one must build a kosher sukkah and purchase kosher Four Species. The Four Species are: an etrog, a lulav, three myrtle branches, and two willow branches. If you don’t have a place to build a Sukkah, make a plan to attend one at your local shul or by your neighbors.

5. Do something physical in honor of the holiday.

6. You should have a large appetite for the meal of Sukkot in order to fulfill the mitzvah of “eating the Seudah of Chag.” Therefore, eat a very light lunch on Erev Chag.

Some Basic Halachot:

1. Men must sleep, eat and drink in the Sukkah. Women are not obligated to eat, drink or sleep in the Sukkah as it is a time bound Mitzvah.
   
2. Women may not recite the blessing of לישב בסוכה, Lishev BeSukkah, or shake the 4 species.
   
3. Full Hallel is recited every day. Girls should also say the full Hallel without a beracha.
   
4. If you forget יעלה ויבוא, Ya'ale Ve'yavo, either in the prayers or in Birkat Hamazon, don’t repeat.
   
5. Must eat kezayit of bread on the first night of Sukkot. Women should also eat a Seudah in the Sukkah on the first night. 
   
6. It is an obligation for men to eat a kezayit of bread in the Sukkah on the first night and women get credit for this mitzvah as well. Have in mind that you are fulfilling a mitzvah Deoraita, from the Torah; this mitzvah must be done after nightfall.
   
7. Mitzta'er Patur — Someone who is suffering or experiencing significant discomfort is exempt from sitting in the sukkah. What qualifies as suffering? Excessive rain, strong winds, a bad smell, a large number of bothersome mosquitoes, etc.
   
8. A mitzvah requires Kavana, so when we eat the kezayit and sit in the sukkah, we should have in mind that we are fulfilling the mitzvah and remembering the Ananei HaKavod.
   
9. Outside of Israel, the Yom Tov lasts two days.
   
10. You cannot remove a decoration from the sukkah during the holiday, and you also cannot smell the etrog during the Chag.
    

What’s Sukkot All About?

The whole point of Sukkot is to be happy and gain closeness to Hashem!

For Sephardi girls, Sukkot is pretty fun and easy: it basically consists of lots of segulot, being happy, learning the halachot of Sukkot and Chol Hamoed, and wearing nice clothes. 

It is good to sit in the sukkah every day. Hashem protects those who dwell in the Sukkah.

Therefore, we should eat, drink, pray, and say Tehillim in the sukkah. According to Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, this is a great segulah for protection and lengthening of days. Those who are careful to sit in the Sukkah gain tremendous blessing! And girls also get this Beracha, too! Spend as much time in the Sukkah as possible. 

Pray. 

Eat. 

Learn. 

Be happy. 

Be positive. 

Talk to Hashem. 

Smile. 

You got this, B”H! Everything you dream of, pray for, and work towards is coming your way.

Be Happy

On Sukkot, the mitzvah of being happy takes on special significance. We are commanded to rejoice on all the holidays, but Sukkot is uniquely associated with simcha. 

Each Jewish holiday has its own special energy that helps us work on a specific character trait, and the mitzvot of the holiday are tools to help us achieve this goal.

The character trait of Sukkot is happiness, as it is referred to as Zman Simchateinu, “the Time of Our Happiness.” Sukkot is like a one-week workshop on happiness! 

At the same time, Sukkot gives us another mitzvah: to leave the comfort of our homes and dwell in the sukkah. Interestingly, the holiday centers around stepping out of our insulated, air-conditioned homes and into a simple, temporary hut.

And sometimes, this little hut is not exactly comfortable. It may be too hot, too cold, or simply less convenient than being inside. So, if Hashem wants us to be especially happy on Sukkot, why does He ask us to sit in a temporary, less comfortable dwelling? Wouldn’t we be happier in the house?

How is removing our luxuries supposed to make us happy?

The lesson here is that our happiness does not depend on material things. It actually depends on the quality of our relationships. This includes our relationship with others and our relationship with Hashem.

The mitzvot (commandments) of this holiday include:

1. Dwelling in the sukkah

2. Gathering and shaking the Arba Minim (Four Species) 

These offer important clues about how to achieve happiness through these relationships.

Dwelling in the Sukkah: Achieving Joy Through Our Relationship With G-d

The sukkah is meant to remind us of the “Clouds of Glory” that enveloped our ancestors during their journey through the desert. With these miraculous clouds, Hashem took care of all the needs of the Jewish people.

On Sukkot, we remember and appreciate the love that Hashem has for us as He continues to provide us with our needs. This comes to teach us that it is actually appreciation and gratitude that bring happiness — especially appreciation for our loving and caring Father who does absolutely everything for us.

Naturally, through a gratitude mindset, we begin to see all the infinite blessings we have in our lives. Human nature is sometimes to focus on the one thing that is missing, but an attitude of gratitude shifts that by opening our eyes to all the abundant good around us.

Arba Minim: Achieving Joy Through Our Relationship With Others

Although this is the guy's mitzvah, we can learn from it too.

The Midrash says that the Four Species represent four different types of Jews:

• Etrog: Represents a person with both Torah wisdom and good deeds.
  
• Hadas: Represents a person who has good deeds.
  
• Lulav: Represents a person with Torah wisdom, but without good deeds.
  
• Aravah: Represents a person with neither good deeds nor Torah learning.

On Sukkot, we gather these Four Species and wave them all together. The lulav is only kosher if all four species are taken together. If one of the species is missing, the entire lulav is not kosher.

This comes to teach us that we must look at the Jewish people as one unit, working together as part of the same nation – and we need every single piece in order to be whole. If even one of us is missing, our nation is incomplete.

Luxurious “Clouds of Glory”

On Sukkot, we commemorate these miraculous “Ananei HaKavod” that we discussed earlier, which Hashem created to protect the Jewish people as we traveled through the desert after we left Egypt.

The GRA asks: If we left Egypt in Nissan, shouldn’t we celebrate Sukkot then? Indeed, we received the Clouds of Glory immediately after leaving Egypt. However, we did not fully appreciate them and lost them after committing the sin of the Golden Calf. The Clouds of Glory returned on the 15th of Tishrei, soon after Yom Kippur — the very date on which Sukkot begins — and this time, we did appreciate them.

While sitting in the sukkah, we remind ourselves that just as Hashem provided for and protected our ancestors, He continues to provide for and protect us today. Even when it seems as though He is not there, He is always working behind the scenes, especially in our time, when Hashem’s Divine light is concealed.

We therefore leave our houses, which may offer us a sense of security, to remind ourselves that true protection is only from Hashem. And it is He who ensures our safety and each and every one of our needs.

As stated in Talmud Sukkah 11a, we build the sukkah each year to remind us specifically of the “Clouds of Glory” that enveloped Am Yisrael’s entire camp for 40 years in the desert.

These miraculous clouds fulfilled a four-fold purpose: (1) they protected the people from the heat of the desert sun; (2) they kept Am Yisrael’s clothing fresh and free of wrinkles; (3) they led the way through the desert; and (4) they assured a safe and comfortable journey by flattening mountains.

Why do we commemorate the “Clouds of Glory,” which essentially provided Bnei Yisrael with luxuries on their journey through the desert? Why don’t we have a holiday to commemorate the necessities that G-d miraculously provided for the Jewish people, such as the Man, which was their source of food, or the Be’er Miriam, which provided them with water? Why specifically the “Clouds of Glory”?

We commemorate the Clouds of Glory to appreciate just how much Hashem loves us.

When G-d led the Jewish people through the desert, He didn’t just provide us with the necessities of living. He went above and beyond for us because He wanted us to be comfortable. He wanted them to walk on soft, non-rugged land, in comfortable temperatures, and even to walk with clean, wrinkle-free clothing.

He loved us so much that He considered not just our needs, but our desires, too.

We can see the same idea in our own lives. Hashem does not simply provide us with food, clothing, and shelter. No. He goes way above that. He provides us with so many luxuries because He wants us to enjoy this world.

Ever ask yourself what life would be like if there were no colors — if the whole world were black and white? Or if our food had no flavor and was simply there to sustain us?

Colors and flavor are not necessities, yet Hashem in his infinite mercy created the world with colors and flavors because He loves us so much and wants us to enjoy these luxuries!

This is the love that we appreciate and commemorate on this beautiful holiday of Sukkot!

A Time to Reconnect

On Rosh Hashanah, we crowned Hashem as the King of the universe and appreciated how lucky we are to have such a close relationship with Him. Then, on Yom Kippur, we asked Hashem to forgive us for the sins we committed that pushed us away from Him.

On Sukkot, G-d shows us that not only does He forgive us for our sins, but that He wants to reconnect with us. He wants to invite us back into His home — and He therefore asks us to build the sukkah and spends seven days of quality time with us.

With the walls of the sukkah, G-d hugs each and every one of us and reminds us that He wants to continue building and nurturing our relationship.

The Sukkah is one of the only mitzvot that we are completely immersed in and wrapped in, like a direct hug from Hashem. We literally get to sit inside the mitzvah and have it all around us.

Our present reconciliation with Hashem mirrors the reconciliation between Hashem and the Jewish people after the sin of the Golden Calf.

So Just a Quick Recap

The sukkah commemorates the “Ananei HaKavod” that Hashem created to protect the Jewish people on their journey through the desert. Once the Jewish people sinned by worshipping the Golden Calf, the Clouds of Glory left the Jewish camp.

Yet, after G-d forgave them, the clouds returned, and the Jewish people knew that Hashem had forgiven them and wanted to re-establish their relationship.

Sukkot is Zman Simchateinu, “The Time of Our Joy,” because it is the time when we recognize G-d’s past and present love for His people. It is at this time that we realize that, regardless of our mistakes, G-d will always desire to reconnect with us.

Tips for a Meaningful Sukkot

• The most important mitzvah of Sukkot is to be HAPPY for the ENTIRE holiday, as it says, “ושמחת בחגך והיית אך שמח,” and “You shall rejoice on your festivals, and be fully happy.”

• One who is happy during every moment of Sukkot is guaranteed to be happy all year long. This is not always easy, as one can be going through difficulties during the chag. Nevertheless, you must strive very hard to be happy.

• Don’t get angry in the sukkah, for it is holy.

• Do your very best not to sin in any way on Sukkot, especially not to speak or listen to Lashon Hara.

• Speak words of Torah and holiness in the sukkah. The sukkah is the Room of Hashem. You are literally with Him and all the Tzadikim together. If you speak Hebrew, speak in Hebrew.

• Don’t leave empty utensils or dirty plates in the sukkah after you have finished eating. Only empty glasses are permissible. Honor the sukkah.

• Have the kavana to eat in zecher (memory) of the Clouds of Glory that followed our journey in the wilderness, as this is part of the fulfillment of the mitzvah.

• If you have your own sukkah, place olive oil for your Chanukah candles in the sukkah. You can also place a bottle of wine in the sukkah as a segulah for marriage. Say, “B”H, this year I will open this very bottle with my husband at my Sheva Brachot!”

Segulot for Sukkot

• Zivug: Spend as much time as possible in the sukkah and ask for your Zivug in the sukkah.

• Parnasa (livelihood) and Shalom Bayit (marital peace): At night, give a kiss to all the walls of the sukkah.

• Health: According to Rav Ovadia Yosef, the Four Species are capable of bringing health. Thus, he instructs us to hold each of them and ask for the following:

• Lulav: Represents the spine. Ask for balance during the year. In Hebrew, ask: “השנה יציבות שתרגיש“

• Hadas: Capable of healing the eyes. Ask that you will be able to judge people favorably. In Hebrew, ask: “שאוכל “לדון לכף זכות

• Etrog: Can bring healing to one’s heart. Ask to be able to do as many good deeds as possible. In Hebrew, ask: “שאוכל לעשות כמה שיותר מעשים טובים”

• Arava: Represents the lips. Ask that you will merit speaking good things this year. No Lashon Hara and no gossip. Arava is also capable of fixing dental problems. שאוכל לעשות כמה שיותר מעשים ”טובים” ask Hebrew In

• Good advice from Rebbetzin Yemima Mizrachi: While in the sukkah, tell Hashem what you have uncertainties about. In the merit of your happiness on Sukkot, you’ll receive an answer through Ruach Hakodesh.

• Decorate the sukkah with apples as a segulah for health and renewed strength.

The Ushpizin

After Tzadikim (righteous individuals) pass away from this world, they go to Gan Eden to enjoy the light of “the Divine Presence” while they wait to enter “the World to Come”, the post-Messianic age (Talmud - Shabbat 152b; Derech Hashem 1:3:11).

The Zohar explains that the sukkah we build each year is so holy that “the Divine Presence” actually manifests itself there in a similar way to Gan Eden.

Thus, during Sukkot, the souls of the seven great leaders of Israel — Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov, Moshe, Aharon, Yosef, and King David — actually leave Gan Eden and come down to the physical world to dwell in our man-made sukkahs and partake in its Divine light (Zohar - Emor 103a).

Before you continue, take a moment to appreciate just how holy the sukkah you built truly is. Its holiness is so great that the greatest Jewish leaders of all time leave Gan Eden just to experience its Divine presence. What an incredible privilege!

On each day of Sukkot, all seven souls are present, but each takes his turn to lead on a specific day. Collectively, the guests are known as Ushpizin. Each great leader brings with him a special blessing:

1. Avraham: Blesses us to fulfill the special mitzvah of hosting guests.
   
2. Yitzchak: Blesses us with gevura, courage.
   
3. Yaakov: Blesses us with the ability to find the spiritual in this world and mix it with the physical. That we will be beautiful as well as Kadosh (holy).
   
4. Moshe: Blesses us that we will be filled with Torah and happiness.
   
5. Aharon: Blesses us with Shalom Bayit, peace in the home.
   
6. Yosef: Blesses us with both a mix of being beautiful and Tznua (modest and beautiful).
   
7. King David: Blesses us to strengthen our Tefilah.
   

Have in mind to accept all of these blessings with love. Ask Hashem for mercy to give us everything we want and need.

Just To Know

Girls, we don’t really need to know all of this, but here are a few fun facts so we have some basic knowledge and aren’t completely ignorant about what’s going on:

Building a Sukkah:

• A sukkah needs 2 and a bit sides (Dfanim).
  
• Fabric walls don’t count.
  
• It doesn’t matter what material the walls are made from; they just have to be stable and not move ברוח מצויה.
  
• The walls have to be at least 1 meter high.
  
• First build the walls, and then put on the schach. The order matters.
  

The Schach:

1. Has to be grown from the ground, גידול קרקע.
   
2. Has to be pulled out of the ground, תלוש מן הקרקע.
   
3. Has to be something that doesn’t receive impurity, אינו מקבל טומאה. For example, anything that has the din of a keli can receive tumah, like a wooden cabinet or drawer.
   

The thing that the dekalim rest on also has to meet these three conditions. So, you can put wood on the ma’amid, which could be made of metal or the like, and then place the dekalim on top of it.

How much schach do you need? Imagine the sun is directly overhead: what do you see more of on the floor — sun or shade? If you see more sun, the sukkah is passul, not kosher. You need a majority of shade on the floor when the sun is directly overhead.

Girls:

• Girls are except from Sukkah, except the first night.
  
• Sephardic Girls should not shake the Lulav. They may hold it if they wish.
  

Decorations:

• Decorating the sukkah is a beautiful mitzvah. If you’re doing something for a mitzvah, do it nicely! Make it beautiful. Buy nice things.
  
• If a decoration hangs down more than 3 tefachim, it is passul, not kosher. Also, you are not allowed to remove or move a decoration on the Chag.

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Additional Halachot

Who Is Obligated to Sit in the Sukkah

A: Women are exempt from sitting in the sukkah and may eat all their meals inside the house.

B: Women may choose to be stringent and eat in the sukkah. Sephardic women should not recite the blessing “leishev basukkah.”

C: Children who have reached the age of education should sit in the sukkah for educational purposes. Babies are exempt from the sukkah.

Sukkot

A: On the first night of Sukkot, one is obligated to eat bread/challah in the sukkah. (A kezayit within the time of achilat pras — the size of a matchbox within four minutes.)

B: One who does not have a sukkah should eat bread/challah on the first night of the holiday in the sukkah of a friend or neighbor.

C: During the rest of the holiday, one may drink and eat only fruits and vegetables and foods that do not require a sukkah outside the sukkah.

D: Although it is permissible to drink and eat fruits and vegetables outside the sukkah, some are meticulous not to eat anything outside the sukkah.

E: When leaving the sukkah in the middle of a meal, one may not taste anything, even water, until returning to the sukkah.

Rejoicing on the Holiday

A: One should not limit spending for the holiday. It is a mitzvah to honor and enjoy it as one does Shabbat.

B: Holiday clothing should be beautiful and respectable, slightly more so than Shabbat clothing.

C: It is a mitzvah to eat meat on the holiday and drink wine, to bring joy to one’s wife with a gift, and to children with sweets.

D: One must also provide food on the holiday for the poor, orphans, and widows.

E: Special care should be taken during the holiday and Chol Hamoed to maintain holiness and modesty.

Melachot on Yom Tov

A: When Yom Tov falls on Shabbat, all the laws of Shabbat apply. What is forbidden on Shabbat is forbidden on Yom Tov, and what is permitted on Shabbat is permitted on Yom Tov. It is forbidden to transfer fire or cook, as on every Shabbat.

B: When Yom Tov falls on a weekday, the melachot that are forbidden on Shabbat are also forbidden on Yom Tov, except for carrying objects from place to place without an eruv and transferring fire from an existing flame, which are permitted on Yom Tov for food preparation.

C: It is forbidden to separate terumot and ma’asrot on Yom Tov.

D: Reaping, grinding, harvesting grapes, squeezing fruit, and trapping animals are forbidden on Yom Tov, even though they may be done for food purposes.

E: For Sephardim: one may not move bones and food remnants on Yom Tov even if they are still fit for animal consumption, and one may not move disgusting items or food products designated for sale. Therefore, before placing waste onto a plate designated for garbage, one should first place a fruit/utensil or another item that may be moved on it.

F: For Sephardim: it is permitted to shower with hot water from a solar water heater on Yom Tov. Ashkenazim do not shower on Yom Tov at all.

Lighting Fire on Yom Tov

A: It is permitted to light a candle, gas flame, or cigarette on Yom Tov only by transferring fire from a flame that is already burning. It is forbidden to light a match by striking it against the side of the box, and it is forbidden to light a lighter, electric light, or any other electrical appliance.

B: It is permitted to light a candle or match from an existing candle. For this purpose, an additional memorial candle is lit before Yom Tov.

C: It is forbidden to start or drive a vehicle on Yom Tov.

D: It is forbidden to extinguish fire on Yom Tov.

E: It is permitted to lower a gas flame so that food will not burn when there is no lower flame already burning. It is forbidden to lower the flame if the purpose is to save gas.

F: It is forbidden to use “induction” cooktops on Yom Tov, even if they are operated by a Shabbat timer.

Baking on Yom Tov

A: It is permitted to operate an electric oven on Yom Tov using a Shabbat timer.

B: The flour intended for baking should be sifted before Yom Tov.

C: It is forbidden to separate challah on Yom Tov from baked goods that were baked before Yom Tov. However, challah may be separated on Yom Tov from dough that was made on Yom Tov. (The challah is burned only after Yom Tov.)

Chag Sameach and may you be sealed for a good year filled with only blessings!

This article was made by learning and inspiration from several publications and educators and the credits go out to: Rabbi Maoz Yitzchakov, Rabbi Yirmiyahu Cohen, Rebbetzin Yemima Mizrachi, Rabbi David Ashear, Judaism With Love booklet, and more.