Rabbi Irwin Kula, co-president of The National Jewish Center for Learning and Leadership, explains the meaning and significance of the Jewish holiday Sukkot. In preparation for this week-long Festival of Tabernacles, sukkahs, which are temporary shelters topped with branches and decorated with harvest and autumnal themes, are built in order to observe the holiday. Whether rain or shine, families eat and spend time together under the sukkah, a symbol of the time Israelites spent traveling in the wilderness once freed from slavery in Egypt. These seven days are meant to serve as a reminder of “embracing the impermanence of life.”

Reprinted with permission by Odyssey Networks