Jewish Celebrations Learning Objective: To find out about the Jewish festival of Sukkot. www.planbee.com
What can you remember about the story of Moses and the Israelite slaves in Egypt? www.planbee.com
God chose Moses to lead the Israelite slaves out of Egypt and into freedom. He promised them a land flowing with milk and honey. However, Pharaoh didn’t want to let them go so God sent ten plagues to Egypt. Finally, the Israelites escaped and were led to freedom across the Red Sea. What do you think happened to the Israelites after they left Egypt? www.planbee.com
God had promised the Israelites a land of their very own when they left Egypt. However, it didn’t happen quickly! The Israelites wandered in the desert for forty years before finally reaching the Promised Land. Living in a desert is not easy, but God looked after the Israelites. Every day, God sent manna to the desert for the Israelites to eat. Manna is described in the Torah as being a white, flaky substance. The Israelites ground manna up to make cakes and bread. Every day, there was always plenty of manna for the Israelites to eat. www.planbee.com
About three months into their time in the desert, the Israelites reached Mount Sinai. They decided to camp there for a while. One day, God told Moses to go up to the top of Mount Sinai, making sure no one else was nearby. He did as God asked and went up to the top of the mountain, making sure no one followed or even touched the mountain while he was gone. www.planbee.com
Moses stayed up on the mountain for forty days and forty nights - God had a lot to tell him about how He wanted the Israelites to live! When Moses came back down from Mount Sinai, he had written ten important laws that God wanted to tell the Israelites about. Moses had carved these laws on two stone tablets and they became known as the Ten Commandments. www.planbee.com
After this, the Israelites journeyed onwards to Canaan which was the land God promised would be theirs. Once they came close, Moses sent out some spies to go and see what the land was like. After a while, the men came back. “We have seen the land and it is indeed flowing with milk and honey as God promised, but the people living there are too strong and powerful. We could never conquer them.” www.planbee.com
God was so upset that His people didn’t believe that He would help the them get the land He had promised that He made the Israelites spend the next forty years wandering the desert. God waited until the men who had not believed Canaan would be given to them died, then sent their children to the Promised Land. When finally the Israelites came to the Promised Land, God took Moses (who was by now a very old man) up a mountain and showed him the land. “This is the land I promised Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. You have led their descendants here but you will not enter the land.” And Moses died there and was buried. www.planbee.com
Jews remember the time their ancestors wandered in the desert for forty years with a special festival called Sukkot. What do you think Jews might remember and celebrate during Sukkot? www.planbee.com
In the Torah, God says to His people, “You shall dwell in sukkot for seven days in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in sukkot when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” ‘Sukkot’ is a Hebrew word. What do you think it means? www.planbee.com
The word ‘sukkot’ means ‘hut’ or ‘booths’. During Sukkot, Jews remember the forty years in which their ancestors lived in temporary homes in the desert. Sukkot is a festival that focuses on the way God protected His people and gave them everything they needed, even in the wilderness. During Sukkot, families build a temporary hut outside, usually in their gardens. They live in this hut during the seven days of Sukkot. This reminds them that they do not need strong walls and roofs to protect them as God is all they need, just like He was all the Israelites needed in the desert. The hut built during Sukkot is known as a sukkah www.planbee.com
When Jewish families build a sukkah there are lots of things they need to think about... ✴ There can be nothing between the roof of the sukkah and the sky. ✴ The sukkah must have at least two walls. These can be made of any material, including wood panels, fabric or tarpaulin. ✴ The sukkah must be covered with sechach - raw vegetation. This can include bamboo poles, evergreen branches, reeds and corn stalks. www.planbee.com
✴ Once the sukkah is built, it is often decorated with branches and fruits. There is a special kind of citrus fruit called an etrog which is traditionally used during Sukkot. ✴ Once the sukkah is built, families celebrate by waving branches. The lulav is a collection of different types of plant including palm leaves, myrtle branches and willow branches. Jews hold the lulav and an etrog when celebrating Sukkot. ✴ Most families put a table and chairs in the sukkah so that they can eat their meals in there during the seven days of Sukkot. www.planbee.com
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During Sukkot, Jews remember that God is the only thing they need and He will provide protection in every situation. Living in the sukkah out of their comfortable and cosy homes reminds Jews of this and is a chance to celebrate God’s faithfulness to His people. How do you think you would feel sleeping in a sukkah for a week? What would you miss most about being in your home? www.planbee.com
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