I love Sukkot (Sukkos/Succos in Yiddish) the super cool Jewish holiday that is happening right now. It is also known as The Festival of Booths. In this post, I’ll share a bit more of the holiday, including some videos about it, and then, end with information about my practice and how it and Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy informs my connection to the world. Please jump around the blog article as makes sense to you. Thank you for reading!

Each year, I learn a bit more about it. 

Here’s some information for those of you who are less familiar with this celebration:

• It’s about a week long. Some people cease work during parts of the holiday.

• We make a temporary hut (booth) outside and spend many meals in it. Some people sleep in their shelters.

• We put s'chach (bamboo or palm fronds) on the tops of our Sukkahs. the goal is to be able to see the stars through the roof and to provide some shade.

• We shake a lulav (frond of the date palm tree) and etrog in specific directions. The etrog is acitrus fruit, smells like a lemon but doesn’t have a lot of fruit under its skin. It’s mainly seeds and pith.

• There’s a lot of specific directions to follow about how the Sukkah needs to be built and how the lulav needs to look and maintained for the holiday. Here is a collection of videos and information to explore about the holiday from PJ Library.

• People sometimes Sukkah hop, meaning that they go from one Sukkah to another in their neighborhood. In these times of Covid-19, we are the only ones spending time in our Sukkah. In years past (and hopefully in the future), we invite guests in to share a meal or sit and chat or do the Mitzvah (commandment) of shaking the lulav and the etrog.

In case you prefer short videos to learn more about this holiday, please check out some of my child-friendly videos below.

Here’s a short video from Shalom Sesame called “Noam's Etrog Farm. According to the film’s description, it is “a short documentary about a boy in Israel who visits an etrog farm and helps his family build their sukkah to prepare for the holiday.”

For a LEGO video, please check out this video below or in the link at the end of the sentence that explains Sukkot as the “Jewish picnic holiday.”

Here’s a beautiful, more spiritual take on building a Sukkah with Mayim Bialik.

Sukkot is a special time for me. For the last few years, my family, namely my wife, and now with help from our kiddo, have built a Sukkah in our backyard. I enjoy the practice of being in the Sukkah. It’s really been a way for me to orient myself to be back in nature - something that I love but don’t seem to get to do often enough. Spending time in our Sukkah helps me hone my practice of being outside. Even in San Diego, I often find myself in my work chair writing notes, seeing clients, or attending classes. I don’t go outside as much as I’d like to and in order to change that, I look to ways to help me practice to turn towards outside as a place of exploration and respite.

At home, we sit in our sukkah and enjoy many meals there. It’s a time of quiet reflection and a time of learning how our kiddo makes it her temporary home, be in sliding on her slide (yes, our sukkah has a slide in it) or bringing in her dolls. It’s a moment for me to connect with my family inside the sukkah and nature outside of it. I love this tradition and I love practicing what it means to make the decision to step outside, even when it’s a bit chilly or my allergies are acting up. This decision to step outside really reminds me of my intention to practice other activities that are important to me, like yoga, without expecting any result. I practice Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy for practice’s sake. I don’t know what if anything will happen when i step onto the mat, I don’t know what will happen when I step outside into our temporary shelter. I know deeply in my core being that it is important to practice. 

The Sukkot Festival at Leichtag has also been a holiday treat for my family these past few years. We journey to Leucadia, a place that in my head takes only a few minutes to get to but in reality, takes a lot longer, even on a Sunday in September.

We wander around the garden, play in the mud in the children’s area, climb the wooden benches and dance to the music. It feels so nice to be surrounded by nature and lots of Jews. I love hearing the Hebrew around me and knowing that we are somehow in this world, this moment, together. 

This year I found it hard to focus and be present. I knew I wanted to be here surrounded by Jews more often then my current life affords me and so I was longing for a future where this could be a reality instead of being in the present and enjoying the here and now.

I found a pocket of earth tucked away from the crowds and turned on a Soundcloud recording of a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy group session and followed along. 35 minutes later, I was back out of my head and into my body. I breathed in the (vegetable) farm smells around me. I noticed the rough texture of the wood I was sitting on and I heard all the children around me playing. I was back in the present moment. I rejoined my family, ready to be there with them. The power of Phoenix Rising and a willing participant to turn to practice when I wanted connection. 

I now know that practice, whether Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, or the rituals of Judaism, like the celebration of Sukkot, has become a way for me to connect to Judaism, nature, and all that is. 

I invite you to learn more about connection to your body and your experience through Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. Please click here to sign up for a session with me, Dr. Abi Weissman, and learn how this practice can support you and what you want more of in your life. 

Hag Sameach (Happy Holiday) to all those who celebrate Sukkot and Happy Day to everyone else.

Abi Weissman, Psy.D.

Psychologist and Student, Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy