After the Jewish people finish commemorating Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, they begin the joyous holiday of Sukkot, otherwise known as the Feast of Tabernacles. In antiquity, it was one of the three Jewish pilgrimage festivals, where people journeyed to the Temple in Jerusalem to give a sacrifice. However, today, the festival of Sukkot centers around the home and the synagogue.
The core mitzvah of this holiday is building a special hut and inviting guests over to visit you in the sukkah. These guests are referred to as ushpizim, Aramaic of “guests.” They can be friends and family, but it is also the custom during this holiday to welcome the stranger in your midst who has nowhere else to go for the holiday as the Jewish people were strangers in the Land of Egypt and it is considered a mitzvah to welcome the stranger in one’s midst.
The question arises, what is the significance of this holiday in the Jewish faith? After all, the essence of Sukkot is that we are loosely...
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