by Judy Bratten
The Feast of Booths, two weeks after Rosh Hashonah, commemorates the wandering of the Jews in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Promised Land. Families build simple, temporary shelters decorated with fruits of the autumn harvest. Meals are often served in these “booths” for the six days of the festival. In the days of Temple worship, there was the pouring of water from the Pool of Siloam, symbolizing the prayers for winter rains. At this time, in John 7:37-38, Jesus declared, “…If any man thirst, let him come to Me and drink.”
We celebrate the feast as one of harvest and thanksgiving. A large bowl or basket with various produce from the garden is our centerpiece. Candles are lit and prayers of thanksgiving are offered during the six days of the feast.
Service
Mother lights candles and says:
Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe,
who has brought us through the wilderness times and to this holiday of Succoth.
Father: Lord our God, Thou hast always been with Thy people, in times of famine and times of plenty, in times of wanderings and times of settlement. We offer Thee praise and thanksgiving for the fruitfulness of our lives.
A reading from the Book of Leviticus (23: 42-43):
Ye shall dwell in the booths seven days … that your generations may know that I made the children of Israel dwell in booths, when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.
All: O give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for his mercy endures forever. (Psalm 107)
Child: Let them say this, the Lord’s redeemed, who He redeemed from the hands of the foe and fathered from far-off lands, from east and west, north and south.
All: O give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for his mercy endures forever.
Child: They wandered in the desert, in the wilderness, finding no way to a city they could dwell in. Hungry they were and thirsty; their soul was fainting within them.
All: O give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for his mercy endures forever.
Child: Then they cried to the Lord in their need and He rescued them from their distress and He led them along the right way, to reach a city they could dwell in.
All: O give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for his mercy endures forever.
Child: Let them thank the Lord for His love, for the wonders He does for men. For He satisfies the thirsty soul; He fills the hungry with good things.
All: O give thanks to the Lord for He is good; for His mercy endures forever.
Father: O Lord our God, like a father Thou hast cared for Thy people. Look not upon our sins but remember Thy covenant and the redemption won for us by Thy Son, Yeshua. Give our family and loved ones grateful hearts for the harvest of blessings in our lives. Have mercy on Thy children, Israel, and bring us all into Thy Kingdom. We ask it in the name of Yeshua, Thy Son, who lives and reigns with Thee and Ruach haKodesh, one God, for ever and ever.
All: Amen.