Building a Sukkah “You shall live in booths for seven days” (Lev. 23-42)

What You Need to Know

* A sukkah must have four walls (one wall may be a wall of your own house)
* Start building the sukkah as soon after Yom Kippur as possible

One sukkah building recipe is as follows:

* Use back wall of house or garage as one of the four walls
* Stack two cement blocks in the corner and insert two-by-fours (seven- or eight-feet long) into the blocks.
* Connect the two-by-fours with one-by-twos across the middle and the top.
* Stretch burlap cloth or plastic, or nail some thin plywood over the frame. One wall can serve as the entrance if it is covered with burlap cloth.
* Put one-by-ones running in both directions on the roof, and cover with bamboo, twigs, corn husks, or other organic material. Remember to let the stars shine through!
* Decorate the inside of the sukkah with fruit hangings, Rosh Hashana greeting cards, posters, paper chains and the like.



Blessing over the Lulav and Etrog
Each morning during Sukkot (except for Shabbat), we recite a blessing over the lulav and etrog. We hold the lulav in our right hand and the etrog in our left hand. The stem of the etrog should be pointing up, and the lulav and etrog should be touching.

Baruch atah adonai
Eloheinu melech ha’olam
asher kid’shanu b’mitzvotav
v’tzivanu al n’tilat lulav

Thank you, God, for these beautiful and fragrant fruits of the harvest, for the sun and the rain which make them grow, for the seasons of nature and the seasons of our lives.

After we say the blessing, we turn the etrog so that its stem is pointing down, and we wave the lulav and etrog together in all directions.

Blessings for Sukkot
Prior to eating or drinking in the sukkah, after the usual blessings for food, say:

Baruch Ata Adonai
Eloheinu Melech HaOlam
asher kidshanu b’mitzvotav
v’tzivanu leishev basukkah.

Praised are You, Lord our God, sovereign of the universe, who made us holy with Your commandments and commanded us to dwell in the sukkah.