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Sukkot is a joyous seven-day festival often connected to being thankful for the fall harvest. It takes place on the 15th Hebrew month of Tishrei. Sukkot also commemorates the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after the giving of the Torah in Mt. Sinai. It is a rejoicing and the only festival in which we are commanded to do just that: rejoice. Sukkot, the plural of sukkah, translates to “huts” or “booths.” Sukkot are temporary dwellings we erect that have open walls and open doors. During this time, we invite friends and new friends to eat, rest, and rejoice.
Uzhpizin is Aramaic for “guests,” a reference to the founding figures of the Jewish people who are symbolically invited into the sukkah, along with their divine attributes (a wink at the Sefirot of Kabbalah). For 7 days, a set of biblical figures is invited, and their divine attributes are commemorated.
And.
Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Latin festival celebrating and remembering loved ones no longer with us. The festival is a two-day celebration from November 1 to 2, sometimes around the same time as Sukkot. It is believed that on Día de los Muertos, the bridge between the natural and spiritual worlds opens so our deceased loved ones can return and visit us. While the festival is usually associated with Mexico, it is celebrated in different Latin countries in various ways. Families commonly gather in cemeteries at night, light candles, and place flowers on the burial sites of their loved ones. One would think this time to be one of sadness. Yet, it is a time when families sing, laugh, dance, eat, and celebrate their ancestors.
A big part of preparing for Día de los Muertos is the creation of temporary ofrendas (altars) in the home. Stemming from the Aztec practice of leaving food and water for the deceased to help them on their journey to the land of the dead, Latin families decorate ofrendas with flowers (often marigolds in Mexico), pictures of deceased loved ones, souvenirs, and loved one’s favorite foods. The belief is that the offerings help invite the deceased ancestor from the land of the dead; it is a call that gets louder the more one is remembered.
You can find a more detailed explanation of Sukkot and Día de los Muertos on Jewtina y Co.’s Jewish Holiday Resources page and Cultural Ritual Page, which served as a primary reference point for this ritual.
I am a Salvadoran Jew and, for years, have been exploring how I can observe Día de los Muertos in a way that honors my Jewish life. During a leadership retreat at Urban Adamah, a peer shared with me the Indigenous belief that when we heal, we heal the 7 generations that preceded us and the 7 generations that will follow us, likely derived from Lakota tribe beliefs. My journey as a Latin Jewish leader in Los Angeles took me to reconnect with my family line and heal the many scars of colonialism, war, racism, misogyny, and immigration. My ritual aims to honor that process by honoring my ancestors during a time when I am commanded to rejoice.
Step 1: In the days leading up to Sukkot, reflect on 7 ancestors or deceased loved ones you wish to honor. Will you honor them chronologically based on where they are in your family line? Will you honor them based on the divine attributes and how they embody that trait? Will you honor them next to specific founding Jewish figures? This is your practice and your ritual; lean on what feels authentic.
Step 2: Create an ofrenda! You can refer to this Recustom Altar Making Guide or Jewtina y Co.’s Día de los Muertos guide.
An ofrenda generally includes:
Step 3: Make your ofrenda sacred with a blessing. I use the blessing during Havdalah that marks the separation of the holiness of Shabbat from the ordinariness of the rest of the week.
Baruch atah Adonai, hamavdil bayn kodesh lechol.
Blessed are You God, who separates between the holy and the ordinary.
Step 4: It’s Sukkot! Use the chart below to structure each day for the Ushpizin ceremony. You can refer to this booklet by 18Door for a brief review of Sukkot. If you’re building a sukkah, consider the symbolism of building it around your ofrenda. If you cannot build a sukkah, consider the power of your ofrenda and how your ancestors/deceased loved ones are connected to you, with or without a temporary dwelling.
Day
Ancestor or
Deceased Loved One
Divine Attributes
Founding Jewish Figures
1
Chesed, loving kindness
Abraham & Sarah
2
Gevurah, strength
Issac & Rebecca
3
Tiferet, splendor
Jacob & Leah
4
Netzah, eternity
Joseph & Rachel
5
Hod, glory
Moses & Miriam
6
Yesod, foundation
Aaron & Deborah
7
Malkhut, royalty
David & Ruth
Step 5: Ushpizin. Before the meal, we invite these special guests to join us in the sukkah. Although all the names are mentioned each evening, we make a special call to a special guest each night. If that is your practice, you can refer to this excerpt by the Rabbinical Assembly, which has the Ushpizin blessings in English and Hebrew.
Step 6: Take a moment to reflect on the invitation. Speak about the ancestor or deceased loved one you are remembering. Refer to your ofrenda and share a story, idea, or question about them. Reflect on the divine attribute of that day. How did this person embody that? Think about the founding Jewish figure being honored; what traits do they possess similar to the person you remember?
Step 7: Eat! Rejoice! Your sukkah or home is full of so much love and respect. Acknowledge the power you possess by honoring your ancestors or loved ones. You are the link between them and your future generations. They’re with you, always.
My Practice
Below is what my ritual looks like.
Ofrenda:
Ancestors & Deceased Loved Ones (Z”L):
Day
Ancestor or Deceased Loved One
Divine Attributes
Founding Jewish Figures
1
Jaime Salvador Carrillo Torres (Father)
Chesed, loving kindness
Abraham & Sarah
2
José Luis García de León y García (Maternal Grandfather, Mexican Army Veteran)
Gevurah, strength
Issac & Rebecca
3
Afredo Carrillo (Paternal Grandfather, WWII U.S. Army Veteran)
Tiferet, splendor
Jacob & Leah
4
SPC Kaleb Loyer & SPC Matthew Hester (Soldiers I served with in the U.S. Army)
Netzah, eternity
Joseph & Rachel
5
Francisco García de León Hidalgo y Costilla (Great Paternal Grandfather, he fought alongside Pancho Villa in the Mexican Revolution)
Hod, glory
Moses & Miriam
6
The women in my family line who did not have agency or a voice during their time
Yesod, foundation
Aaron & Deborah
7
Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (Ancestor, Father of the Mexican War of Independence)
Malkhut, royalty
David & Ruth
Ritual by Luis Rene Carillo
Ushpizin | Los Siete Invitados: Sukkot and Día de los Muertos
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You know the joke about two Jews having three opinions? Sukkot is like that. It’s a little bit about remembering the huts we lived in while wandering in the desert after escaping slavery. It’s a little bit about recognizing and getting comfortable with the discomfort of imperma-nence. It’s a little bit about celebrating a bountiful harvest and the start of autumn. Annnndddd it’s a little bit the reason why we celebrate Hanukkah for eight days.
As this month of holidays comes to a close, Sukkot offers a chance to build a structure while at the same time recognizing our own vulnerability. We leave the comforts of our homes and cross the threshold of uncertainty. Our sukkah has at least three sides, with a wide enough door to welcome guests (in-person, metaphorically or on video). It has a roof made of natural materials that provide shade but let in the starlight. We take symbols of the harvest - tradi-tionally a lulav and etrog - and shake them all around as a way of inviting the Divine to sur-round us.
By dwelling in uncertainty, we move from the High Holidays into the rest of the year joyful, reconnected to nature and ready for what comes next.
From Seeker Season Guidebook for the Curious & Courageous https://highholidaysathome.com/haggadah/seeker-season
And G!d says: “After you are all wrung out from that amends making and accountability-having, go out into your backyard and build yourself a fort. And be sure to invite all your friends to join you in your backyard fort for food and merriment because that is how you make the community continue after all that hard work."
And G!d says: “And make your fort enclosed enough to feel cozy, but keep one side open, so that all who pass by know that they are welcome. Even the roof must be thin enough to invite the evening sky to dine with you, the openings in the branches that cover you wide enough for stars to fall through. There are too many among us who are made unwelcome - not just in the inhospitable corners of the world, but in our own towns, our own neighborhoods, on our own blocks. You may even know their names. Invite them.”
Ritual for Sukkot
Find one person with whom you made repairs over the ten days. Invite them to your fort, if you made one - to your house, if you didn’t. Prepare a meal for them, with your own hands, in whatever form that takes - digging the potatoes yourself, or opening the box. Serve your guest. Offer them the best you have. Say: welcome. Say: thank you. Say: this is only the beginning. Celebrate the work of connection and repair.
And G!d says: But nothing holds forever. The branches over your head will wither; grass under your feet will die of thirst and cold; you will unbolt these frames and fold the canvas walls. Even the bedrock beneath you holds molten memories of liquidity. Bottle the warmth of these cooling nights, of friends around the table, of candlelight, of wine, woodsmoke and holy tunes. You will need to drink from it soon enough.
From Dane Kuttler's The G!d Wrestlers, The Social Justice Warrior's Guide to the High Holy Days, Sept. 2015
Sukkot celebrates the importance of providing for those who are the most vulnerable. After escaping Egypt, our ancestors wandered through the desert for forty years facing challenging circumstances, but were able to survive with God’s protection. Each year we build a sukkah to remind us of the kindness and protection God showed the Jews when they were most vulnerable.
As part of the Sukkot celebrations, we invite friends and family into our sukkah to enjoy a delicious meal. Traditionally, we are told to extend an invitation to the needy members of our community. Whether symbolically or more literally, Sukkot is the perfect time to share your hospitality and good fortune to help protect those who are truly in need.
Apologia
By Rachel Kann
Forgive me,
I have done it all wrong.
In every way that I hoped not to act,
I have failed.
Forgive me,
I love you beyond logic
Where the loudest blossoms shout yellow, pink.
Listen to the fragrance of bloom.
Inhale the whisper of nature.
My lips part for your kiss only.
You know my mouth’s deep intimacy.
This is my long-form farewell tour.
I am but a bank of buttons and knobs
Laid plain for you to press up against.
This is past chest-pounding,
This is specific,
Forgive me
For whispering in symbols while
I watch stars dance between palm fronds.
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