Central to the Festival Are the Four Species, Plants (One Being a Fruit) Which Are Held Together and Waved at Different Points in the Festival Service, in Accordance with the Biblical Injunction to "Rejoice before the Lord" (Lev. 23:40). These Four Species (Arba'ah Minim) Are the Lulav or Palm Branch, the Etrog or Citron, the Hadassim -- Three Myrtle Twigs, and the Aravot -- Two Willow Branches. "Taking the Lulav" Applies to All Four Species, Which Are Arranged in a Bouquet. On the First Seven Days of the Festival, Apart from the Sabbath, the Lulav Is Taken and during the Hallel It Is Waved in All Four Compass Directions, as Well as Upward and Downward, to Acknowledge God's Omnipotence and Sovereignty over the Entire Universe. Appropriate to the Joyous Character of Sukkot, the "Full," Unabridged Hallel (Ps. 113- 118) Is Recited Each Morning. The Book of Ecclesiastes Is Prescribed Reading for Sukkot. It May Be That the Pessimistic Outlook of Ecclesiastes Was Thought Suitable for the Fall, When People Began to Anticipate the Winter Rains and Colder Months Ahead.
As on All Other Holy Days, an Additional Service (Musaf) Follows Morning Service and the Reading of the Law. On the First Seven Days of the Festival, a Procession Takes Place around the Synagogue to the Accompaniment of Hoshanot Prayers and Hymns. The Hosha-Na Refrain Means "save, We Beseech You!" and This Ceremony Recalls the Daily Circuits Made around the Altar on This Festival in the Temple. On a Sabbath, the Prayers Are Recited but No Procession Is Held.
Seven Circuits (Hakkafot) Take Place on the Seventh Day of the Festival, Hoshana Rabbah (I.E., "the Great Hoshanah"). Traditionally, Hoshana Rabbah Marks the Conclusion of the Solemn Season and This Is Reflected in Various Customs: the Ashkenazi Reader Wearing a Kitel and Chanting High Holiday Prayer Modes, the Shofar Being Sounded during the Processions in Sephardi Congregations. Finally, All of the Four Species Are Exchanged for a Bundle of "Hoshanot" and This Is Struck Three Times until Some Leaves Fall off; It Has Been Suggested That This Is Symbolic of the Resurrection, as the Denuded Branches of a Tree Bud with New Life in Due Season.
A Characteristic Feature of the Eighth Day, Shemini Atseret, Is the Prayer for Rain to Fall in the Holy Land, a Blessing That Is Essential for a Fruitful Year. In Israel on That Day (and in the Diaspora on the following Day) Simhat Torah Marks the Conclusion of the Annual Torah Reading Cycle and the Beginning of a New Cycle.
In Ancient Days, the Joy of Sukkot Was Further Enhanced by the Water-Drawing Festival, Simhat Bet Ha-Sho'evah, When Water Libations Were Ceremoniously Poured over the Altar to Highlight the Petitions for Rain That Had Been Offered on Sukkot. Joyous Festivities and Merrymaking Linked with These Ceremonies, Took Place in Ancient Jerusalem. In Modern Israel, Special "Water-Drawing" Festivities Are Held by Religious Circles during the Intermediate Days of Sukkot and Have Also Been Revived in Kibbutzim.
The Ancient Ceremony of Hakhel, Prescribed in Deuteronomy (31:10-13) and Described with More Detail in the Mishnah (Sot. 7.8), Has Also Been Revived. In Temple Times, When the People Were Assembled during the Sukkot following the End of the Sabbatical Year, Portions of the Torah Were Read Aloud by the King or, When No King Ruled, by the Religious Leader. In the Hakhel Ceremony's Modern Form, the President of Israel Publicly Reads from the Torah to a Mass Assembly Gathered at the Western Wall.
One of the Prophetical Readings for the Festival Is Chapter 14 of Zechariah, Where It Is Said That All the Nations Will Someday Go up to Jerusalem" to Keep the Feast of Tabernacles" (Verses 16-19). A Total of 70 Bullocks Were Sacrificed in the Temple on the Seven Days of the Festival (Num. 29:12ff.) and the Rabbis Suggest That This Number Corresponded to the 70 Nations of the World (Suk. 55b).
