Sukkot+&+Simchat+Torah

__**BACKGROUND**__ בָּרוּךְ אַתָּה ְייָ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מֶלֶךְ הָעוֹלָם, אֲשֶׁר קִדְּשָׁנוּ בְּמִצְוֹתָיו, וְצִוָּנוּ עַל נְטִילַת לוּלָב //Blessed are You, Adonai our God, Sovereign of the universe, who has sanctified us// //through Your mitzvot and////commands us to take the lulav.// toc
 * סֻכּוֹת **  ** שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה **  **SUKKOT SIMCHAT / TORAH**

//Turn (the Torah) again and again, for everything is in it; contemplate it, grow gray and old over it,// //and swerve not from it for there is no greate good. ~ Ben Bag Bag, Mishnah, Avot 5:22//

//Sukkot// is the fall harvest festival of the Jewish calendar, celebrated five days after //Yom Kippur//. It begins on the 15th of the Hebrew month of //Tishrei// and ends on the 21st of //Tishrei//. Biblically, it is described as a seven day festival followed immediately by //Sh'mini Atzeret/Simchat Torah//. Sukkot developed from both an historical foundation and an agricultural one.

Historically, the //sukkot// (temporary booths), are reminiscent of the temporary dwellings lived in by the Israelites after the Exodus, in the 40 years of wandering the wilderness between Egypt and Cannaan (now known as Israel).

Agriculturally, //Sukkot// is the last of the three pilgrimage festivals (//Pesach// and //Shavuot// are the others) when ancient Jews packed their best seasonal crops and journeyed all the way to The Temple in Jerusalem. Once there, the Jews offered sacrifices and celebrated together as a community. On //Sukko//t especially, they thanked God for the bounty of the year's harvest.

Today, Jews gather together at the Western Wall in Jerusalem on //Sukkot//. Others celebrate in the fields of //kibbutzim//, thus focussing on gratitude for a "return" to farming our homeland.

Outside of Israel, Jews whose livelihoods do not depend on farming still celebrate the acricultural nature of the holday. Many build a //sukkah// and invite friends and family to eat together under its leafy roof.

//Simchat Torah// celebrates the annual cycle of reading the Torah. Each year on this joyous holiday, Jews worldwide complete the cycle of //Torah// reading (from the last part of Deuteronomy) and immediately begin reading from the book of Genesis. This cycle of reading illustrates the importance that Judaism places not only on the //Torah//, but also on study.

On this holiday, prior to reading from the //Torah//, the scrolls are taken out of the holy ark and paraded around, accompanied by singing and dancing.

**__Sukkot / Simchat Torah materials that can be downloaded and printed:__** media type="custom" key="19997782" To print, right click on the image, then copy and paste it into a new document. The image can be resized. Or click on the other documents, open and print. = = =//Vocabulary//= Seven pages of Sukkot vocabulary flashcards.
 * [[image:Sukkot Vocabulary Flashcards.jpg width="284" height="195"]] || [[file:Sukkot Vocabulary Flashcards.dwd]] || [[file:Sukkot Vocabulary Flashcards.pdf]] ||

= //Resource List// =
 * [|This link will take you a to the list on the JECC website.] || [[file:High Holiday Resource List 2011a.doc]] ||

= //Sukkot poster// = = //Simchat Torah poster// = = //Sukkot Brachot// = =** //Sukkot Puzzles// **= Your students will review //__Sukkot__// vocabulary.
 * [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Sukkot.jpg width="182" height="237"]] || [[file:Sukkot poster-symbols.pdf]] ||
 * [[image:Simchat_Torah_symbols.jpg width="160" height="216"]] || [[file:Simchat Torah poster-symbols.pdf]] || [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Simchat_Torah.jpg width="185" height="227"]] ||
 * [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Sukkot_Brachot.jpg width="203" height="241"]] || [[file:Sukkot Brachot - with English P-21.pdf]] ||


 * [[image:Sukkot Crossword Puzzle-English with Hebrew answers-1.jpg width="117" height="143"]] || [[image:Sukkot Match-Up.jpg width="141" height="165"]] || [[image:Sukkot Word Search-English.jpg width="127" height="173"]] || [[image:Sukkot Word Jumble.jpg width="155" height="194"]] ||
 * [[file:Sukkot Crossword Puzzle-English with Hebrew answers.pdf]] || [[file:Sukkot Match-Up.pdf]] || [[file:Sukkot Word Search-English.pdf]] || [[file:Sukkot Word Jumble.pdf]] ||

=**//Sukkot QRs//**=
 * [[image:Sukkot QRs.jpg width="320" height="412"]] || [[file:Sukkot QRs.pdf]] ||

=** //More Sukkot posters// **= Great for your classroom or for your sukkah. Right click on the image and paste it into a new document. The image can be resized.


 * [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Sukkot_-_lulav_blessing_poster.jpg width="172" height="230"]] || [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Sukkot_-_lulav_blessing_poster2.jpg width="204" height="138"]] || [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Sukkot_-_4_species_poster.jpg width="144" height="215"]] || [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Sukkot_-_4_species_poster2.jpg width="208" height="150"]] || [[image:teachercenter-jecc/Ushpizin.jpg width="228" height="150"]] ||  ||

=**//Simchat Torah book//**=
 * [[image:Simchat Torah book.jpg width="198" height="280"]] || [[file:Simchat Torah book.pdf]] ||

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