"Ye shall dwell in booths seven days; all that are homeborn in Israel shall dwell in booths" Lev 23:42.

The Booth known as a Tabernacle or a Sukkah is traditionally built in the garden. The most important part of the booth is the roof (sekhakh) through which you must be able to see the stars if the sky is clear. It is not important which trees the branches for the roof come from.

By tradition the booth is a symbol of the destroyed temple and a reminder of the wanderings in the wilderness.

It should be decorated festively and fruits are hung from the roof.
The males of the household are instructed to eat meals inside the booth during the festival, females only have to enter for the benediction. The arch of this window contains two palm branches which represent the roof of the Sukkah. In the border area are golden vine leaves which here symbolise the Temple. There was a great golden vine which surrounded one of the doors to the Temple. As the leaves move upwards they become the stars which are seen through the roof of the Sukkah. The Leviathan and Behemoth are represented in the hope of a share in the feast in the Sukkah in the Hereafter. All who fulfil the "mitzvah of Sukkah" in this one, the Holy One blessed be He will grant him a share in the Sukkah of Leviathan in the future to come. Refers to the feast of the great fish and the ox in the life to come. The Lulav and the citron, which are used in prayers during Sukkot are held and candles are lit.

"..... on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruits of the land, ye shall keep the feast of the Lord seven days;..." Lev 23:39.

The arched area of this panel has the other possible interpretation of the Sukkah, Cloud by day and fire by night. It also contains a reminder of the Exodus in the form of the parting of the sea as in window No 6. Again the crops shown here are the seven types of produce which have been represented throughout the agricultural windows have now been harvested and put in storage. Sukkot was widely and joyfully celebrated in the days of the Temple. It was considered the most joyful of the festivals and was sometimes called simply the Festival. The four species were identified with the final harvest the fertility of the land and for the giving of thanks to God. Flowers and fruit are symbols of joy.

"And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees, and boughs of thick trees, and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God for seven days." Lev 23:40.

The four species, consisting of the lulav, etrog, hadass, arava. dominate this window by circling the arch, this refers to the waving in all directions of the four species during prayers. The scales are again shown as a time of judgment for water. The lulav is used on the first 7 Days of Sukkos excepting the Sabbath. The four species were identified with the final harvest the fertility of the land and the thanksgiving. It is used by the Reader (Chazan) in the synagogue service. It is waved in all directions indicating the whole universe. This window is also dominated by Hoshanah Raba the 7th Day of Sukkot, the day of judgement for water. The temple ritual reached a climax on this day for prayers for water and there was a water libation ceremony over the alter in the Temple. In ancient days the water was drawn from a well at the foot of Jerusalem, the vessel used was a golden flask. approximately 3 pints. At the same time, Levites played trumpets and harps, flutes and cymbals. At each part of the water libation ritual, priests blew trumpets. The Hoshanah is a cluster of willow twigs. In the days of the Temple these were branches with which the ground surrounding the alter was circled and beaten with the willow branches. In more recent times after a procession with the Torah around the Bimah, etrog and the lulav are laid aside and willow branches taken up, five of them bound with a leaf from the lulav. At the end of the Hoshana prayers the worshippers beat the branches on the ground and chant a ritual passage. According to ritual law it is necessary only to beat them five times but the mass of the congregation goes on beating until all the leaves have fallen off. Everyone performs this ceremony including women and children. Some carry the twigs home to act as a broom during the searching for Chometz on the next Passover.  

"Let us be glad and rejoice with this law, For it is strength and light for us"

The day is called Shemeni Azeret the eighth day of solemn assembly. Later Shemeni Azeret also came to be known as Simchat Torah "Rejoicing of the Torah". In the Diaspora this name was applied to the second day of the festival sometime after the 10th Cen C.E. In the prayer book it is still referred to as Shemeni Azeret. Although it is now considered as the concluding part of Sukkot it is in fact a separate festival. A tradition grew in this period of celebrating the ending of the annual reading of the Torah. This was justified by reference to the Midrash which described how Solomon had celebrated when he was granted wisdom. The people should therefore celebrate when they have received the wisdom of the Torah. This theme is symbolised in the window.

The centre of Jewish worship focuses on the Torah, which is housed in a specially built and often elaborately decorated ark. The scrolls are rolled toward their centre
on two staves, this is known as the Tree of Life which is another symbolic name for the Torah. They are adorned with special ornaments and often kept inside velvet covers with silver breastplates. The Sefer Torah (scroll of the Law) from which the portions are read weekly in the synagogue is a Jewish communities most treasured possession. At the centre of this window is the Tree of Knowledge. Simchat Torah marks the end of the one year cycle of the reading of the law. As soon as the final portion of Deuteronomy is read, a second scroll is opened and Genesis begun. At one end of the window is a symbol of the first book of Genesis, showing the physical separation of the light from the darkness. At the other end is a symbol for the light of wisdom representing the completion of Deuteronomy and therefore the completion of reading the Torah. The symbol for seven inside the circle stands for the Hakkafot. This is a ceremonial procession around the synagogue or elsewhere. It has been a custom that some Hebrew letters would be written in honey and a child would lick them off so that the first taste of the Law was sweet. "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth." psalm 119 103. Boys under Barmitzvah age are also called up to the reading desk and after an adult has recited the blessing, a portion of the law is read for them while a large Tallit (prayer shawl) is held over them like a canopy.