Sukkot: Bringing the spirit of simplicity into your daily life
Sukkot, beginning just five days after Yom Kippur, is a week-long celebration rooted in the ancient Jewish tradition of dwelling in temporary booths or huts, called Sukkot in Hebrew. These simple structures symbolize the shelters the Israelites lived in during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after escaping slavery in Egypt. Sukkot is one of the three great pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish year.
While the holiday commemorates resilience and faith, it can also offer a lesson in simplicity. During Sukkot, we move our meals and even sleep in the sukkah, a modest, outdoor structure often made of wood or canvas, with branches or leaves for a roof. You don’t haul your entire kitchen outside — you bring just what you need for the meal, intentionally keeping things minimal. In doing so, you create space to pause, to gaze at the stars, and to reconnect with the world. In this simplicity, Sukkot teaches us something valuable: we don’t need everything at our disposal to feel fulfilled. The act of stepping out of our homes and into the sukkah is a reminder to strip back the excess and focus on what matters most.
Just as we streamline our meals during Sukkot, we can simplify other aspects of our lives. Do we need every gadget, every extra task, every item cluttering our minds and homes? Use this Sukkot to take a moment, look up at the sky, and let go of some of the things that weigh us down. Whether it’s decluttering our homes, cutting back on unnecessary commitments, or unplugging from technology, simplifying allows us to create more room for reflection, connection, and joy.
This year, Sukkot started on the evening of October 16th and ends on Shemini Atzeret, October 24th, during this time, as you sit in your sukkah or simply reflect on the holiday’s themes, consider how you can bring the spirit of simplicity into your daily life. What can you leave behind to create more space for what truly nourishes you? Just as the Israelites found shelter in simple booths, we, too, can find meaning and contentment in simplifying our lives.
A huge thank you to J-Family Ambassador Danielle Arthur, whose inspiration and insight sparked the creation of this blog.
