Heart and Soul

15-year-old Adin Stanleigh cleans palm branches used to cover a sukkah, or ritual booth, used during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in Jerusalem, Israel, Oct. 11, 2019. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.

JNS.org – Does it always rain on Sukkot, where you live? Here in South Africa, the farmers say as soon as the Jews put up their booths, the rains will come.

Besides the sukkah itself, on this beautiful, joyous festival, we also have the “Four Species”—the lulav, etrog, hadassim and aravot (palm branch...