ABSTRACT
This chapter will give an overview of relevant theories and projects from the four fields: cultural studies, Judaism and Jewish studies, architecture, and gender studies in regard to the symbolic houses in Judaism. Typically, Jewish rituals and holidays associated with ritual houses are discussed only as religious practices. The smaller ritual houses are discussed as art objects from within art history. Analysis of architectural elements, construction methods, and the site are typical in architectural practice and theory. Although the ritual houses have generally been excluded from architectural studies, its analytical methods have been adopted first for the ritual houses and then adapted for the house metaphors. There are two currents in architecture that provide a particularly helpful context for analyzing the ritual houses, particularly the sukkah: recent work at the intersection of Judaism and architecture, and mobile and temporary structures in secular contexts.
