ABSTRACT
Tabernacles was perhaps the pleasantest time of all. The harvest was gathered in, the vintage over, the summer heat had made us feel that a peaceful week would be welcome indeed. The evening after the Day of Atonement, when we had recovered from the fast, the head of each household went out, took a log of wood and fixed it in the ground where the booth was to be erected. During the next few days the children and young people were busy collecting branches of trees and trails of vine leaves, bright with autumn tints, for the roofing and the walls of the huts. It meant a lot of work, but we loved it and took a great pride in it, each family competing, in friendly fashion, with their neighbours, as to who should make their booth the most beautiful. We knew there was no fear of rain for some time yet, and when the branches were in place, pictures were brought from the house, and 63oranges, pomegranates, grapes, purple and green figs, were hung from the roof, and two little bottles, one with oil and one with wine, suspended by different coloured ribbons. We spread the table, which was large enough for the whole family to sit round, with a white cloth, and when evening came on and lights were lit, the scene was fairy-like. A stranger, walking down the street, seeing the lights twinkle through the tent walls, and hearing from far and near the songs of praise that were sung between each course of the meals, and the happy voices of the children, would have understood then, if never before, the meaning of the words: “Also … when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land … ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God …” Any poor labourer who had no home of his own was invited and treated as one of the family. The Arabs used to peep in with awe and wonder, and these festivals had a great influence on them, causing them to look on the Jew with respect.
