Code Pinker Ariel Gold has touched down in Iran and is proudly tweeting how she spent the holiday of Sukkot with Iranian Jews.
Here is a little bit about Sukkot.
Sukkot (Hebrew: סוכות or סֻכּוֹת, sukkōt), commonly translated as Feast of Tabernacles (traditional Ashkenazi spelling Sukkos/Succos), known also as the Festival of Ingathering (חג האסיף, Chag HaAsif) or in some translations the Festival of Shelters[5], is a biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month, Tishrei (varies from late September to late October). During the existence of the Jerusalem Temple, it was one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Hebrew: שלוש רגלים, shalosh regalim) on which the Israelites were commanded to perform a pilgrimage to the Temple.
The names used in the Torah are Chag HaAsif, translated to “Festival of Ingathering” or “Harvest Festival”, and Chag HaSukkot, translated to “Festival of Booths”. This corresponds to the double significance of Sukkot. The one mentioned in the Book of Exodus is agricultural in nature—”Festival of Ingathering at the year’s end” (Exodus 34:22)—and marks the end of the harvest time and thus of the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. The more elaborate religious significance from the Book of Leviticus is that of commemorating the Exodus and the dependence of the People of Israel on the will of God.
In other words, Sukkot is very much tied with the Jewish connection to the land of Israel – not exactly what Gold would want to be highlighting while in Iran, a country that does not recognize the Jewish right to our homeland and would love to wipe us off the face of the Earth.
