Lesson video

Hello, my name's Ms. Rivers and I'm looking forward to working with you today.

I'm so glad you've chosen this lesson.

Today's lesson is from the unit Festivals: How do they celebrate the natural world? And this lesson is called the Jewish Festival of Sukkot.

By the end of the lesson, you will be able to explain how the Jewish Festival of Sukkot celebrates the natural world.

You might already know some festivals and you might have some ideas about how people celebrate.

Today we'll be learning about how Jewish people celebrate.

Some of the learning will be new for everyone, but I'm here to help so we can learn together.

The key words for today are Sukkot.

That's a Jewish festival that recalls the time when the people wandered in the desert and were cared for by God.

Sukkah, that's a temporary shelter made of natural materials in the festival of Sukkot.

And Exodus, that's the escape of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt.

These words might be new for you, so let's practise saying them together.

I'll say the word and then you say it after me.

Sukkot, sukkah, Exodus.

We'll be using these key words all through the lesson, so listen carefully and see if you can spot them.

In the first part of the lesson, we'll be learning all about what happens at the Jewish Festival of Sukkot.

What happens at Sukkot? Laura has been thinking about why we learn about different people in religious education.

She says "People show what is important to them by the things they do and the ways they celebrate.

We can better understand people's worldviews by listening to them and asking questions about how they live." In this lesson, we'll be learning all about the Jewish celebration of Sukkot, and that will help us to understand Jewish worldviews.

Have you ever made a den or been camping? Have a look at this picture.

You might be able to see some tents in the background and some folding chairs like the sort of chairs that people take camping.

I wonder what you would need if you were going to camp for a week in a tent.

Maybe you would need some food and perhaps some really warm clothes in case it's cold at night.

And hopefully something comfortable to sleep on.

Laura and Lucas are talking about camping.

Lucas says, "I don't think I would like to sleep in a tent.

It might be a bit cold and uncomfortable.

I would miss my bed." Laura says, "I went camping on my summer holidays.

I loved eating meals in the tent.

I'm sure the food tasted more delicious because we were eating outdoors." What do you think? Do you agree with Lucas or Laura? Do you think you would like camping or do you think maybe you would find it a bit uncomfortable? If there's someone near you, you could talk to them and share your ideas about camping.

Think about whether you would like it or not.

During the festival of Sukkot, some Jews make shelters in their garden.

The shelter's called a sukkah and it's a bit like camping or making a den in the garden.

Can you see the picture here? This sukkah has got a table in it and some pictures and some fruit hanging from the ceiling.

The Jewish Festival of Sukkot takes place in the autumn around harvest time, and that's why Jews decorate their sukkah with fruit and vegetables and things that remind them of all the food and all the good things that there are in the world.

Here's Rebecca.

She has a Jewish worldview and she attends a progressive synagogue and she's talking about the festival of Sukkot.

She says, "Sukkot is a happy festival with lots of fun.

We build a temporary shelter in the garden called a sukkah.

Our sukkah is made from pieces of wood with leafy branches to make the roof so that we can see the stars through the gaps.

We decorate it with flowers, fruit, and leaves." So I think Rebecca's sukkah sounds a bit like the one we saw in the picture earlier with flowers and fruit to decorate it.

Here's Rafi.

Rafi has a Jewish worldview too.

He attends an Orthodox synagogue.

He is talking about Sukkot.

He says, "We try to eat all our meals in the sukkah during the festival of Sukkot.

It's fun to eat outside with the family even though it can be a bit cold in autumn." Rafi says, "I would like to sleep in the sukkah, but the leafy roof might let the rain in, so that's not a good idea." Look at this photograph.

What can you see? If you look really carefully, you will see that some Jewish families have built a sukkah on their balcony.

Rafi says, "My cousins live in Israel.

They live in a flat.

Flats in Israel have a space to build a sukkah.

Can you see them? It's a warm country, so my cousins actually sleep in them as well." So Rafi's cousins get to sleep in their sukkah on the balcony even though it's too cold for Rafi to sleep in his sukkah in his garden.

So let's have a quick check to see if you've remembered what we've learned so far.

What is a sukkah? Is it A, a Jewish festival in the autumn? Is it B, a shelter with a roof made of leaves? Or is it C, a plate of food eaten at Sukkot? Pause the video and think about your answer for a moment.

That's right, a sukkah is a shelter with a roof made of leaves that Jewish people build during the Festival of Sukkot.

Well done if you've got that answer correct.

During the Festival of Sukkot, Jewish people have some other traditions that they do.

Have a look at this picture.

Can you see some branches all tied together? Drawing the Festival of Sukkot, Jewish people make a bundle of branches and they say a prayer of blessing in the sukkah.

The blessing shows gratitude to God for all the good things in the earth.

There are different branches to show that God has lots of different things for Jewish people to say thank you for.

Another name for the bundle is the four species, because there are four different types of branch in the bundle.

Rafi explains more about what happens during the festival of Sukkot.

He says, "During Sukkot we say a special prayer of blessing each day while we wave branches of palm, willow and myrtle.

I stand in the sukkah and wave the branches to the North, South, East, and West, as well as up and down while I ask God to bless us as a family." Can you imagine Rafi standing in his sukkah with his bundle of branches, waving them in all directions and saying thank you to God for all the good things that he has, and asking God to bless him and his family.

Rebecca explains more about Sukkot and why it's important to her.

She says, "Sukkot is a time to celebrate and give thanks for all the good things in nature.

When we decorate our sukkah with fruit and flowers, we remember how beautiful the natural world is.

It reminds me that I should be grateful for everything we have.

I wonder what sort of things you are grateful for.

Rebecca is grateful for fruit and flowers and the natural world.

So let's have a quick check for understanding.

This is a true or false question.

The festival of Sukkot is celebrated in the synagogue.

Is that true or false? That's right, it's false.

The Festival of Sukkot is mainly celebrated outside in the garden.

Jews build a sukkah and eat their meals there during the festival.

Well done if you've got that right, that shows you've been listening really carefully.

So now it's your turn to do some work.

Can you see the picture of the sukkah we've already seen earlier in the lesson? Your task is to think about what instructions you would give to a Jewish family to tell them how to celebrate Sukkot.

And you can use the picture to help you.

You might want to talk or you might want to write down your ideas.

And here are some sentence starters to get you started To celebrate Sukkot, you will need to.

You might want to.

You should.

So pause the video while you do your work and I look forward to hearing your ideas later on.

So did you think of some good ideas about how to celebrate Sukkot? Maybe you said some things a bit like this: To celebrate Sukkot, you will need to build a shelter called a sukkah in your garden.

You need to use branches and leaves to make the roof.

You might want to decorate your sukkah with fruit, flowers, and leaves.

You should say a blessing to thank God for all the good things in the world, such as food and shelter.

I wonder if your ideas were a bit like mine or maybe you had some different ones.

Well done for working hard and for doing good thinking.

In the second part of the lesson, we'll be learning about some of the meanings behind the festival of Sukkot.

What is the meaning of Sukkot for Jews? At the festival of Sukkot, Jews remember the story of Moses.

Moses is a really important leader for Jewish people.

Can you see the picture of Moses here? He's standing holding his staff.

He's the leader.

Moses led the Jewish people out of slavery in Egypt.

This was called the Exodus.

The Exodus is when Moses and the Jewish people escaped from Egypt.

They remember the Exodus with songs and with stories and with festivals.

And Sukkot is one of the festivals where they remember Moses and the Jewish people leaving Egypt.

After the Exodus from Egypt, Moses and the Jewish people lived in the desert for many years.

Can you see in the picture that they're living in tents? And they had to pack up and move from place to place.

Do those tents remind you of anything? Maybe they remind you of the sukkah that Jewish people build in the garden during Sukkot.

Rebecca explains more about the festival of Sukkot and how it reminds her of the story of Moses in the desert.

She says, "It's fun to eat meals in our sukkah for seven days during Sukkot, but I would not choose to do it all year, especially in the rain.

At Sukkot, we remember how Moses and the people camped in the desert after the Exodus.

They relied on God for protection because the desert was a difficult place to live in.

They did not have a choice." So Rebecca is thinking that she has a choice to eat in the sukkah and they can enjoy doing that.

But Moses and the people didn't have a choice about camping and sometimes it must have been really hard work.

They just had God to look after them.

So here's another quick check, and it's true or false again.

At Sukkot, Jews remember the Exodus from Egypt.

Is that true or false? Have a think.

That's right, it's true.

At Sukkot, Jews remember the Exodus from Egypt.

They build a shelter in the garden to remember how Moses and his people lived in tents.

Well done if you got that answer right.

Mahsa is a Sephardi Jew.

She attends a Sephardi synagogue.

She explains a little bit more about Sukkot.

She says, "The festival of Sukkot makes me think of people who have had to leave their home like my father when he arrived in the UK from Iran.

The sukkah helps me to imagine what it might be like to be on the move without a place to stay." So Mahsa does a lot of thinking during Sukkot about what it might mean to not have a home and to have to move from place to place.

Mahsa explains a little more about what she thinks about during Sukkot.

She says, "When Moses and the Jewish people lived in the desert, they could only carry what they needed with them.

Sukkot makes me ask questions about what I really need in life." So Mahsa does a lot of thinking during Sukkot about what's really important to her and the things she really needs and maybe some of the things that perhaps she doesn't need in her life.

Rafi does some thinking at Sukkot as well.

He's thinking about caring for the world and what that means to him.

He says, "Sukkot reminds me that we should look after the natural world.

We should not be careless or wasteful.

We should use what we have and share it with others.

Moses and the Jewish people would've shared food with each other just as we share food with family and friends in the sukkah." So here's a quick check to see what we've learned so far.

Have a look at the pictures.

Which picture does not belong to Sukkot? Pause the video while you think about your answer.

That's right, it's picture A that doesn't belong.

Picture A is a harvest wreath and that belongs to the Christian celebration of harvest.

Picture B is the four species and that belongs to Sukkot.

And picture C is a sukkah, the shelter that Jewish people build during the festival of Sukkot.

So well done if you've got that answer right.

So now it's time for another task.

Here's Sam, she wants to learn about the festival of Sukkot.

She asks, "What is Sukkot and why is it important?" Laura and Lucas have been learning all about Sukkot.

They say "Sukkot is an important festival for Jews." Can you help Laura and Lucas to explain the meaning of Sukkot for Sam? See if you can include all the key words, Sukkot, sukkah, and Exodus.

Pause the video while you do your writing and I'll look forward to hearing your ideas soon.

So how did you get on? Did you manage to help Laura and Lucas to explain the meaning of Sukkot for Jews? Did you manage to include all the keywords? Maybe you said something a bit like this.

"During Sukkot, Jews build a shelter called a sukkah in their garden.

The sukkah reminds them of Moses and the Exodus." Lucas says, "Sukkot reminds Jews about caring for the natural world by sharing with others and trying not to waste anything." I wonder if your ideas were a bit like Laura and Lucas, or maybe you had some different ideas.

Well done for working hard.

So we've learned a lot today.

It's all the Jewish Festival of Sukkot.

We've learned that the Jewish Festival of Sukkot recalls the Exodus, the time when God looked after the people as they wandered in the desert.

We've learned that some Jews build a temporary shelter called a sukkah.

It's built of natural materials and meals might be eaten in there.

We've learned that the sukkah reminds Jews of their dependence on God.

And we've learned that Sukkot is a joyous festival that involves celebration and thanks for the earth.

So well done for all your hard work today.

I've enjoyed working with you, and I look forward to seeing you again soon.