Long before elaborately designed sukkahs, store-bought decorations and snapshots of food enjoyed in the great outdoors were shared on social media, Sukkot in Israel was very much a communal celebration. Children marched in festive ceremonies and parades, and families headed outdoors to celebrate the harvest festival, say a prayer and eat a meal.
Four historic photographs from the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) photo archive offer a glimpse of Israel more than six decades ago and the different ways in which the holiday was celebrated at the time.
In one dated 1959, a Chassidic man performs the mitzvah of the “Four Species” (“Four Kinds”)—a palm frond (lulav), two willows (aravot), a minimum of three myrtles (hadassim) and one citron (etrog)—inside a sukkah in Jerusalem. Wrapped in a tallit, he holds a lulav and looks up toward the sechach, the branches covering the sukkah. He is surrounded by handmade decorations; paper chains and colorful pictures hang on the sukkah’s walls. It captures a quiet moment of prayer and faith, far removed from the bustle outside.
By contrast, a photo taken at Horshat Tal, a national park and nature reserve in the Northern District of Israel, in 1963 shows Sukkot as a large-scale Israeli celebration attended by crowds of people. Families and children gathered to celebrate the harvest festival, with dancers in matching attire standing at the center, holding sheaves of grain. Israeli flags fly above the participants, while trees in the grove and the Galilee landscape dot the background. The combination of an agricultural festival, folk dancing and time spent in nature tells the story of a young nation seeking to connect ancient tradition with an emerging modern-day culture.
Yet another image, taken in 1964, shows children participating in the “Jerusalem Flag” ceremony during Chol Hamoed, the intermediate days of Sukkot. Dressed in festive clothing, the kids march in a procession carrying the “Four Species,” as well as flowers, emblems and a large flag. The “Jerusalem Flag” was a nationwide educational initiative that began as early as 1934.
Schools and kindergartens from across the country competed to carry out activities reflecting KKL-JNF’s values, including planting trees, participating in activities on behalf of the land and contributing tzedakah (“charity”) into the iconic Blue Box. During Sukkot, the educational institution that won the competition received the flag in an impressive ceremony and kept it for one year, until it was passed on to the next winner. For those who participated, it was much more than a ceremony: It was an experience that connected Sukkot, Jerusalem and the Zionist idea.
The fourth photo was taken at Jerusalem’s “Four Species” market in 1967. At its center, a young boy holds an etrog in one hand, surrounded by piles of Sukkot accoutrements. Buyers and sellers crowd around him, inspecting merchandise and preparing for the holiday. Even today, the boy’s concentrated expression and the packed market stall convey the excitement and bustle in the days leading up to the holiday.
Efrat Sinai, director of archives at KKL-JNF, said: “These photographs allow us to encounter Sukkot once again as it was celebrated in Israel decades ago, and as it is still celebrated today: in the family sukkah, at the Jerusalem market and at large outdoor gatherings. They show how tradition, Zionist education, agriculture and community came together to create the holiday’s unique Israeli character. Beyond their historical value, these are vibrant, deeply human moments that remind us how much we have changed, and how the customs of the holiday continue to connect generations.”
