I love the transition from September to October. For a short while, we hit a narrow sweet spot where my friends in the North share roughly the same pleasant weather as we do down here in Florida. It gives us common ground for small talk when I catch up with family — and it also gives me a great natural opening to bring up my favorite obscure biblical festival.

That festival is Sukkot, the ancient harvest feast of the Israelites. Both in antiquity and among many Jewish communities today, the faithful spend a week living outdoors in sukkot (temporary shelters or booths). Based on the Hebrew calendar, this year’s celebration fell right at the turn of the season, from late September into early October.

Sukkot holds a beautiful double meaning in the Old Testament. First, it commemorates liberation from Egypt. As Leviticus 23:42–43 instructs, “For seven days you must live in huts. Every citizen of Israel must live in huts so that your future generations will know that I made the Israelites live in huts when I brought them out of the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God” (CEB).

At the same time, it anchors the agricultural year. In Exodus and Deuteronomy, this Festival of Booths is commanded as one of the three great annual harvest feasts. God’s people were called to step outside their homes and live among the fields in celebration of the Creator providing the firstfruits of the harvest.

I am deeply touched by the invitation to know God in this way. Sukkot is doubly rooted in the land. It asks us to slow down as a community and give thanks for where our food truly comes from — not just from human farms, but ultimately from divine grace.

Even more, Sukkot invites us to remember that liberation often begins when we return to the land. So much of Israel’s wilderness journey was about YHWH teaching a newly freed people how to live justly together as a community. Gathering daily manna was a direct lesson in trust: a daily practice of relying on the Creator and remembering their place within God’s good creation.

For those of us living in suburban subdivisions or city blocks, it can be easy to lose that connection. Sukkot reminds us to step back outside.

A Sabbath Practice

Whether you are enjoying autumn’s crisp turn up north or the welcome cool relief down in Florida, this shared seasonal weather is a gift and an invitation. Take advantage of these fine October days to step outside and look for “manna” in your own neck of the woods:

• Camp under the stars: Pitch a tent in your backyard or in a local state park. Enjoy the natural inclination to go to bed shortly after sundown. Arise, like Jacob in Genesis 28, ready to see evidence that “this sacred place is awesome!”
• Go on a foraging walk: Wander local trails with an open eye, taking time to notice the wild abundance God provides naturally around you.
• Harvest “manna” from your garden: Look closely at what’s already growing underfoot. Many common garden weeds are nutritious gifts. Toss young dandelion or purslane leaves into a salad, or cook up lamb’s quarters and amaranth as wild greens.