50 free Sukkot trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
Sukkot is the week when observant Jews move meals (and often beds) into a hut with a leafy roof, wave a palm frond and a citron in six directions, and invite Abraham, Moses and David in as guests. These Sukkot trivia questions cover the rules of a kosher sukkah, the four species, the Temple water-drawing festival, Hoshana Rabbah and the dancing of Simchat Torah. Every answer is sourced, with a short explanation so you learn something even when you miss.
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Q 01Sukkot begins on the 15th day of which Hebrew month?
Tishrei
The same month opens with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, so the festival arrives five days after the Day of Atonement.
Q 02For how many days is Sukkot celebrated according to the Torah?
Seven
A separate Shabbat-like holiday, Shemini Atzeret, follows immediately afterwards, which is why many people count eight days in practice.
Q 03Sukkot is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals alongside Shavuot and which holiday?
Passover
On all three, Israelites were commanded to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Q 04By what English name is Sukkot also widely known?
Feast of Tabernacles
'Feast of Booths' is the other common translation; the Torah itself also calls it the Festival of Ingathering.
Q 05What is the Hebrew name for the plant-material roof of a sukkah?
S'chach
Palm fronds, bamboo and pine branches all qualify, as long as they were not previously processed for another use.
Q 06A sukkah roof must be made of what?
Plant material cut from the ground
Walls, by contrast, can be almost anything that blocks wind, including canvas, wood or the side of a house.
Q 07What is the minimum number of walls a kosher sukkah must have?
Three
One of them is allowed to be only a partial wall, and the sides of a building or porch can count.
Q 08The etrog, one of the four species, is what kind of fruit?
Citron
The Hebrew word is thought to come from the Persian name for the fruit, and a fine specimen can cost hundreds of dollars.
Q 09The lulav is a closed frond taken from which tree?
Date palm
The frond must still be green and closed; the straightest lulav is prized as part of beautifying the commandment.
Q 10Hadass, bound alongside the lulav, comes from which plant?
Myrtle
In the classic symbolism the hadass has scent but no taste, standing for those with good deeds but no Torah learning.
Q 11Aravah, the fourth of the four species, is a branch of which tree?
Willow
It grows by wadis and rivers, and it is the species with neither taste nor scent in the traditional symbolism.
Q 12How many hadass boughs are bound into the lulav bundle?
Three
Ashkenazi practice places them to the right of the palm frond and two aravah branches to the left.
Q 13In which directions are the four species shaken during the blessing?
Toward the compass points, then up and down
The six-direction waving is read as attesting to God's mastery over all of creation, and as a prayer for rain.
Q 21Which biblical book do Ashkenazi synagogues read on the Sabbath during Sukkot?
Ecclesiastes
Its refrain that all is vanity echoes the flimsy sukkah, and its focus on mortality suits the autumn of the year.
Q 22The holiday immediately after Sukkot, the 'Eighth Day of Assembly', is called what?
Shemini Atzeret
It is treated as a holiday in its own right: people leave the sukkah and eat their meals back inside the house.
Q 23Simchat Torah celebrates what?
Completing the annual reading cycle
The last portion of Deuteronomy and the first of Genesis are read back to back so the cycle never stops.
Q 14On which day of the week are the four species never taken?
Saturday
Every other day of the festival a blessing is recited over the lulav and etrog, whether at home, in the sukkah or in synagogue.
Q 15How many symbolic ushpizin guests are invited into the sukkah over the festival?
Seven
Each is linked to one of the seven lower sefirot, which is why Joseph follows Moses and Aaron despite preceding them in the Bible.
Q 16Which forefather is welcomed into the sukkah as the guest of the first day?
Abraham
The order runs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David, one each night, with the other six following.
Q 17Which figure is the ushpizin guest on the seventh and final day?
David
The king of Israel closes the week; Reconstructionist communities add a parallel list of seven women such as Sarah, Miriam and Deborah.
Q 18What is the seventh day of Sukkot called?
Hoshana Rabbah
The name means 'Great Supplication'; worshippers make seven circuits of the synagogue and beat a bundle of branches on the ground.
Q 19The custom of reciting the ushpizin prayer originated with which tradition?
Lurianic Kabbalah
The Aramaic word ushpizin is a loanword from Middle Persian meaning 'lodging'.
Q 20What are the intermediate, semi-festive days of Sukkot called?
Chol HaMoed
The name means 'festival weekdays'; shopping and cooking are allowed, but laundry and labor-intensive work are not.
Q 24How many hakafot (circuits) are made with the Torah scrolls on Simchat Torah?
Seven
Each circuit only has to go once around the synagogue, but the dancing often spills into the street and lasts for hours.
Q 25On Simchat Torah morning, the end of Deuteronomy is followed by the start of which book?
Genesis
In many Orthodox and Conservative congregations it is the only time of year the scrolls are taken out and read at night as well.
Q 26How many bulls in total were offered in the Temple over the seven days of Sukkot?
70
Thirteen were offered on the first day, then one fewer each day down to seven on the last.
Q 27The Sukkot bull offerings were said to be made in honor of what?
The nations listed in Genesis 10
The so-called Table of Nations names seventy peoples descended from Noah's sons.
Q 28The Temple water-drawing ceremony used water drawn from which spring?
Siloam
Trumpets sounded as the flasks were carried in through the Water Gate, and a priest poured the water on a corner of the altar.
Q 29The Talmud says whoever never saw the Water-Drawing Celebration has never seen what?
Joy in his life
Huge candelabras lit the whole city, and elders with long white beards danced, juggled and performed acrobatics.
Q 30Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel famously juggled how many flaming torches at the celebration?
Eight
He presided over the supreme court at the time, which made the spectacle all the more remarkable.