September 14, 2021

Press Release

Museum of the Bible invites guests to learn about two biblical Jewish holidays, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, through free interactive, interpretive events

WASHINGTON — Museum of the Bible invites guests to experience and learn about Yom Kippur and Sukkot, two biblical Jewish holidays, with free interactive events from Sept. 15 through Sept. 27. 

Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement): Wednesday, Sept. 15, through Thursday, Sept. 16

For Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar year — living history interpreters in the World of Jesus of Nazareth walk-through exhibit will explain how they are preparing for this most important day, which is outlined in the Torah in Leviticus 16:22 and in Leviticus 23:27. While traveling through the recreated village, guests can stop for special talking points and a storytelling session in the Roman Foyer. Living history interpreters will also discuss how this day is soon followed by the joyous festival of Sukkot.

Sukkot (Feast of Booths/Feast of Tabernacles): Monday, Sept. 20, through Monday, Sept. 27

During the weeks preceding Sukkot, an observance commanded by God in the Torah in Exodus 23:16 and Leviticus 23:42-43, living history interpreters in the World of Jesus of Nazareth walk-through exhibit will share special lessons about harvesting dates, figs, pomegranates and grapes for the festival. This time of hard work is accompanied by celebration. Living history interpreters will present special Sukkot-themed scenes in the village, showcase props representing symbolic food and other seasonal items, engage with merchants buying and selling goods in and out of the village and expound on lessons from the wilderness in the Torah. 

Guests are also invited to experience a kosher sukkah — a temporary dwelling for Sukkot — in the museum’s Biblical Garden, which will be available for anyone who desires to eat in it and fulfill that obligation during the holiday. Currently, there are few sukkahs in downtown Washington, D.C., for that purpose, and Museum of the Bible is the only museum to have one available. Furthermore, there will be informative text panels explaining the roots of the holiday, its biblical connections (both in the Tanakh, the Hebrew Bible, and in the New Testament) and current Sukkot practices. These experiences are included with museum admission. Guests can use the promotion code “Sukkot82” from Sept. 17 to Sept. 30 for half off the price of admission. Tickets can be purchased here

Museum of the Bible has also been invited by the Capital Jewish Museum to join their partnership with the National Building Museum for the Sukkah City x DC event they are hosting from Sept. 18 through Oct. 3. Museum of the Bible will have a table at the National Building Museum on Sept. 19, where museum staff will host a trivia game and share information about the museum.