318. Nice Day for It: The obligation to rest on Succos

As with other other holidays, there is a positive mitzvah to refrain from creative labor on the first day of Succos. And, as with the other holidays, this is communicated through the words “mikra kodesh,” a holy gathering.

We have said before that the reason we refrain from labor on the Festivals is to enable us to focus on the meaning of the days. (The theme of Succos is the manner in which God protected and sheltered us when He took us out of Egypt.)

This mitzvah applies to both men and women in all times and places. It is the topic of Talmudic tractate of Beitza and is also discussed in tractate Makkos (21b-22a). It is codified in the Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim 495. This mitzvah is #166 of the 248 positive mitzvos in the Rambam’s Sefer HaMitzvos and #34 of the 77 positive mitzvos that can be observed today in the Chofetz Chaim’s Sefer HaMitzvos HaKatzar.