Sebastian Scheiner / AP
Ultra Orthodox Jews dance as they celebrate the holiday of Sukkot at a yeshiva in the Ultra Orthodox Jewish neighborhood of Mea Shearim in Jerusalem on Oct. 1, 2012.
See more images related to the Sukkot festival on PhotoBlog.
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Ariel Schalit / AP
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man and his children push a baby stroller with palm fronds to be used to build a Sukka in Bnei Brak, Israel, on Sept. 28, 2012.
Abir Sultan / EPA
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man inspects the Etrog (Citron), one of four plant species to be used during the celebration of Sukkot, in Meah Shearim, Jerusalem, on Sept. 27, 2012.
Bernat Armangue / AP
Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men check etrogs, a lemon-like citrus fruit, for blemishes to determine if they are ritually acceptable, before buying it as one of the four items used as a symbol on the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighborhood on Sept. 27, 2012.
According to the Bible, during the Sukkot holiday, known as the Feast of the Tabernacles, Jews are commanded to bind together a palm frond, or lulav, with two other branches, which along with an etrog make up the "four species" used in holiday rituals. The week-long holiday begins on Sunday.
-- The Associated Press
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Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP
Members of the ancient Samaritan community walk with their prayer mats during a pilgrimage marking the Sukkot holiday, known as the Feast of the Tabernacles, at the religion's holiest site on Mount Gerizim, near the West Bank town of Nablus, early on October 11.
Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP
Members of the Samaritan community pray during the Feast of the Tabernacles on Mount Gerizim on Oct. 11.
Alaa Badarneh / EPA
Silhouetted Samaritans walk across a road on Mount Gerizim early on Oct. 11 as they celebrate a sunrise service on the holiday of Sukkot.
Tara Todras-Whitehill / AP
Boys join in prayers on Mount Gerizim on Oct. 11.
The AP and EPA report:
According to tradition, the Samaritans are descended from the ancient Israelite tribes of Menashe and Efraim, who remained in the biblical Land of Israel when the Assyrians conquered the area in the 8th century B.C. Today, their small community numbers close to 700 people, half of whom live in a village at Mount Gerizim, and half in the city of Holon near Tel Aviv.
Read more about the Samaritans in this Wikipedia entry.
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