Jerusalem at Sukkot.
A detailed, interactive reconstruction inspired by the late Second Temple period. The enlarged festival crowd carries 352 complete four-minim sets. The Temple now has walkable main interiors, 38 side cells over three levels, open corner chambers, service rooms, instrument stores and Beit Hamoked with four subsidiary rooms. Open Menu → Map & places → Temple rooms to explore each modeled space. Pilgrims and priestly attendants move through the scene.
The main Temple proportions follow Mishnah Middot, using 0.5 metres per cubit as a modeling assumption. The Israel Museum’s model of Jerusalem in 66 CE informs the visual reconstruction. Ancient descriptions disagree on some dimensions. Ornament, street layout, garments, and choreography are interpretations, not a verified exact reconstruction.
Hosts and the Temple introduction speak Yiddish. This is your chosen language for the experience; Yiddish developed much later than the Second Temple period.
At the pilgrims’ table and the Temple, hear an excerpt of an actual Hoshana Rabbah gathering: Rabbi Hoffman leading the Kohelet congregation, recorded in 2009 and published by Rafi Simcha under CC BY 3.0. It is Hebrew liturgical singing from Sukkot, not an ancient Temple recording. The street musicians play a recording of a traditional Baal Shem Tov nigun on alto recorder. This melody is not specific to Sukkot. The family and courtyard sukkot retain original instrumental arrangements. A full playlist of familiar Sukkot songs is not yet included.
Temple interiors and interactions
Open Menu → Map & places → Altar ramp to reach the cleared approach. Walk up the solid southern ramp, explore the altar deck, and return by the same path. You can also tap the slope or point at it in VR. The altar has a whitewashed finish and stepped proportions inspired by Middot 3. Altar access here is for educational exploration.
The Heikhal contains a seven-branched Menorah, the table with twelve loaves, and the incense altar. The inner room has a low foundation stone and no Ark, following Yoma 5:2. These historically restricted areas are available for educational exploration. The source-based room counts and main dimensions are distinguished from interpretive furnishings, detailed layouts and modern level shortcuts. The Parva roof bath has a study shortcut; its basin design is interpretive. The underground immersion route is not reconstructed.
Tap a brass-ring marker or the nearby interaction button. In VR, point at a marker and press the trigger. Greet hosts in Yiddish, turn the cistern wheel, adjust a household lamp, examine the four species and explore object notes. The street and main rooms remain connected. A winding passage connects the porch to the upper chamber; its geometry is interpretive. Side levels and the upper chamber also have modern study shortcuts.
Place small stones in the children’s circle, open a storage jar to see grain, and replay drawing at Shiloach. The water has animated ripples, reflection, visible depth and moving light on the pool floor. Surface finishes and these everyday activities are artistic interpretations.
House and festival gathering
Enter a Jerusalem household from its open courtyard. Explore the living room, pottery storage, sleeping mats and cooking area. The house uses archaeological comparanda for its materials and household objects; its individual plan is interpretive.
The daytime public-court gathering carries complete four-minim sets: closed lulav, three myrtle sprigs, two willow sprigs and a separate etrog. Choose The four-minim gathering from Explore Jerusalem. The sukkah meals have bread, fruit, olives, dishes and cups, with finer material response and stitched cloth edges.
Take part in the scene
Open Menu → Festival activities to pass bread and pour a cup, help an arriving family, inspect pottery and baskets, take turns in the children’s stone game, follow the water ceremony, join three night dance circles, watch the four-minim demonstration, visit the household, or explore with a Yiddish-speaking Temple guide. The same choices work with a controller trigger in VR. Press Y to open the menu. Use the grip to hold an inspected object.
Festival places
Choose the mikvah, arriving pilgrims, the daytime water procession, or Simchas Beis Hashoevah at night from Explore Jerusalem. Children now play with small stones. Donkeys carry travelers and baggage along the outer approach. At night, dancers hold torches, musicians play by the steps, and lamps illuminate the court. This depicts a weekday of Chol Hamoed. The exact movements and layout are interpretive.
The water procession represents the Sukkot water brought from Shiloach; explore the stepped pool, vessel filling, compressed ascent, Water Gate, altar ramp and pouring. The five stages follow Mishnah Sukkah 4:9. Pool dimensions, street layout and animation are interpretive. Night music is an original instrumental arrangement.
Picture quality
In the headset
Push either thumbstick forward and hold it, aim at a clear floor, then release to teleport. Pull the stick back to cancel. Trigger or A selects. Grip holds an inspected object; release sets it down. Y opens the menu, X opens the map and B goes back. Turn physically, or enable 30° or 45° snap turning in Controls & comfort. Preferred hand, haptics, subtitles, markers, music and speech volume are saved on this device. Keep within your Quest safety boundary. Use the headset’s system controls to leave immersive VR.
On screen
Drag to look, use WASD or arrow keys to walk, or click the ground to teleport. Press E near an object to interact. On a touch screen, use the direction buttons or the location shortcuts.
Credits and source notes
Photographic surfaces and sky: Poly Haven, CC0. Human anatomy and skin: MakeHuman, CC0. Tunics: wdg, CC0. Long robe: MaciekG/MGgame, CC BY, combined with Donitz’s CC0 skirt. Hair: MakeHuman, CC0. Beards: grinsegold and Elvaerwyn, CC BY. Dress: Elvaerwyn, CC BY, fitted and animated for this scene. Garments are visual approximations, not archaeological reproductions.
Sukkot recording: Rafi Simcha, “Hoshanas Group,” CC BY 3.0; excerpted, normalized, and faded for playback. Street nigun: Nizzan Zvi Cohen, CC BY 4.0; normalized and faded. Instruments: FluidR3_GM via MIDI.js Soundfonts, CC BY 3.0. Yiddish speech and crowd ambience were generated for this scene; pronunciation has not been reviewed by a native speaker.
Full credits · Historical sources · Download a backup ZIP
Designed for Quest Browser. This browser build is not full photorealism or an installed Quest app. Choose Offline on Quest to save the complete scene in Quest Browser, then bookmark the download page. Once the download is verified, reopen that bookmark without internet. The ZIP is a backup; use the in-browser download to set up offline VR. Headset performance and controller behavior still need testing on a physical Quest 3.