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The Jewish holidaysShabbatShabbat, the Sabbath, is celebrated once a week. It is the day when God finished creating the earth and everything in it: "And God blessed the seventh day and declared it to be holy, because on it God ceased from all the work of creation that He had done." (Genesis 2:3) Shabbat starts on Friday evening at sundown and ends on Saturday night with the appearance of three stars (which is approximately 25 hours after it begins). Jews are commanded to "Remember the Sabbath day to make it holy" as part of the 10 Commandments that God gave to Moses and the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai. (Exodus 20:1-14) There are many laws regarding Shabbat but, generally, to make it holy means that more observant Jews do not work, drive or use electricity during the holiday. Jews who are less observant likely will not adhere to these restrictions but often may have a special Shabbat Friday night dinner, attend services or make Saturday a quiet day. Shabbat begins with the lighting of the candles, usually by the woman of the house, who recites a prayer over them thanking God for the light. There are also blessing said over the children (traditionally done by the father), and the blessings over the wine and bread (which are said before any meal). At synagogue, there are special Friday night services, called Kabbalat Shabbat. One of the first songs sung to welcome the Sabbath is Lecha Dodi, which welcomes the "Bride Sabbath" (the Jews being "married" to God). Every day ofthe week, there are three prayer services: shacharit (morning), minchah (afternoon) and ma'ariv (evening). On Saturday and certain holidays, there is an additional service added to the daily prayer schedule; it replaces the additional animal sacrifice that would have taken place on the Sabbath in Temple times. As well, at Saturday morning services, the rabbi, cantor or an educated lay person (over the age of 13) reads a section of the Torah (the Five Books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy) and a Haftorah (readings drawn from the writings of the prophets). The Torah is read on Shabbat morning and at services on Mondays, Thursdays and special festivals and holidays. Rosh HashanahRosh Hashanah (literally, Head of the Year) is one of the holidays which together make up the Days of Awe. Rosh Hashanah represents the beginning of a 10-day period of penitence in which people have time to reflect on the past year. This period begins at the sunset beginning Rosh Hashanah and ends 10 days later at one hour after sunset at the end of Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). These holidays are followed by Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) and Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah), and the four together comprise the High Holy Days. Rosh Hashanah is generally regarded as the New Year, however, it is really the spiritual New Year. The calendar year actually begins in the Hebrew month of Nisan, with the celebration the holiday of Passover (which commemorates the Israelites Exodus from Egypt in 1200 BCE). But, according to the Bible, as the seventh day of the week is holy (the Sabbath), so is the seventh month: "In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall be a solemn rest unto you, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of horns, a holy convocation. Ye shall do no manner of servile work...." (Leviticus 23: 24-25) The ram's horn (shofar) has been used since biblical times to call people to prayer or to announce great events. It is said that God hears the sound of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah and is reminded to open the Book of Life. According to tradition, everyone's destiny is written by God in the Book of Life. The righteous are inscribed into the Book of Life for a good life for the next year, the wicked are condemned to death and those who are "in between" have the Days of Penitence to redeem themselves. In addition to asking for forgiveness from God, people use the opportunity presented at this time of year to apologize to friends, relatives and others they may have neglectedor who they have hurt. Traditions include the sending of cards, going to synagogue and dining with family at home to break the fast of Yom Kippur. Typical food are apples and honey (for a sweet year), round challah bread (symbol of continuity), brisket, chicken soup, tzimmes [a stewed mixture of fruit or vegetables] and honey cake. Rosh Hashanah falls sometime in September or October, in the Jewish month of Tishri. (The Jewish calendar follows both the lunar and solar cycle, each month beginning with the new moon, rather than the Gregorian calendar that people follow today and which is based solely on the sun.) Yom KippurYom Kippur (Day of Atonement, Sabbath of Sabbaths) takes place at the end of the period of repentance which begins with Rosh Hashanah and is regarded as the holiest day of the year. (See Leviticus 23:26-32.) Yom Kippur is one of six fast days of the Jewish year (Yom Kippur, Fast of Esther, Fast of Gedaliah, Fast of the 10th of Tevet, Fast of the 17th of Tammuz and Fast of the Ninth of Av). The fast runs from sundown on the eve of Yom Kippur until one hour past sunset the next day. On Yom Kippur, tradition calls for people to abstain from eating and drinking, having sex, bathing, wearing leather shoes or accessories. The idea is to concentrate solely on devotion and contrition. People believe that heaven opens and all the prayers reach God directly. This is why one spends almost the whole day in synagogue. The erev Yom Kippur (the night before the day of the holiday) service begins with the Kol Nidre (All Vows) prayer, which acknowledges the weakness of human beings to keep their resolve. One aspect of the Kol Nidre liturgy is the communal confessional, the Viddui, which is repeated often during the services on the eve and day of Yom Kippur: "We abuse, we betray, we are cruel...." A memorial service, called Yizkor, takes place during the day as well. During this service, people recite prayers in memory of their friends, family and fellow congregants who have passed away, as well as for the martyrs who have died for the sanctification of God's name and for those who were killed in the Holocaust. Yom Kippur services end with the Ne'ilah (from the Hebrew, "to lock") service, symbolizing that the Book of Life has been closed until next year. Traditionally, there is a large meal after Ne'ilah that breaks the fast. SukkotThe Harvest Festival,Sukkot, is celebrated for a whole week and starts on the full moon of the Hebrew month of Tishri, which usually falls in September or October. (See Leviticus 23:33-43.) Sukkot is also know as the Feast of Tabernacles, a reference to the tabernacles built in the desert by the ancient Jews on their way from Egypt to the land of Israel. To celebrate the holiday, people build a sukkah (plural, sukkot) outside the synagogue or in their yards at home. A sukkah is a hut, a temporary structure with three sides and a roof made of branches or another material, such that the sky is visible from within. The sukkah must be big enough so that one can stand or sit inside of it. The whole thing is decorated with hanging fruits and vegetables. While sitting in these sukkot, people reflect upon the fragility of nature and think about their ancient ancestors wandering in the desert, after their Exodus from Egypt and before they set foot in the land of Israel. On each of the seven days of celebration, one of the great biblical ancestors -- Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Rebekah and others -- is said to join in as an invisible, mystical guest. It is customary to eat meals in the sukkah rather than in your home that week -- weather permitting. Families usually invite other people to join them for the festival meals. The two most important symbols during Sukkot are the etrog and the lulav; they represent the agricultural aspect of the holiday. The etrog is a lemon-like fruit and the lulav is a green bouquet of palm frond, myrtle branch and willow bough. The basis for the palm and the willow is found in the Bible: "And ye shall take you on the first day the fruit of goodly trees, branches of palm trees and boughs of thick trees and willows of the brook, and ye shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days." (Leviticus 23:40) The myrtle and citron are derived from rabbinic interpretations which are found in the Talmud (Oral Torah). In celebrating Sukkot, we hold the lulav and etrog in our hands and we say a blessing over them, shaking them in all directions to symbolize that God is everywhere. Some common foods served during this week are harvest casserole (which contains several vegetables), mandelbrot (bread cookies similar to Italian biscotti), cinnamon cookies, and carrot and sweet potato tzimmes. Simchat TorahSimchat Torah, the Joy of the Torah, is celebrated at the end of Sukkot. People celebrate the completion of the year's Torah reading: Genesis to the end of Deuteronomy constitute the Five Books of Moses, or the Torah. During the course of the year, the rabbi, cantor (musical leader of the synagogue service) or an educated member of the congregation reads from the Torah at services. Blessings are recited before and after each Torah reading, usually by someone from the congregation: the honor of chanting this blessing is called an aliyah (literally, a going up). At synagogue, prior to reading the final portion of Deuteronomy and the first portion of Genesis on Simchat Torah, all of the Torah scrolls are removed from the ark and paraded around the synagogue sanctuary in seven processionals (hakafot). During the hakafot, songs are sung and there is often dancing. After this, the Torah reading takes place under the chuppah, the wedding canopy. The person who reads the final portion is called the Chatan Torah (bridegroom of the Torah) or Kalat Torah (bride of the Torah) and the person who reads the first portion is called the Chatan Bereishit (bridegroom of Genesis) or Kalat Bereishit (bride of Genesis). Symbolically, the relationship between God and the Jewish people is that of a husband and wife, with the Torah as the marriage contract (ketubah). Children get deeply involved in this ceremony by carrying flags and miniature Torahs. At synagogue, children are called up to the sanctuary bimah (stage) and have a prayer said over them by the rabbi; sometimes a prayer shawl (tallit) is held over them as the blessing is recited. If the children are still in kindergarten or Hebrew school, this day also represents a kind of welcoming to the religious school. They often receive new Jewish books to start a successful year. After finishing the traditional service, everybody dances, eats, drinks and listens to music. ChanukahThe story of Chanukah (Festival of Lights, Dedication) is recounted in the Book of the Maccabees, which is part of the Apocrypha (the books that didn't make it into the Bible). In 168 BCE, Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria and ruler of the land of Israel, prohibited the Jews from practising their religion. The Temple was destroyed and a small group of Jews (the Maccabees), led by Mattathias and his sons, rebelled, defeating the Syrian forces after a three-year war. In 165 BCE, Judah the Maccabee (Hammer), one of Mattathias's sons, rededicated the Temple. The victory over the Syrians is commemorated by Chanukah, an eight-day celebration, because it took that long to find the oil needed for the Eternal Flame that hangs above the ark, in which the Torah is kept. The miracle of lights is that, when the Maccabees first returned to the Temple, they could only find enough pure olive oil to light the Eternal Flame for one day. However, that small vial burned for the needed eight days. Chanukah starts in the evening on the 25th of Kislev, which usually falls in late November or in December, with the lighting of the first candle. All together the traditional Chanukah menorah (candleholder), which is called a chanukiyah, has eight candles which are going to be lighted, from left to right, in the course of the following eight nights. There is also an additional candle, called the shammes (helper) -- this candle is used to light the others. While the candles burn, people think about the importance of each new day and sing songs such as "Maoz Tzur" ("Rock of Ages") or "I Had a Little Dreidel." Like the Shabbat candles, the Chanukah candles are left to burn until they go out by themselves -- no one should blow them out or use them as a light source to read. The candles are only meant for the celebration of the holiday and should be placed near a window, to signify to others the household's pride in being Jewish. Presents for Chanukah have become common over the years, with a small gift being given to children on each night of the festival. However, traditionally, the only gifts consisted of small amounts of gelt (money, or chocolate coins). What Jews typically eat at Chanukah are potato pancakes called latkes and jelly doughnuts (sufganiyot). As well, dishes cooked in oil are encouraged -- to celebrate the miracle of the oil found in the Temple. To create an atmosphere of joy, one does storytelling, musical concerts and games for children like the "human dreidel (spinning top)" where children spin till they drop -- the last one standing is the winner and receives a prize. Tu B'ShevatTu B'Shevat (literally, the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat) is the "New Year" for the trees, and is a minor Jewish holiday. Once a nature festival -- and today often celebrated as a Jewish Earth Day -- Tu B'Shevat reminds Jews of two commandments. First, farmers are required to give away a tithe (one-tenth) of all their crops grown during the year to those who are more needy. Second is that people are prohibited from eating the fruit of a tree until the fourth year after planting. The focus of the celebration is the environment, both locally and in Israel. Planting trees in Israel is one tradition. Another is the Tu B'Shevat seder (literally "order," but entails a meal). Not to be confused with the Passover seder, the Tu B'Shevat "menu" focuses on foods and fruits grown in Israel, especially carob, nuts, raisins, figs and almonds. PurimPurim takes place on the 14th day of the month of Adar, usually in February or March. During this day, Jews remember the deliverance of their ancestors in Persia from the evil Haman. According to the Book of Esther, there was a thriving Jewish community in the time of King Ahasuerus, who banished his wife for refusing to do his bidding. He then held a beauty pageant to choose a new wife, and picked Esther, a Jew and a cousin to Mordechai. Haman was Grand Vizier to the king and, as such, he demanded that everyone bow to him, which is something that Mordechai would not do (since Jews will only bow down to God). The name Purim is derived from the Hebrew word pur, which means lots (as in lottery). Because Mordechai would not bow to Haman, Haman cast lots to pick the day when to slaughter the Jews. But Esther and Mordechai managed to foil Haman's plan by telling the king that his queen would be killed as well, as she was Jewish, and it was Haman, his family and followers who ended up going to the gallows. To honor Esther's bravery and to commemorate the day on which the Persian Jews were supposed to have been killed by Haman, the 13th of Adar is Fast of Esther. On Purim, the next day, people eat a festive meal in the late afternoon and nibble on special treats such as hamantashen, three-cornered pastries filled with dates or poppy seeds, that are said to resemble Haman's hat or his ears. Jews are supposed to drink to excess this night, until they cannot differentiate between Mordechai and Haman (good and evil), so that we are in a state in which things are not necessarily as they appear. This parallels somewhat the appearance vs. reality aspects of the story of Purim: the seemingly powerful king who was manipulated by those around him, the apparently powerful Haman whose plan failed, the quiet queen who saved her people, etc. There is no commandment for Jews to refrain from work on Purim. The main duty (mitzvah) is to read the Megillah -- the Story of Esther -- drowning out the name Haman with groggers (noisemakers) or foot stamping each time it is mentioned. Also for the holiday, people exchange food gifts, (dried) fruit or cookies among friends and neighbors. And, there is an obligation to give gifts to at least two needy people, such as money, clothing or food. The part that is probably the most fun for children on this day is dressing up in costumes. They wear masks or costumes, usually representing a character of the story of Esther. Some communities also perform shpiels (comical plays) to commemorate how Esther and Mordechai saved the Jewish people. PesachPesach, or Passover, commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and, therefore, is also called the Festival of Freedom. It begins on the eve of the 15th day of the month Nisan, which usually falls around March or April. (See Leviticus 23:5-8.) It lasts for eight days and gives people time to remember the delivery of the Israelites from slavery in 1200 BCE. During Passover, families eat matzah (unleavened bread). Matzah is also called the bread of affliction, because it was eaten by the Israelite slaves in Egypt. As well, when the Israelites escaped from Egypt, there was no time to let the dough rise, so they simply took it with them and used the heat of the desert to bake it there. The result was a flat, crisp, unleavened bread, which became one of the main parts of the holiday each year. It is traditional on Passover to clean the home and to remove all of the food with leaven and to not eat any product made with leaven for the entire holiday. The night before the holiday begins, everyone looks for hidden crumbs by candlelight and cleans out the chametz (leaven) by using a feather. A family will sell its leaven to their rabbi who will, in turn, sell it to a non-Jew. After Passover, the leavened products can be bought back. Also for Passover, an observant Jewish family will change its dishes (those for milk, meat and pareve (dietetically neutral food, neither milk nor meat) -- in Orthodox or kosher homes, there are three sets of dishes because milk and meat must not be eaten together) to ones special for Passover in that they have not come into contact with any leavened products. On the first or first two nights of Passover, each family has a ceremonial meal at home, called the seder, which literally means, order. On the table, there is the matzah and the cover for it, together with the seder plate including: zeroah, a shank bone of a lamb, to remind us of our ancestors, their rituals and that God took the Jewish people out of Egypt; betzah, a roasted egg, which symbolizes new life; maror, bitter herbs (horseradish), to recall the harshness of slavery; saltwater, representing the salty tears of the slaves; karpas, a green vegetable, standing for springtime; charoset, a sweet paste of fruit, wine and nuts, to represent the mortar used for the bricks that were made by the enslaved Israelites for the Egyptians. The order of the seder is laid out in a book called the Haggadah. The first step of the dinner is the lighting of the candles, the blessing and the ceremonial hand-washing. Then the story of the Exodus from Egypt is told, an abridged version of the one that appears in the biblical Book of Exodus, but one that includes the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea. The four questions, usually posed by the youngest child, are next: Why do we eat only matzah and no bread on this night? Why do we eat bitter herbs on this night? Why do we dip our food in saltwater twice on this night? Why do we recline when we eat on this night? For the answers to these questions, one must attend the seder. The ceremony also runs through the 10 plagues that God delivered upon Pharaoh to help him decide to let the Israelites go. And, the seder includes the opening of the door for Elijah (the prophet who is supposedto herald the coming of the Messiah). The meal traditionally ends with everyone saying together, "Next year in Jerusalem!" Yom HashoahYom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day, takes place on the 27th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, 12 days after the start of Passover. Observance of Yom Hashoah generally comprises public commemoration ceremonies that include testimony from Holocaust survivors, poems, prayers and psalms. In Israel, on this day, a two-minute siren blast sounds through the country and people stop whatever they are doing for a moment of silence. Yom Ha'atzma'ut and Yom HazikaronYom Ha'atzma'ut, Israel Independence Day, is on the 5th of the Hebrew month of Iyar, which corresponds to May 14, 1948, the date that Israel became a state. Celebrations include community events at synagogues, concerts, parties, etc. The day before Yom Ha'atzma'ut is Yom Hazikaron (Remembrance Day), on which the people who died defending Israel are honored. Lag B'OmerLag in Hebrew means 33, the omer is an ancient measure of grain. Lag B'Omer is the 33rd day in the counting of the Omer, the 49-day journey from the Exodus (celebrated at Passover) to Mt. Sinai, where the Jewish people received the Torah on Shavuot. The 49-day period is considered a step-by-step preparation to receive the Torah. It is a period of semi-mourning usually for the first 33 days of the period, until Lag B'Omer. The m |
