Solar Calendar
 |
Orthodox Jews look
on at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. |
Judaism uses the lunar, calendar where each month of the
year begins with the new moon. Depending on this calendar,
a year may consist of twelve to thirteen months. Holidays
are always celebrated on the same day in the Jewish calendar.
Because the lunar calendar differs in length from the Gregorian
calendar used by most of the world, Jewish holidays occur
on different days in the Gregorian calendar. Change in years
occurs during the Jewish New Year in the seventh month. The
Jewish year is determined by the amount of years that have
passed since creation in the bible. The months of the Jewish
calendar are Nissan, Iyar, Sivan, Timmus, Av, Elul, Tishri,
Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar, and Adar II. Jews use
CE-common era and BCE before common era instead of time definitions
referring to Jesus.
Top
Shabbat
 |
Challah, the bread
in the background, is a yeast-leavened bread braided
or twisted and traditionally eaten by Jews on the Sabbath.
|
Shabbat is the celebration of the Jewish Sabbath. This observance
occurs weekly from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.
Shabbat is a day of rest where Jews are required to refrain
from work. Specifically, Jews cannot drive cars, turn on lights,
cook, watch television, etc. Shabbat is considered a gift
from God where the two commandments of zachor (to remember)
and shamor (to observe) create the ritual ceremony of the
Sabbath. On this day, Jewish families will participate in
large family dinners that include the lighting of special
candles and the recitation of prayers. The woman of the house
gives the traditional blessing when lighting Shabbat candles.
Some Jews attend Friday night services at their temple; others
will just worship at home. The Kiddush is recited over wine
along with the prayer for the challah (special bread). On
Saturday mornings Jews will attend services in temple. Orthodox
Jews will walk to temple even if it many miles away. Two more
meals follow temple services until Shabbat is broken at dusk.
There are different Shabbat prayers for each Sabbath during
the year. The Sabbath is considered the most important of
all Jewish observances.
Top
Rosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh is a minor holiday that celebrates the first
of the month. More observance of this holiday occurred in
ancient times when visual confirmation was needed to determine
the new moon. Before the mathematical calculation of the calendar,
this holiday was celebrated with festivals, the sounding of
the shofar, and sacrifices. The shofar is a ram’s horn
that is blown on different holidays as a call for repentance.
Jews have not performed sacrifices since the destruction of
the temple. Today, this holiday is seen as a women’s
holiday so some refrain from work for the day, men do not
participate.
Top
Rosh Hashanah
 |
A personalized Jewish
New Year's card in Polish and Hebrew with a photograph
of Estera Ajzen.
|
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year and known collectively
with Yom Kippur as high holy days. During this time of day,
the shofar will be blown in the temple, unless the Holiday
falls on Shabbat. Jews are required to refrain from work during
the New Year. Most synagogues will hold longer prayer services
using a separate prayer book known as the machzor for Rosh
Hashanah and Yom Kippur. It is tradition to eat bread or apples
dipped in honey to represent the New Year. This holiday is
a time to reflect on the sovereignty of God and mistakes or
wrongs committed during the year against others. Some Jews
will participate in a “casting off”-tashlikh by
walking to water and emptying their pockets to represent the
casting off of sins. Rosh Hashanah is celebrated for two days
everywhere in the world.
Top
Days of Awe
The days of awe, or the days of remembrance are the ten days
in between Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah. These days are dependent
on the idea that God keeps “books” detailing the
actions of individuals. These “books” can only
be altered during the Days of Awe for they will be sealed
on Yom Kippur. Teshuvah (repentance), tefilah (prayer), and
tzedakah (good deeds) are the only actions that can alter
what is written in the “books”. During this time,
Jews will seek reconciliation for wrongs they may have committed
against other people.
Top
Yom Kippur
 |
Stained glass image
depicting the blowing of the shofar during the High
Holy Days.
|
Yom Kippur is the holiest of all Jewish Holidays. Many non-observant
Jews will only attend temple services during Yom Kippur and
Rosh Hashanah. Known as the Day of Atonement, this holiday
involves fasting from sundown of the night prior to Yom Kippur
and sundown of Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur is celebrated for one
day everywhere in the world. Pregnant women in labor, young
children, and the infirm are not required to participate in
this fasting. Synagogue services are generally much longer
on this day and Jews are required to abstain from any form
of work. Depending on the level of observance of the Jew,
some may also abstain from wearing leather, washing/bathing,
and wearing makeup. Some Jews may wear white to symbolize
purity, and giving to charity is strongly encouraged during
this time of year. For the orthodox, prayers may begin very
early in the morning and last until the afternoon. After a
break, the orthodox Jew may return at night for more prayer.
Yom Kippur is a day when the dead are remembered. During services
there will be a special service known as the yizkor in which
the dead are memorialized and remembered. Special candles
know as yahrzeit are lit in the homes of Jews who have lost
family members. Depending on the synagogue, the yizkor may
be included in the main liturgy. Many reform temples will
make the yizkor an optional service that is held after the
main prayers have been performed. A blast from the shofar
signals the end.
Top
Sukkot
 |
Stained glass window
commemorating the Sukkot holiday.
|
The holiday of Sukkot commemorates the harvest and the 40
years the Children of Israel spent wandering in the desert.
No work is permitted on the first two days of Sukkot. Sukkot
occurs the fifth day after Yom Kippur and lasts for seven
days. This holiday involves the building of a sukkah. Literally
Sukkot translates to “booths” or “huts.”
Sukkah can be built out of many different materials with dried
leaves, and fruits hung on the inside. The roof of the sukkah
is created from something that was living. Many Jews will
relate the decorating of a sukkah to the decorating of a Christmas
tree by Christians. During Sukkot, branches of etrog (citrus)
and a lulav (branches of myrtle, willow, and palm frond) are
waved in six directions to show that God is everywhere. These
branches are also used in temple services.
Top
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat
Torah
Shemini Atzeret is the eight-day of assembly following directly
after Sukkot and involves a special service in the temple.
Liberal Jews may combine this holiday with Simchat Torah.
Simchat Torah, know as the “joy of the Torah,”
includes the last Torah reading for the week followed directly
by Genesis. This holiday celebrates the Torah and sometimes
participants will unravel the Torah during celebrations. Simchat
Torah makes the beginning of the yontif Seder and in some
synagogues will also coincide with the beginning of a child’s
religious education. This holiday directly follows after Shemini
Atzeret and work is not permitted on either holidays.
Top
Chanukah
 |
Members of the Kladovo
transport lead a Chanukah candlelighting ceremony
at the Sabac refugee camp.
|
Chanukah is perhaps the most well known of Jewish holidays
although it is probably one of the least significant. Unlike
Passover, Chanukah does not have biblical roots. Also called,
the Festival of Lights, Chanukah lasts for 8 days and is a
commemoration of the revolt against assimilation and oppression.
During the reign of Alexander, Jews had become assimilated
into the Hellenistic culture losing some of their distinctly
Jewish identity. As this time passed, a tyrannical and power
hungry dictator Antiochus IV Epiphanes decided to not only
expel all of the Jews but to kill all of them. So, in a valiant
display of resistance, the Jews revolted and quashed the forces
of Antiochus IV. The more important part of the story, and
why Chanukah is celebrated, occurs after the victory of Jews
over Antiochus. Back in the Beit Hamikdash, or Holy Temple,
the Jews were faced with a new problem. The only kosher oil
that was available, as the other had been tainted, was only
enough to last one night. This posed a problem because it
was a commandment that the menorah in the Temple be lit every
night and allowed to burn until sunlight. Miraculously, the
oil lasted not just the one night but for eight days. Now,
in remembrance of this, the eight-day festival known as Chanukah
is celebrated with the lighting of candles on a menorah. The
menorah holds nine candles, eight at one level and the ninth,
the shammus, at a different height; the shammus is used to
light the other eight candles. Beginning the first night,
the first candle is placed on the far right of the menorah
and lit with the shammus, accompanied by prayers. Each night
another candle is added, from right to left, but are lit from
left to right, the newest being first. Latkes, or potato pancakes
are popular Chanukah foods as well as other fried foods due
to their being fried in oil. Children often receive gelt (money)
and play with a dreidel on this holiday. The dreidel is a
four-sided top with a Hebrew letter on each side.
Top
Purim
 |
Group portrait of children
dressed in Purim costumes.
|
The Purim holiday, falling roughly one month before Passover,
is possibly one of the least celebrated of the Jewish holidays.
During Purim, the book/scroll of Esther (the Megillah) is
read and recounts the story of Haman and his plans to annihilate
the Jewish people. In short, Esther reveals her Jewish identity
to her husband as well as Haman’s plot to kill all the
Jews and saves her people from Haman’s destructive plans.
Instead, Haman and his ten sons are hung on the gallows that
were prepared for the Jews. During the reading of the Megillah,
it is customary to boo and make noise whenever Haman’s
name is mentioned.
Purim is a time for celebration and giving. Concerning the
latter, it is customary during this holiday to give food and
drink to others as well as money to charity. The celebration
aspect involves wearing costumes and the Talmud suggests that
people should eat, drink, and be merry. This is the one holiday
where being slightly intoxicated is not a violation, as should
drink until he is unable to distinguish between ‘blessed
be Mordechai’ (Esther’s cousin) and ‘cursed
be Haman.’ Children often put on plays and the holiday
is, overall, a time of great joy and festivity. This celebratory
time is preceded by a minor fast, the Fast of Esther, in remembrance
of the three days she spent fasting before speaking to her
husband about the malicious plans of Haman. A popular food
eaten during this time by some Jews is Hamentaschen, a three
cornered pastry filled with fruit, that resembles the three
pointed hat that Haman was said to have worn.
Top
Passover
 |
A Jewish
family is gathered aroun the table during a Passover
Seder in their home in Vilna.
|
The most significant of Jewish holidays is Passover, or Pesach.
Passover begins on the 15th of Nissan and is the first of
three agricultural festivals. The concept behind Pesach is
to commemorate the flight from Egypt as recounted in the book
of Exodus. In short, as the last of the plagues were to strike
Pharaoh and the Egyptians, the Hebrews were told to smear
the blood of a lamb over their doorposts so it was known which
houses should be passed over. As the Hebrews then left Egypt,
they were in such a hurry that they did not have time for
their bread to leaven before leaving. Traditionally, this
seven-day festival is also known as the feast of unleavened
bread to commemorate this occurrence.
Before Passover begins, the entire house is cleaned of chametz,
or pieces of leavened bread. All chametz must be disposed
of or sold (it can be bought back once Pesach is over). The
more observant take this quite seriously and preparations
may begin weeks before the holiday begins. On the day before
Passover, there is a minor fast, Fast of the Firstborn set
out for the first born males of the family in thanks that
the firstborn Jewish males were spared during the plague.
The food most identified as being a Passover dish is matzah,
unleavened bread.
Top
Seder
 |
Passover Seder meal.
|
On the first night of Passover, a traditional symbolic meal,
the Seder, is prepared as a reminder to the importance of
the holiday. “Seder” is a Hebrew word that means
‘order’ because there is a specific set of information
to be discussed in a certain order. The text for the Seder
is called the Haggadah.
For more detailed information on the Passover Seder, please
follow the link:
http://www.jewfaq.org/holidaya.htm
Top
Shavuot
 |
Members of the Hehalutz
Zionist youth movement in Berlin celebrate the holiday
of Shavout.
|
Shavuot or the Festival of Weeks is the second of the three
agricultural festivals. There is a dual significance to the
celebration of this holiday, an agricultural and a religious.
Agriculturally, Shavuot was a time when the first fruits were
harvested in Israel and subsequently brought to the Temple,
a great cause for celebration. Religiously, Shavuot marks
the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people. This marked
the spiritual freedom of the Hebrews. Typically, the book
of Ruth is read and study of the Torah continues through the
whole of the first night. The most common of Shavuot food
traditions is to eat at least one dairy meal.
Top
Counting of the Omer
The Counting of the Omer refers to a commandment that says
that the days between the second night of Passover and the
day before Shavuot (see above) should be counted. During these
fifty days, there is a special blessing recited followed by
reciting what the count is in weeks and days. The purpose
of this is to link Passover with Shavuot. Passover celebrates
the physical freedom from bondage in Egypt and Shavuot celebrates
the giving of the Torah, the link between these is a reminder
of the relationship between freedom and enslavement as well
as the physical and the spiritual self. In addition to this
region, it has been said that there was a plague in the Middle
Ages during this time and thus was a cause for mourning. During
these seven weeks, there are to be no weddings or parties
of any kind as this is a remembrance of the tragedy befalling
the people. However, on the 33rd day of the Omer, or Lag B’Omer,
the restrictions are lifted because on this day there was
a relief in the plague. On this day, weddings and parties
are permitted.
Top
Tisha B'Av
One of the more important fast days on the Jewish calendar
is Tisha B’Av (the 9th of Av). This is a day of great
mourning for the countless tragedies that have befallen the
Jewish people on this day, including the destruction of both
the first and second Beit Hamikdash and the expulsion of the
Jews from Spain in 1492. There is a period of time between
the 17th of Tammuz, another minor fast, and Tisha B’Av
where weddings and parties are not permitted. During Tisha
B’Av, Lamentations is read and the ark in the synagogue
is draped in mourning.
Top
Tu B'Shevat
 |
Tu B'Shevat ("new
year of the trees") has become a Jewish arbor day
in Israel.
|
Tu B’Shevat, once considered a minor holiday, has its
own Shabbat service. This holiday is know as the “new
year of the trees” and in Israel has become a Jewish
arbor day. During this holiday, some people will donate money
for the planting of trees to the Jewish National Fund. Carob
is the traditional food and many Jews who are Ashkenazim Jews
will also eat fruit.
Top
Yom Atzamat
Yom Atzamat celebrates the establishment of the state of
Israel and is know as Israeli Independence day. Like most
independence days around the world, Yom Atzamat is commemorated
with parades, fireworks, and flag waving. On this day in New
York City, there is a special Israel Day Parade.
Top
Yom Yerushalayim
Yom Yerushalayim celebrates the reunification of the city
of Jerusalem in Israel after the Six Day war of 1967. Prior
to 1967 only half of the city of Jerusalem was part of the
state of Israel.
Top
Yom Hashoah
 |
Lighting cadles on
Yom Hashoah in Begrade, April 2001. In the background
- Yugoslavian president Dr. Vojislav Kostunica and Israeli
Ambassador Yoram Shami.
|
Yom Hashoah is known world wide as Holocaust Remembrance
Day. On this day, the 27th of Nissan, the six million Jews
who perished in the Holocaust are remembered. In Israel, all
public entertainment is closed and most citizens spend time
in their homes in darkness and silence to pay tribute to the
memory of those who died in the Shoah. In America, many museums,
military installations and public offices will have speakers
who talk about the Holocaust. It is traditional to light six
memorial candles in temples and homes to represent the six
million Jews.
Top
Consider the following:
1. How are holidays symbolic? Is this functional?
2. Consider reasons why the Jewish holidays might be misinterpreted.
3. Think of the reasons why history is so important to Judaism,
using the holidays as examples.
|
