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Holidays Rosh Hashanah The rabbi blows the shofar, or ram's horn, as part of the celebration of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are known as Yamim Nora'im, the Days of Awe. In English they are referred to as the High Holy Days. The shofar reminds us of the ram that was sacrificed in place of Isaac when G-d first forbade human sacrifice. Sukkot Sukkot is one of the three pilgrimage festivals (the others are Pesach and Shavuot). It is also called Chag Ha'asif, the Harvest Festival. During Sukkot we "dwell" in booths that represent temporary shelters, such as those our ancestors lived in during their forty years of wandering in the desert. It is not a coincidence that Sukkot resembles the American Thanksgiving holiday - the Pilgrims, before they came to America, dwelt among Sephardic Jews in Holland. When it came time to give thanks for a bountiful harvest, they consciously modeled their celebration on the Sukkot holiday Also during Sukkot we are commanded to take The Four Species and recite a blessing, waving the species in all directions ~ east, south, west, north, up, and down ~ to symbolize the fact that G-d is everywhere. The Four Species are also held during the Hallel prayer in services. Shavuot Shavuot is celebrated for two reasons. It is an agricultural festival, Yom Habikkurim, the Day of the First Ripe Fruits. It is also observed as Z'man matan toratenu, the anniversary of our people receiving the Ten Commandments at Sinai. The Book of Ruth is read on Shavuot, both because it takes place during the harvest season and because Ruth voluntarily chose Judaism and, because of her kindness, became the great-grandmother of King David. It is customary to decorate the home and synagogue with plants and flowers. Roses and ivy are among the traditional plants used. It is also customary to eat dairy foods, such as blintzes and cheesecake. Shavuot is the second of the three pilgrimage holidays (Pesach and Sukkot are the others). These were the holidays when Jews from all over the world converged on Jerusalem to bring offerings to the Temple. z'man matan toratenu is the Season of the Giving of our Torah. To remind us of this, and to show our eagerness to receive the Torah, we stay up all night and study Torah. This is called tikun leyl Shavuot. The Torah refers to Shavuot as hag ha'katzir, the feast of the harvest, hag hashavuot, the festival of weeks (Shavuot is celebrated exactly seven weeks after the second day of Passover), and yom habikkurim, the day of the first fruits. Simchat Torah Simchat Torah, which outside of Israel is the second day of Shemini Atzeret, means "rejoicing in the Torah". It is the day on which the reading of the Torah is completed, and begun again. It is a time of great joy. The scrolls of the Torah are removed from the Ark and carried seven times around the synagogue. As many people as possible are given the opportunity to carry the Torah. Tu B'Shevat Tu B'Shevat is the new year for calculating the age of trees. Fruit from trees grown in Israel may not be eaten during the first three years; the fourth year's fruit is G-d's; and after that, the fruit may be eaten. Each tree is considered to have aged one year as of Tu B'Shevat no matter when during the year it was planted. Tu B'Shevat is celebrated by planting trees and eating the fruits of the land of Israel. At a Tu B'Shevat seder, participants eat four different categories of fruit and drink four different combinations of red and white wine, symbolizing the four seasons and the mystical "four worlds." |
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