Jews gather together for a number of important holidays (sacred becoming a community). The holidays, festivals, and the Sabbath offer Jewish people a chance to set aside sacred time, (prayer and ritual). Almost the whole of Jewish history and teaching is embodied in its holidays/festivals — in which traditions are passed from one generation to the next by means of stories, actions, symbolic food, and singing. Most festival celebrations are based on the home and family, with the events of the past being re-enacted in a way that makes them meaningful to present-day life. In my essay, I have discussed the holidays I was most interested in, which are the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the Days of Awe), two of the three pilgrimage festivals (Sukkot and Passover), and Hanukkah.
One way that that Jewish people are able to set aside sacred time, is by having a second, ritual calendar, one that is distinctly different from the one that governs their secular (earthly) lives. The Jewish calendar is lunar, regulated by the cycles of the moon unlike our secular (solar) calendar, which is based on the movement of the earth around the sun. By having a ritual calendar, it forces Jewish people to think in a deliberate manner about the coming of the holidays, about God’s will, and reminds them of the important aspects of their religion.
All Jewish holidays begin the evening before the date specified on most calendars. This is because the Jewish “day” begins at sunset, rather than at midnight. Why? In Genesis 1:2-5 we are told that first there was darkness and then there was light, and this is described as the first day. From this, Judaism infers that a day begins with the evening (sunset). Holidays end at nightfall of the date specified on most calendars, about an hour after sunset. THE HIGH HOLIDAYS (beginning of the religious year)
Rosh Hashanah is considered the Jewish New Year, but in the Jewish calendar it falls at the beginning of the seventh month (September/October) and is the busiest time of the year for Jewish people. The ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur are the “Days of Awe” or “Ten Days of Repentance.” One of the ongoing themes of the Days of Awe is the concept that God has books that he writes names in, writing down who will live and who will die, who will have a good life and who will have a bad life, who will be happy and who will be sad – for the next year.
These “books” are written in on Rosh Hashanah, but actions during the Days of Awe can alter God’s decree. The actions that change the decree are repentance, prayer, and good deeds (usually charity). These books are sealed on Yom Kippur. This concept of writing in books is the source of the common greeting during this time “May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year.”
Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) is observed for two days. Work is not permitted and much of the day is spent in synagogue (a Day of Remembrance). Rosh Hashanah marks the start of a ten-day period of spiritual self-examination and repentance, which culminates with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. A few important customs observed during this time are:
1.The tradition of eating honey-dipped apples (thank God for creating the fruit of the trees and symbolizes the desire for a sweet year).
2.A centuries-old custom called tashlich (casting off). During the first day of Rosh Hashanah people meet near a body of water. There, after reciting certain verses, they empty their pockets (generally bread crumbs) into the water, thereby symbolically “emptying their sins”. This is one of those ceremonies steeped in tradition. The custom is based on the words of the prophet Micah: “You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).
3.The High Holidays are marked by the blowing of the shofar, a wind instrument made from the horn of a ram. The Torah (Numbers 29) calls for the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah. Because it is commanded that the shofar be blown, Jews have an associated obligation to hear it blown. The sounds of the shofar have great historical significance. The shofar was blown in the original temple, used during times of war, and most importantly, when Moses received the Law on Mount Sanai: On the morning of the third day there was thunder and lightning, as well as a thick cloud on the mountain, and a blast of a trumpet so loud that all of the people who were in the camp trembled. (Exodus 19:16).
The most striking aspect of Rosh Hashanah services is the sounding of the shofar. Jewish chaplains at hospitals will go room-to-room to make sure patients hear the sounds. Others will visit the homebound, elderly, or sick to sound the shofar in their homes. It is a sign of God’s mercy, a call to repentance, and a reminder of the Jewish people’s covenant with God at Sanai. This is the biblical injunction for the celebration of Rosh Hashanah: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall observe a sacred occasion. You shall not work at your occupations. You shall observe it as a day when the shofar is sounded (Numbers 29:1)
Yom Kippur is the Jewish Day of Atonement, a day of fasting and repentance to reconcile a person with the Creator for the mistakes made in the past year. This is the busiest day of the year for the synagogues and the holiest day of the year. For nearly 26 hours, Jewish people “afflict their souls” by:
1.Abstaining from food/drink – penance for wrongdoings, a display of self-discipline, and to focus on spiritual (God and the sacred); 2.Abstaining from washing/anointing their bodies – washing for pleasure is forbidden 3.Abstaining from wearing leather footwear or jewelry – worshipping God, not things (wear white, symbolizing purity) 4.Praying in a synagogue most of day – develops a feeling of community and involves confession and breast beating 5.Abstaining from marital relations – focus on repentance
This day is the most solemn of the year, but an undertone of joy revels in the spirituality of the day. The evening ends with a special service, song and dance. It is followed by a single blast of the shofar and the proclamation, “Next year in Jerusalem,” and then a festive after-fast meal. Following Yom Kippur, one should begin to prepare for the festival of Sukkot, five days later, by building a sukkot (temporary hut). PILGRIMAGE FESTIVALS (Sukkot and Passover)
Sukkot is a biblical holiday and has dual significance: historical and agricultural. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert and a reminder God protected them until they made it back to their promised land. Building/decorating the sukkot is one of the great family endeavors — a joyous act of preparations for a joyous celebration.
Many Jews will make a party of sukkot-building/decorating, inviting friends and neighbors to help. The biblical injunction is for Jews to live in the sukkot for the duration of the holiday, but most modern Jews try to eat some or all of their meals in this hut. As we have seen, Judaism is a religion of community and of communal worship. Agriculturally, the “Sukkot Festival” is a harvest festival. No work is permitted on the first/second day of the holiday. Observances: •Building, dwelling , and eating in a hut or booth
•Inviting people over for community interaction •Supporting a local homeless shelter •Collecting food and clothing for the needy •Waving branches and a fruit during services (observance of fall harvest) A passage in George Robinson’s book Essential Judaism, explains the symbolism of the sukkot. Ultimately, the sukkot is a multi-faceted symbol. Like many of the items specific to this holiday, it links Jews back to their agriculture roots and at the same time reminds Jewish people of their reliance on the will of God in a hostile world. The sukkot is open to the elements, temporary, insubstantial; in short, it provides little real shelter. Ultimately, we must look overhead to heaven, when we are seeking true shelter.
Passover— biblical holiday occurs in the spring (beginning of the civil calendar when historically, certain crops were harvested). It is a wonderful Jewish holiday. During this week long festival (7-8 days) families and friends gather to read the story of Jewish exodus and to relive the triumph of freedom and subsequent years 40 years of wandering in the desert. Additionally, it is marked by a major (and demanding) change in diet. The The Bible and the Talmud tell the Jewish people that any product that is leavened or fermented may not be consumed during the holiday (this includes bread, cake, cookies, beer, liquor, pasta, cereal, and products made from flour).
It is a tradition to invite guests and the house has to be scoured and inspected for any traces of leavened products (special prayers accompany these procedures). Passover represents several things:
1.The Passover Seder, for every generation, can be the most profound means of identifying/committing a person to defeating that which menaces their personal/national freedom (the haggadah retells, while you reenact the liberation of the Jews from bondage; you tell your own hardships/struggles with gaining freedom
2.Passover is a season of renewed hope — it is full of rituals that help a person overcome despair, celebrate spiritual rebirth, and physical renewal – soul that has been healed or is in process of healing
3.Season for family and friends – from preparing your house for the festival (spring cleaning), shopping (for food /decorations for the Seder celebration), sitting next to family and friends (sharing memories of past year), tasting and smelling delicious foods (matzah balls (unleavened bread)wine), to dipping your finger in the wine glass during the recitation of the ten plagues
4.A time to remember those who have died, gotten married, been born and to create new memories of family
5.Passover is a bridge between the past/present – many non-Jews relate to (the concept of exodus from bondage)
The high point of Passover is the Seder meal eaten in the home the first evening of the festival. The Seder meal recalls in words and symbols the departure of the Israelites from Egypt. The various Seder plates have sections of symbolic foods: •Bitter herbs (horseradish – recalls bitterness of slavery) •Lamb’s shank bone stand for ritual sacrifice
•Roasted hard-boiled egg – commemorate destruction of First/Second Temples •Salt water represents the Israelites’ tears •Mixture nuts, fruits, cinnamon, and wine or juice – symbolic of the mortar used by Jewish slaves in performing hard labor •Dry cracker’s – (matzah) is eaten to show humility/recall the haste of the Israelite’s flight from Egypt HANUHAK – (Rabbinic Holiday Marking Ancient Miracles)
Hanukkah (or Chanukah) – usually between Thanksgiving and Christmas is the festival of lights. Although Hanukkah is the only major holiday that has no basis in the Bible, it is the best documented of all Jewish holidays. It story is so simple yet so powerful it cannot fail to captivate a young child. In 168 B.C.E. a small group of Jews, led by Judah “The Maccabee,” rebelled against Greek culture forced on them by the Syrian rulers. They refused to submit to The King of Syria who had outlawed many Jewish practices and placed idols in the Temple of Jerusalem.
The Maccabees fought a guerilla warfare and drove them out of the land. They then, rededicated the Temple to Jewish worship. They hoped to celebrate for 8 days, but only had enough oil to light lamps for one day. Miraculously, the one-day supply of oil lasted for eight days . The miracle of oil is commemorated with this eight-day candle lighting holiday. Jews light an eight-branched menorah (candelabra) during Hanukkah and sometimes give gifts to each other in memory of God’s gifts to the Maccabees.
Festivals are the backbone of the Jewish faith in that they reflect Jewish history and its teachings. Traditions are passed from one generation to another both orally and theatrically by the playing out of stories, actions, symbolic food, and singing (both joyful and sorrowful). In my opinion, Jews retain a link to the past and a hope for the future by keeping their traditions alive through the generations. From doing this research essay, I know have a much better understanding of the Jewish holidays and rituals involved with them.
