The High Holidays

The High Holidays are also referred to as the Days of Awe.  They begin with Rosh Hashannah and last for ten days and conclude with Yom Kippur.  It is a time of self-reflection and making amends to others in your life you have wronged. 

Rosh Hashannah is the new year in the Jewish calendar.  It is a time for family gatherings and festive meals.  It is often symbolized with apples and honey and Jews wish each other a sweet new year.  Spiritually, it is the beginning of the time of introspection and seeking forgiveness for sins against others.

Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement.  It is a day spent fasting and in prayer.  The day is divided into three main services:  Kol Nidre on the night before, Yom Kippur Service and Ne’eilah.  The theme of the prayers are to recognize the individuals imperfections and to begin work to change the behavior.

Major Festivals (the Pilgrimage Festivals)

The Pilgrimage festivals were marked in ancient times when people would travel to the principle temples for sacrifices.  These days are holy days and like Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur would be days of no work and observant Jews would attend services.

Sukkot literally means booths.  At Sukkot, Jews are commanded to build a temporary structure and reside in it.  For a sukkah, the singular of sukkot, to be kosher, properly made,  it must come down in a strong wind storm.  It is also important to invite others to join you in the sukkah .   It is symbolized  with the first fruits of the harvest.  The last two days of Sukkot are Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Shemini Atzeret means the eighth day.  The theme of the day is prayers for rain and a good harvest.

Simchat Torah means the blessing of the Torah.  This holiday celebrates the year spent reading the Torah.  On this festival day, the very end of Numbers is read, followed immediately with the first verses of Genesis

Pesach or Passover is probably known to most people through the many movie accounts of it.  For observant Jews, it is also called the Festival of Matzah.  Matzah is the unleavened bread that Jews eat for the eight days of Pesach.  The days previous to Pesach are spent cleaning the house of all grain and grain products and then cooking the meals that will be part of the Seder.  Seder actually means order.  There is an exact order to the topics that are to be discussed and taught at a Seder, but within that framework there is a great deal of personalizing and individual traditions that can be at the meal. 

            The Omer which means sheaths of wheat  The days are then counted symbolically with these sheaves until there are 49.  The counting begins on the second night of Pesach and ends on Shavu’ot.

 Shavu’ot also has a literal meaning; it means weeks.  It is seven weeks after Pesach.  It commemorates when the Jews were given the Torah at Sinai.  The Book of Ruth is read and it is a time for study and deepening one’s commitment to one’s Judaism.

 Tisha B’Av is the second major fast day of the year.  It is a commemoration of the destruction of the Temples.  Lamentations are read at the evening service.

 Minor Festivals

Channukah despite its proximity to Christmas is actually a very minor festival in the Jewish liturgical year.  It is the Festival of Lights and the Channukah menorah, the channukiah is lit on each of the eight nights. 

Tu B'Shevat is an environmental holiday.  It is celebrated by planting trees both here and in Israel and eating fruits and grains.

Purim is the celebration of saving of the Jewish people in Babylonia by Queen Esther from the evil Haman.  This is a very joyous festival with costumes, plays and gifts to friends

Yom HaShoah is Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Yom Hazikaron is Israeli Remembrance Day.  It is generally only observed in Israel.

Yom Ha’Atzmaut is Israeli Independence Day.  There are special prayers and readings for services for this day.

Lag B’omer the 33^rd day of the Omer, see under Pesach.  It is rumored to be in celebration of a military victory by some and others say it marked the end of a plague. 

 Yom Yerushalayim celebrates the reunification of the city of Jerusalem after the Six Days War.

 Minor Fast Days

Fast of Gedaliah is in commemoration of the assassination of Gedaliah ben Achikam, the Jew appointed to govern Israel after the fall of the first Temple.

 Fast of Tevet marks the beginning of the seize of Nebuchadnezzer.

 Fast of Esther is in honor of Esther’s time of fast and prayer before she plead for the life of the Jews.

 Fast of the First Born is the reminder of the last of the Ten Plagues of Egypt before the Jews were released. 

 Fast of Tammuz is for the division of Jerusalem. 

Rosh Chodesh is the festival of the new moon.  It is observed monthly but not a chag or holy day.

Holidays and their equivalent Gregorian dates

THE JEWISH DAY BEGINS AT SUNSET OF THE PREVIOUS DAY.  For example, Pesach 5767 begins on April 3, 2007, but the observance of the holiday would begin at sunset on April 2^nd.

Holidays in RED are observed for eight days.  For Pesach, the first two and the last two days are considered holy days and chagim customs should be observed.  Channukah is also eight days.  Channukah is  considered a festival and not a holy day.  Sukkot is an eight day holiday with Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah being the last two days of the eight.  For Sukkot, one would observe the chagim customs for the first two days and also the last two of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah.

Holidays in BLUE are two day holidays in Diaspora – anywhere but Israel.

Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av are major fast days.  Observant Jews fast for 26 hours. Yom Kippur is a holy day.  Tisha B’Av albeit important is not a major holiday.

Minor fasts are observed with a sunrise to sunset fast on that day.