Shabbat

Shabbat or Sabbath is a day of rest that is celebrated every week beginning on Friday evening at sunset and ends the following evening after nightfall.

Can you imagine a wedding without a bride or a holiday table without a central decorative piece sitting as the crown on the table? It’s the same with Shabbat. It’s the central jewel of the week. When you enter Sabbath, your soul along with the day becomes vibrant and alive, as if you had entered the presence of a Queen.

Keeping Sabbath is a commandment from the Torah.

“Remember the Sabbath day to make it holy. You may work during the six workdays and do all your labor, but the seventh day is the Sabbath to G-d your Lord, do not do any manner of work” (Exod.20:8)

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish Year. It begins at sundown on the eve of the month of Tishrei and ends on the following day after nightfall.

The main idea of Rosh Hashanah is that our G-d is our King, who created the world and Adam and Eve. The birthday of the world and of the first humans are strongly intertwined with a period of repentance. We may spend more time celebrating Rosh Hashanah at the synagogue than at home. It’s a beautiful time when we listen to the sound of the shofar (the ram’s horn) at synagogues around the world. And at home, we greatly enjoy eating round challah bread, with apples dipped in honey.

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur means the Day of Atonement. It begins shortly after Rosh Hashanah, on the 10th of the month Tishrei. Essentially, Yom Kippur is a day when those who did not have a chance to repent before Rosh Hashanah to ask for forgiveness.

The whole day is absolutely beautiful and spiritually meaningful. Often, people spend most of the day at the synagogue with a gorgeous service. Traditionally, Yom Kippur is treated more like a day of Shabbat, a day of rest from work, rather than a festive celebration.

SUKKOT

Shortly after Yom Kippur, we celebrate Sukkot. It begins on the 15th of Tishrei. Sukkot translates to “Festival of Booths”. It lasts a whole week when we build a hut (sukkah) and make it our home for seven days!

The practice of building a temporary dwelling has come to us from ancient times. One tradition says that we built the shelters during the harvest time when workers would live in temporary shelters/sukkot in the fields.

This is an important holiday. As Torah says: “You shall celebrate the festival of ingathering, at the end of the year, when you gather in your labor out of the field” (Exodus 23:16)

Sukkot is also called a season of rejoicing! In the time of the Temple, pilgrims from all over Israel would come to Jerusalem to observe this wonderful, joyous, and colorful holiday.

CHANUKAH

Chanukah is the eight-day festival of lights.  It happens around December. Chanukah is mostly translated as “Dedication”. It connects to the rededication of the temple after the war between the Greek Empire and the Jewish people. Then a miracle occurred!  Shortly after Judah Maccabees and his followers liberated Jerusalem and reclaimed the temple, they could find only one small clay bottle of oil, enough to last only one day. And when they lit the temple Menorah using this small amount of pure oil, the Menorah burned for eight days. Since that time, we have celebrated the miracle of light, our independence, and our dependence on G-d, and we remember the Maccabees and their successful fight for liberation.

TU B’SHVAT

My dear Reader, I have to tell you that there are four New Year’s within the Jewish calendar. Tu B’Shvat is one of them. Tu B`Shvat means “The 15th of the month of Shevat”.

In Israel, by the month of Shevat, which is around the end of January on the Gregorian calendar, most of the winter rain has fallen and the sap inside of the trees starts rising to life to form the future fruits. This holiday is also called the New Year of the Trees.

Purim

Purim is the most merrymaking holiday in our calendar.  The joyous spirit of Purim begins at sundown on the 14th of the month of Adar and translates as “Lots” in plural form.

The name of this holiday came from Persia. When our enemy Haman used a “lot” (“pur”) to decide when to destroy the Jewish people. The lot fell on the month of Adar.

One custom for this holiday is to read the entire Book of Esther.  I highly recommend this, if you have never done so, or if it has been a while.   It is a wonderful tale of the bravery of Queen Esther and her uncle, Mordechai. It is the book where the phrase, “for such a time as this” first appears.

During this holiday it is custom to increase our joy and participate in masquerades when you may be invited to a friend’s house or a big restaurant party! Even drinking a little too much wine is not discouraged.  It is a day of celebration!

Pesach

Pesach (Passover) – begins on the 15th of Nisan and continues for seven days (or 8 days, if you live outside of the land of Israel. The festival celebrates the liberation of Israel from Egyptian slavery.

“And I will take you to be My people, and I will be your G-d. And you shall know that I, the LORD, am your G-d who freed you from the labors of the Egyptians” (Exodus 6:7)

Passover’s name came from the book of Exodus.  The 10th and final plague which broke Pharaoh`s will happened when G-d’s angel passed over (Passover) the Israelites homes and struck down only the Egyptians firstborn males, both man and animal.

Ever since that ancient liberation, we gather on that night to remember and contemplate the meaning of being freed by the Mighty Hand of G-d.  Our law states that we are prohibited to eat during this week anything that might contain “chametz” – leavened grain, in remembrance of the flat and unleavened bread that the people of Israel ate on their last night in Egypt.

Shavuot

This holiday is often called the “Feast of Weeks”.  Usually, Shavuot takes place on the sixth day of the month of Sivan. Remember the people of Israel departed from Egypt on the 15th of Nisan and within the 7 weeks period celebrated the Festival of Shavuot as they gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai.

“You shall count off seven weeks; start to count the seven weeks when the sickle is first put to the standing grain. Then you shall observe the Feast of Weeks for the LORD you G-d, offering your freewill contribution according to as the LORD your G-d has blessed you” (Deuteronomy 16:9-10)

The seven weeks period also called the Omer period or Counting the Omer. The Omer’s one measure from the harvest offering.

The main idea of Shavuot to celebrate the most precious G-d`s gift to Jewish people, the giving of the Torah. The Torah is the central piece of so many generations of Jewish people of all times. Torah teaches us how to conduct ourselves in this world, how to love our neighbor and love our G-d. It’s our Divine Instruction for body, mind, and soul.

There are a few traditions within this Festival. One tradition is to stay up all the first night of Shavuot studying Torah. On the second night, there is a custom to read the whole Book of Psalms in honor of King David. It’s a beautiful custom! Another is to read the book of Ruth. There are customs of decorating synagogues and homes with green plants.  Also, we are to remember the first colorful fruits of the season. When we attend the synagogue service, there will be fragrant spices to pass around to remind us about spiritual growth and to awaken our souls.