Jewish
Holidays
The Jewish Months
and their Special Dates[1]
Jewish Month
|
Approximate Secular Date
|
This Month’s Special Dates
|
Nissan
|
March–April
|
Passover
|
Iyar
|
April–May
|
Lag
B’Omer
|
Sivan
|
May–June
|
Shavuot
|
Tammuz
|
June–July
|
|
Menachem Av
|
July–August
|
Tisha
B’Av
|
Elul
|
August–September
|
|
Tishrei
|
September–October
|
The
High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), Sukkot, Shmini Atzeret, and
Simchat Torah
|
Marcheshvan
|
October–November
|
|
Kislev
|
November–December
|
Chanukah
|
Tevet
|
December–January
|
Conclusion
of Chanukah
|
Shevat
|
January–February
|
Tu
B’Shvat
|
Adar
|
February–March
|
Purim
|
The Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar and therefore based on the phases
of the moon. Since many of the Jewish holidays are mentioned in the New
Testament, I wanted to give a brief explanation of each of the main holidays[2]—starting
with the New Year which falls in September/October.
Rosh Hashannah
Held on the first day of the 7th month
(Tishrei) and marks the beginning of a ten-day period leading up to Yom Kippur.
According to one of two Talmudic opinions, the creation of the world was
completed on Rosh Hashanah. Prayer services focus on majesty and judgment,
remembrance, the birth of the world, and the blowing of the shofar. The biblical reference is Numbers 29:1. It
is typically held over two days. Then follows ten days of repentance
culminating in . . .
Yom Kippur—Day of Atonement
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year for Jews. Its central
theme is atonement
and reconciliation. This is
accomplished through prayer and complete fasting—including abstinence from all food and drink
(including water) —by all healthy adults. The fast and other prohibitions commence
on 10 Tishrei at sunset—sunset being the beginning of the day in Jewish
tradition. Yom Kippur comes to an end with the blowing of the shofar, which marks the
conclusion of the fast.
Sukkot—Feast of Booths
(or Tabernacles)
Sukkot is a seven-day festival, also known as
the Feast of Booths, the Feast of Tabernacles, or just Tabernacles. It takes
place on the 15–21 Tishrei. Mandated in Leviticus 23, to commemorate the sojourn in the desert, Jews are
required to construct booths and “dwell” in them. This generally means taking
meals, but some sleep in the sukkah as well, particularly in Israel.
There are specific rules
for constructing a sukkah.
Along
with dwelling in a sukkah, the principal ritual unique to this holiday
is use of the Four Species
(lulav (palm),
hadass (myrtle),
aravah (willow)
and etrog (citron).
On each day of the holiday other than Shabbat, these are waved in
association with the recitation of Hallel
in the synagogue, then walked in a procession around the synagogue called the Hoshanot.
The
seventh day of the Sukkot is called Hoshanah Rabbah, the
“Great Hoshanah”
(singular of Hoshanot and the source of the English word hosanna). The climax
of the day's prayers includes seven processions of Hoshanot around the
synagogue.
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah
Held
on 22 Tishrei, Shemini Atzeret (shemini
means 8) is celebrated at the end of Sukkot and incorporates Simchat Torah
(meaning "rejoicing with the Torah") which is held
the following day. Simchat Torah originally referred to a special
"ceremony": the last weekly Torah portion is
read from Deuteronomy, completing the
annual cycle, and is followed immediately by the reading of the first chapter
of Genesis, beginning the new
annual cycle.
Hanukkah—Festival of Lights/Feast of Dedication
The story of Hanukkah
is preserved in the books of the First and Second Maccabees. These
books are not part of the Tanakh
(Hebrew Bible), they are apocryphal books
instead. The miracle of the one-day supply of olive oil miraculously lasting
eight days is first described in the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), written
about 600 years after the events described in the books of Maccabees.
Hanukkah marks the defeat of Seleucid Empire forces
that had tried to prevent the people of Israel from practicing Judaism. Judah Maccabee and his
brothers destroyed overwhelming forces, and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem.
The eight-day festival is marked by the kindling of lights—one on the first
night, two on the second, and so on—using a special candle holder called a Chanukkiyah, or a Hanukkah
menorah.
Religiously, Hanukkah is a minor holiday. It is held
on 25 Kislev or 2–3 Tevet. Three widely practiced customs include:
·
Consumption of foods prepared in
oil, such as potato pancakes or jelly doughnuts, commemorating the miracle
of oil
·
Playing the game of dreidel (called a sevivon
in Hebrew), symbolizing Jews' disguising of illegal Torah study sessions as
gambling meetings during the period leading to the Maccabees' revolt
Purim
Held on 14 Adar, Purim commemorates the events found
in the Book of Esther. During the feast, the Book of Esther is read, gifts are
given, and a goodly amount of alcohol is consumed. There is a traditional
pastry called a Hamantasche which is filled with apricot jam.
Pesach—Passover
Also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Pesach is
held on 15–20 Nisan; this holiday commemorates the events that took place in
Exodus 12—the liberation of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. No chametz (leavened food) is
eaten, or even owned, during the week of Passover, in commemoration of the fact
that the Israelites left Egypt so quickly that their bread did not have enough
time to rise. Observant Jews go to great lengths to remove all chametz
from their homes and offices in the run-up to Passover. The principal ritual is
the seder (“order”) meal. This meal
is known for its distinctive ritual foods—matzo (unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs), and four
cups of wine—as well as
its prayer text/handbook/study guide, the Haggadah. Participation in a
Passover seder is one of the most widely observed of Jewish rituals. Following
Exodus 12:15, Passover lasts seven days.
Shavuot—Feast of Weeks—Yom
HaBikurim
Held
on 6 Sivan, it is one of the three principal pilgrimage festivals ordained in
the Torah, the other two being Pesach and Sukkot. According to Rabbinic
tradition, codified in the Talmud at Shabbat 87b, the Ten Commandments were given on this day. In
the era of the Temple, there were certain specific offerings mandated for Shavuot, and Shavuot was the first day
for bringing of Bikkurim (first fruits) to
the Temple. Other than those, there are no explicit mitzvot unique to
Shavuot given in the Torah (parallel to matzo on Passover or Sukkah on Sukkot).
Nevertheless,
there are a number of widespread customs observed on Shavuot. During this holiday
the Torah portion containing the Ten Commandments
is read in the synagogue, and the biblical Book of Ruth is read as well. It is
traditional to eat dairy meals during Shavuot.
Tisha B'Av—Ninth of Av
Tisha
B'Av is a major fast day and day of mourning. A Midrashic tradition states that
the spies' negative report concerning the Land of Israel was delivered on Tisha
B'Av. Consequently, the day became auspicious for negative events in Jewish
history. Most notably, both the First Temple,
originally built by King Solomon, and the Second Temple
of Roman times were destroyed on Tisha B'Av.
[1]
http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/526874/jewish/The-Jewish-Month.htm.
[2]
Most of my information is taken from the Wikipedia article, here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_holidays.
The article contains all the minor holidays and fasts for further information.
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