HOLY DAYS Judaism JEWISH FEAST DAYS The Jewish

HOLY DAYS Judaism

JEWISH FEAST DAYS The Jewish calendar reflects the experiences of the Israelites and is a blend of joy and sorrow, pleasure and austerity, feasting and fasting. Some days express gratitude to G*d for the earth’s fertility, whilst other festivals celebrate the saving intervention of G*d in Jewish history Jewish feast days fall into two categories: Feasts of Mosaic or Biblical origin, and Feasts of Rabbinical origin. Examples of Mosaic feasts include Pesah (Passover), Sukkot, Rosh Ha. Shanah (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). Examples of Rabbinical feasts include Hanukkah and Purim.

PESAH Pesah commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and the creation of Israel as a nation. It symbolises the saving action of God in history and also marks the time of the barley harvest. In the time before the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple, the Passover lamb was eaten on the first day of Pesah, and psalms, hymns and prayers were shared. In contemporary times the Passover sacrifice has been replaced by a family festive meal, called the seder meal. During this meal the story of the Exodus is retold and Jews recite prayers that complement the different stages of the story. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=v. Yg. GXkl. Xo. CU&feature=fvwrel

The Seder is a fifteen-step, family-oriented tradition and the focal points of the meal are: • Eating matzah, the flat unleavened bread. • Eating bitter herbs to commemorate the bitter slavery endured by the Israelites. • Drinking four cups of wine or grape juice, a royal drink, to celebrate freedom. • The recitation of the Haggadah, which is a liturgy that describes in detail the story of the Exodus from Egypt. The Haggadah is the fulfilment of the biblical obligation to recount to Jewish children the story of the Exodus on the night of Passover. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=JCy 4 -_Daac. I&feature=relmfu

SUKKOT Sukkot is the festival of booths, or tabernacles. It is celebrated at the end of summer, at the time of the final harvesting. Sukkot is a reminder of the time when the ancient Israelites wandered in the wilderness of Sinai on their way to freedom. The word ‘sukkot’ means booth, tabernacle or tent, and stands for a temporary dwelling or hut. The festival celebrates the faith of the Israelites and that God provides for his people. During Sukkot Jews are obliged to eat their meals in a sukkah (hut) that they build outside their homes. Some even sleep in the sukkah. Jews follow particular instructions in order to construct the sukkah. The walls should be sturdy but the shade inside must not exceed the sunlight. Thus, http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=5 wc. G 5 v 2 BFQU the roof is covered with branches or leaves

Another important ritual of Sukkot is praying while holding four special plants. The plants are symbolic and correspond with the four types of persons mentioned in Leviticus, according to the Midrash commentary: • Etrog – represents Jews who practise and study Judaism • Palm branch – represents those who practise Judaism without study • Myrtle branch – those who study and have the spirit of the Torah • Willow – Jews who neither practise or study.

ROSH HASHANAH Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival and commemorates the creation of the world. Rosh Hashanah is also a judgement day, when Jews believe that God balances a person's good deeds over the last year against their bad deeds, and decides what the next year will be like for them. God records the judgement in the Book of Life, where he sets out who is going to live, who is going to die, who will have a good time and who will have a bad time during the next year. The book and the judgement are finally sealed on Yom Kippur. Time is spent in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, when there are special services that emphasise God's kingship. One of the synagogue rituals for Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar, a ram's horn trumpet. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=v. EOya 0 ZG 0 I 0&feature=related

In Jewish homes a special meal is served, with the emphasis on sweetness. Apples are dipped in honey, as a symbol of the sweet New Year that each Jew hopes lies ahead. A sweet carrot stew called a tzimmes is often served. Hallah (or Challah) bread is served and it comes as a round loaf, rather than the plaited loaf served on the Sabbath, to symbolise a circle of life and of the year. There's often a pomegranate on the table because of a tradition that pomegranates have 613 seeds, one for each of the commandments, or mitzvot, that a Jew is obliged to keep.

YOM KIPPUR Yom Kippur is the most sacred and solemn day of the Jewish year, and it brings the Days of Repentance to a close. On Yom Kippur, God makes the final decision on what the next year will be like for each person. The Book of Life is closed and sealed, and those who have properly repented for their sins will be granted a happy New Year. Yom Kippur is marked by Jews in several ways: • They abstain from food or drink for 25 hrs • They do not wear perfume • They abstain from sexual intercourse • They do not wash • They do not wear leather shoes

The most important part of Yom Kippur is the time spent in the synagogue. Even Jews who are not particularly religious attend synagogue on Yom Kippur, the only day of the year with five services. The first service, in the evening, begins with the Kol Nidre prayer. Another element in the liturgy for Yom Kippur is the confession of sins (vidui). Sins are confessed aloud by the congregation and in the plural. The fifth service is "Neilah", which brings the day to a close as God's judgement is finally sealed. At the end of the service the shofar is blown for the final time. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Ls. Ac. I 4 d. XK 48

PURIM Purim is celebrated on the fourteenth of Adar, which is around March. The term Purim means “lots. ” The name commemorates the lots that Haman cast to choose the day most suitable for the destruction of the Jews. On this day the Megillah is read. The story tells of the deliverance of the Jews of Persia through the mediation of Queen Esther, herself a Jew. The festival is a time of joy and Jews are expected to eat, drink, be merry, and give gifts to the poor. There are four mitzvot associated specifically with Purim: • Read or hear the Megillah (Scroll of Esther) at night and by day. • Give charity to at least two needy people. • Send a minimum of two ready-to-eat foods to at least one person. • http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=kg. JIn. Vv. JS Sit down for a royal feast Zg

HANNUKAH Hanukkah, or Chanukah, is the Jewish Festival of Lights. The festival begins on the 25 th day of Kislev and is celebrated for eight days. In the western calendar Hanukkah is celebrated in November or December. The word Hanukkah means ‘rededication’ and the festival commemorates the Jews' struggle for religious freedom. The festival marks the victory of a group of Jews called the Maccabees over the Greeks, who were the most powerful army of the ancient world. At the end of the three-year war, the Maccabees recaptured Jerusalem. When the temple was rededicated a single portion of oil with the seal of the High Priest still intact was discovered. The Maccabees then went to light the eight-branched temple candelabrum, the menorah, but they only had enough oil to last one a day. The menorah miraculously http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=q. SJCSR 4 Muh. U&feature=related stayed alight for eight days. This became known as the miracle of the oil. It is because of this miracle that candles are lit from right

On day one of the festival, the first candle is lit; on the second night Jews light two candles, and the pattern continues. By the eighth night, all eight candles are alight. They are lit from a separate candle, the Shamash or servant candle. During Hanukkah Jews follow simple religious rituals in addition to their regular daily prayers from the Siddur, the Jewish prayer book. Potato pancakes and deep-fried doughnuts are traditional Hanukkah treats. Fried food in particular reminds Jews of the miracle of the oil and the candles that burned for eight days. It is customary to play games, such as the dreidel game, which is a way to help children remember the great miracle of Hanukkah. A dreidel is a spinning top with a different Hebrew letter inscribed on each of its four sides. The four letters form an acronym that means: 'A great miracle happened here’. http: //www. bbc. co. uk/apps/ifl/religion/quizengine? quiz=hanukkah; pager. Type=pages ; pager. Data=1; template. Style=default;

SABBATH Every week religious Jews observe the Sabbath and keep its laws and customs. The Sabbath begins at nightfall on Friday and lasts until nightfall on Saturday. The idea of a day of rest comes from the Bible story of the Creation. God rested from creating the universe on the seventh day, so Jews rest from work on the Sabbath. God also commanded the Jews to observe the Sabbath and keep it holy as the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Jews often call the day Shabbat, Hebrew for Sabbath, which means ‘rest’. The Sabbath is a reminder of the Covenant that God made with the Israelites, and so it is an occasion to rejoice in God's kept promises.

In order to avoid work and to ensure that the Sabbath is special, all chores like shopping, cleaning, and cooking for the Sabbath must be finished before sunset on Friday. Sabbath candles are lit at sunset on a Friday. The woman of the house usually performs this ritual. It is an integral part of Jewish custom and ceremony. After the candles are lit, Jewish families will drink wine. Sabbath wine is sweet and is usually drunk from a special goblet known as the Kiddush Cup. The drinking of wine on the Sabbath symbolises joy and celebration. It is also traditional to eat challah, a soft bread in the shape of a braid. Under Jewish law, every Jew must eat three meals on the Sabbath. One of the meals must include bread. Observant Jews will usually eat challah at the beginning of a Sabbath meal. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=5 GW-fr. Pw 2 o. I&feature=related

FURTHER RESOURCES http: //www. chabad. org/holidays/passover/default_cdo/jewish/Passov er. htm http: //www. youtube. com/user/gdashdcast http: //www. jewfaq. org/holiday 4. htm http: //www. akhlah. com/holidays/yomkippur. php Being Jewish in 21 st Century Australia – DVD available at Resource Link. Water, Moon, Candle, Tree and Sword – DVD available at Resource Link.

REFERENCES Dacy, Marianne. Let us Rejoice: The Jewish Roots of Christian Festivals. Lumino Press, Brisbane, 2008 http: //www. bbc. co. uk/religions/judaism/