Event Tag: Holiday

Tu BiShvat or the “birthday” of all fruit trees, is a minor festival. The name is Hebrew for the 15th of the Hebrew month of Shevat. In ancient times, Tu BiShvat was merely a date on the calendar that helped Jewish farmers establish exactly when they should bring their fourth-year produce of fruit from recently planted trees to the Temple as first-fruit offerings.

Hanukkah, which is Hebrew for “dedication,” is the Festival of Lights. It commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek army, and the subsequent miracle of rededicating the Holy Temple in Jerusalem and restoring its menorah, or lamp. The miracle of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil to illuminate the Temple lamp for one day, and yet it lasted for eight full days.

Check out the following Hanukkah Lighting Events: New York, London, Campo del Ghetto, Hudson Valley

 

 

 

Simchat Torah, a celebration of the conclusion of one and the beginning of another annual cycle of readings from the Torah. Simchat Torah conveys a clear message about the centrality of Torah in Jewish life. It is both a source of Jewish identity and a precious gift from God. Simchat Torah is the day on which the whole community gathers to come into direct contact with the Torah and to express our joy in having received it.

Shemini Atzeret is mentioned in the Bible, but its exact function is unclear. In Second Temple times, it appears to have been a day devoted to the ritual cleansing of the altar in the Temple. With the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, this function of the day became obsolete. Although it marks the beginning of the rainy season in Israel and, therefore includes the year’s first prayer for rain.

Sukkot is known as the “Festival of Tabernacles” and the “Feast of Booths.” It is one of Judaism’s three central pilgrimage festivals, along with Passover and Shavuot. It is tradition to build a sukkah, a temporary hut to dwell in during the holiday. It is also the custom to buy a lulav and etrog and shake them daily throughout the festival.

For more information about the traditions, rituals and celebrations of Sukkot and the rest of the September Jewish Holidays check out our blog:

https://worldjewishtravel.org/listing/from-rosh-hashanah-to-sukkot-bringing-in-the-jewish-new-year/

Yom Kippur is the Jewish day of communal and personal atonement for sins committed during the past year. Fasting is one of the central components of the Yom Kippur holiday. Prayer is the other central component of the holiday. The Kol Nidrei service kicks off the holiday, and Neila comes at the very end, bookending the holy day with solemn prayer.

The Fast of Gedaliah is a day set aside to commemorate the assassination of Gedaliah, the Babylonian-appointed official charged with administering the Jewish population remaining in Judah following the destruction of the Temple and exile in 586 B.C.E. It is observed on the third of Tishrei (the day after Rosh Hashanah ) with a fast from sunrise to sundown, and like on other fast days, the recital of special prayers (“Anenu”) and the reading of selected biblical readings (Exodus 32:14; 34:1-10).

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, it’s celebrated as the head of the Jewish year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, and a day of judgment and coronation of God as king. The central observance of Rosh Hashanah is blowing the shofar (ram’s horn) on both mornings of the holiday, which is normally done in synagogue as part of the day’s services but may be done elsewhere for those who cannot attend.