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Festivals & Holy Days |
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Shabbat is one of the key observances that have kept the Jewish people alive and vibrant throughout our history. Following is a brief outline of some of the more important rituals that are traditionally observed: Candles are lit before sunset on Friday. Festive clothes are worn. Following Kabbalat Shabbat Services in shul, and prior to the first festive meal, we traditionally sing Shalom Aleichem, welcoming the Shabbat into our homes. Many also sing Eishet Chayil (Woman of Valour). Parents bless their children by placing their hands on the heads of their children and invoking the Priestly Benediction (the text can be found in the Siddur). The head of the household recites the Kiddush (formal Sanctification) over wine or grape juice. Following Kiddush, everyone prepares for the meal with ritual hand-washing using a special cup, and reciting the blessing al netilat yadayim. We refrain from speaking until the blessing over the challah (Hamotzi) is made, pieces are distributed, and everyone partakes.
The meal, which should be as elaborate as one can afford, is the first of three festive meals. Traditionally, Zemirot (Shabbat songs) are sung during the meals prior to Birkat HaMazon (Grace after Meals). A different Kiddush, called Kiddusha Rabba, is recited prior to the second meal, following Shacharit and Mussaf prayers in the morning.
Shabbat, as the day we refrain from work – and indeed all creative activities – is the ideal time to devote to Torah study as well as communal prayer. The third Shabbat meal follows Mincha, the afternoon prayers. With the conclusion of the day after dark on Saturday evening, we bid farewell to Shabbat after Ma’ariv (evening prayer). By reciting Havdalah, which formally separates Shabbat from the mundane days of the week. For Havdallah we employ wine or grape juice, a multi-wick candle (candle-lighting begins and ends Shabbat) and fragrant spices to lift our spirits as the Shabbat departs.
Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the New Year according to the Jewish calendars. The preparations for the two-day observance of Rosh Hashonah begin a month earlier on Rosh Chodesh Elul. Each morning we sound the shofar following Shacharit prayers, a ‘wake-up call’ to begin the process of repentance (Teshuvah). Rosh Hashanah is in fact referred to in the Torah as Yom Teruah (the day of the Sounding of the Shofar). Other names to which this holiday is referred are: Yom haDin (Day of Judgement) and Yom Hazikaron (Day of Memorial).
Not only are we judged by God, but we are expected to judge our own actions and draw the appropriate conclusions. The main theme of Rosh Hashanah is repentance, i.e. and opportunity for self-examination and to make amends for our mistakes and shortcomings.
Rosh Hashanah begins the period of Yamim Noraim (Days of Awe), which concludes with Yom Kippur. These ten days are called Aseret Yemei Teshuvah, the Ten Days of Repentence. Selichot (prayers of penitence) are said early in the morning while it is still dark outside, beginning the week before Rosh Hashanah and culminating with Yom Kippur. Traditionally during this period we visit the graves of our deceased relatives, as an act of devotion and respect. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah (the second day if the first is Shabbat) in the afternoon we observe a ritual called Tashlich, in which we symbolically ‘cast our sins away’ by throwing crumbs into a body of water. During the festive meals we eat a piece of challah in honey to symbolize our hope that the coming year will be a sweet one. Other traditional foods, called Simana Milta, symbolize our hope and aspirations for the coming year.
Prior to Kol Nidre we consume a festive meal to prepare us for the rigors of the fast. It is customary to light a Yahrzeit candle for dearly departed relatives who we wish to remember. A Tallit is worn during Kol Nidre and the Evening service, the only time we do so at night.
A confessional prayer, called Vidui”, is recited ten times over the course of Yom Kippur. Vidui prompts us to realize that we may have, through our actions, caused hurt or harm to other people – and that through reconciliation, forgiveness, confession and repentance we can avert the harsh decrees that would otherwise be our due.
Yizkor is recited. The Ne’ilah Service, which concludes Yom Kippur, is a final appeal for forgiveness, and is filled with the hope that our prayers and confessions have been answered. Ne’ilah concludes with the dramatic sounding of the shofar, followed by the evening Service. Everyone then returns home to break his or her fast.
Sukkot has a strong agricultural component and is also known as Chag HaAsif (Festival of Gathering), in which the landowners and labourers thanked God for the produce that the Land had yielded during the recent harvest. The agricultural aspect of Sukkot receives symbolic expression through the mitzvah of Arba Minim, the four agricultural species consisting of the lulav (Palm-tree branch), etrog (Citron), three Hadassim (myrtle branches) and two Aravot (willow branches). The latter three are bound together in a specific way, and are held in hand, together with the etrog, while we make the blessing Al Netilat Lulav, and the Shehecheyanu. The lulav and etrog are also held and waved in a specific way during Hallel and the Hoshanah prayers. The seventh day is known as Hoshana Rabbah, referring to the extra Hoshanah prayers said in the morning. An ancient custom that we follow is to beat a willow branch on the floor at the conclusion of Hoshanot.
Simchat Torah is a joyous festival that immediately follows Shemini Atseret. On this day we mark the completion of the yearly Torah-reading cycle, as well as the immediate beginning of the new cycle. During the evening and morning all of the Torah scrolls are removed from the Ark, and everyone is given the honour of carrying a Torah during Hakafot, the seven processions around the shul that are accompanied by singing and dancing. Traditionally the children are given flags and apples or sweets for the Hakafot. In the morning, the last portion of the Torah is read publicly at multiple locations, so that everyone has a chance to go up to the Torah for an aliyah. After everyone has been given this honour, all the children are called up to the Torah together. Two special people are honoured, one of whom is called up for the last portion of the annual cycle (the Chatan Torah) while the second is called for the first portion of the new cycle (the Chatan Bereishit). Simcha Torah marks the end of the cluster of festivals and observances that began with Rosh Hashanah.
Chanukah, which commemorates both the military victory of the Jews by Judah Maccabee over the Syrian oppressors, and the rededication of the Holy Temple following that victory, Chanukah is celebrated for eight days. The eight days recall the miracle that took place when only one cruse of sacramental oil was found in the Temple, which should have burned for only one day. However, it lasted a full eight days. To this end, we light a Chanukiyah, an eight-branched candelabrum, lighting one candle the first evening and adding one each time until all are lit on the eighth night. A ninth candle is lit, separated from the others, to act as a shamash (server candle) in order to light the other candles. The reason is that the eight candles may not be used for any purpose other than “proclaiming the miracle” (pirumei nisa), and that includes lighting other candles. The Chanukiyah is lit near a window or door, in order that passerby will see the lit candles, which is the fulfillment of the precept to publicize the miracle of Chanukah.
Some traditional foods associated with Chanukah are potato latkes and sufganiyot, a kind of filled donut with a jam centre. Both are fried in oil, hence the connection to this holiday. There is an ancient custom to give the children “Chanukah gelt”, money in the form of coins. A four-sided top called a dreidle is a popular toy.
Purim celebrates the foiling of a wicked plot in ancient Persia by Haman, a high government official, to wipe out the Jews. As dramatically told in the Scroll of Esther (Megillat Esther), Haman’s scheme was the first recorded instance of anti-Semitism and attempted genocide against the Jews. The primary observance of the day is to hear the Megillah read publicly from a parchment scroll, on the eve of Purim and again during the morning prayers. Noisemakers are employed to try to drown out the sound of Haman’s name during the reading. All of the remaining observances are cited in the Megillah itself. These include:
- “the half-shekel”, money given to the poor and commemorating the half-shekel given by all during the times when the Temple stood in Jerusalem.
- The Purim feast, which is begun while it is still light on Purim day.
- Matanot LaEvyonim (gifts for the poor). Aside from the “half-shekel to help enable them to celebrate Purim properly.
- Mishloach Manot (sending “portions”). Gifts for food sent to friends and acquaintances. At least two kinds of food should be included. It’s not necessary to be elaborate – simple and inexpensive are best. Mishloach Manot are delivered during the day, and ideally by a ‘third party’ (a messenger rather than the giver).
Recalling the hasty departure of the newly-freed slaves from Egypt, and the fact that they had no time to let their bread – hastily prepared for their departure – leaven and rise, we follow the Torah’s instruction to forever commemorate the event by consuming unleavened bread exclusively. The baking of matzah and the stringent requirements to exclude any remnant of leavened bread from our food and utensils are perhaps the most challenging aspects of the preparations. Once the home is purged of chametz (leaven), the final step is to contractually sell any remaining traces (via your local Rabbi) to a non-Jew, who is allowed to possess chametz during Passover.
Prior to the sale, a symbolic room-to-room ‘search’ for chametz yields a few pieces which can then be ceremonially burned during the morning prior to Pesach. The household is thus rid of its chametz with satisfying finality as the remains go up in smoke. The cleaning and ‘kashering’ of utensils for the holiday is well beyond the scope of this short summary – please consult the publication that BEBY provides prior to Pesach for more detailed information.
Technically, the day before Pesach is a fast day for bechorim (first-born sons), but attendance at shul early in the morning before Pesach ensures that one can hear a ‘siyum’ (conclusion of a Talmudic tractate) which then obliges the attendee to eat a joyous meal, and incidentally cancels the requirement to fast that day. Universally, families gather for the Seder Night, in which the narrative of Passover, called the Haggadah is read and discussed by all well into the night and includes the main event, a huge festive meal. In the Diaspora, the second night features a second Seder. The eight days of Pesach conclude with two days of Yom Tov. Yizkor is said on the last day.
Once a purely agricultural festival, Shavuot has evolved to become our celebration of the giving of the Torah at Sinai. Our principal observance of this two-day Yom Tov, therefore, is to spend the entire first night engaged in intensive Torah study. The Synagogue is traditionally decorated with greenery, and we customarily eat mainly dairy foods. Yizkor is said on the second day.
