Jewish Holiday Calendar - List Of All Holidays And Festivals

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In a nutshell, the most outstanding days in the Jewish holiday calendar are the following (the day according to the Jewish calendar begins and ends with sunset):

• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #1: The most important day in the Jewish week throughout the year is the Shabbat or Sabbath ("Shabbos" in Yiddish).
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #2: The High Holy Days or Days of Awe = Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur.
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #3: The three major festivals = Pesach or Pesah, Shavuot, and Sukkot.
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #4: The minor historic festivals = Chanukah or Hanukkah, and Purim.
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #5: The semi-festivals = Lag Ba-Omer, and Hamishah Asar Bi-Shevat [also known as: Hamishah Asar Bishvat, Tu B'Shevat or Tu Bi Shevat = literally "the 15th of Shevat" in Hebrew (Shevat is a Hebrew month name)].
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #6: The modern festivals = Yom Ha-Shoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day), Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israel's Independence Day), Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day or Jerusalem Re-Unification Day).

• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #7: The Jewish calendar has many fast days that last from sunrise until nightfall. However, only two fast days last from sundown to sundown on the following day. They are:

  • Yom Kippur
  • Tisha B'Av
  
  
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #8: The three major festivals = Pesach or Pesah, Shavuot, and Sukkot, are collectively known as the "Shalosh Regalim" (in this context, "Shalosh Regalim" means the "Three On Foot" in Hebrew, referring to the mode of transportation used by the pilgrims when they travelled to Jerusalem to attend each of the three festivals at the Temple, where "Regalim" in this sense means "foot" or "leg" in Hebrew, and "Shalosh" means "three" in Hebrew. "Shalosh Regalim" can also mean in a less-used sense the "three [festive] occasions" or the "Three Times", where "Regalim" in this case means the "times", which are represented by the words "[festive] occasions"). However, while both meanings are idiomatically hinting at the three festivals of Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot, both meanings are likely connected in the sense that these "three times" or "three festivals", were times when Jewish people made pilgrimmages "on foot" to Jerusalem.
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #9: The origin of the name "Shalosh Regalim" derives from Exodus 23:14, where G-d instructs the Hebrews - "Three times you shall keep a feast for me in the year".
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #10: As mentioned, the term "Regalim" primarily means "foot" or "leg", as in a journey on foot or a pilgrimmage, but also can mean "times", as in the times when a festival takes place. Both these meanings are hinted at in the following passage from Deuteronomy 16:16, in which G-d again instructs the Hebrews - "Three times every year shall your menfolk appear before the L-rd your G-d in the place that He will choose, in the feast of Pesach, in the feast of Shavuot, and in the Feast of Sukkot."
• Jewish Holiday Calendar Fact #11: What do the three festivals or Shalosh Regalim have in common? (1) Each marks historical events in Jewish history [(A) Pesach = Exodus from Egypt and slavery; (B) Shavuot = Giving of the Law (10 Commandments, and their detailed explanations) to Moses and the Hebrews; and (C) Sukkot = the 40-year period during which the Hebrews were wandering in the Sinai Desert, living in temporary shelters]; (2) Each marks a time of harvest in Israel [(A) Pesach = the early barley harvest; (B) Shavuot = the wheat harvest and fruit harvest; and (C) Sukkot = the ingathering of the fruit harvest and the grain harvest]; and (3) Each symbolically expresses basic religious and ethical ideas in Judaism [(A) Pesach = the fact that G-d exists in that G-d freed the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt I.E. the existence of G-d; (B) Shavuot = the revealing of the Law to Moses and the Hebrews I.E. Revelation; and (C) Sukkot = the guiding of the Hebrews by G-d through their trials in the Sinai Desert I.E. Divine Guidance].

Note that for Sephardic communities, the Sabbath that immediately precedes the festival of Shavuot is known as "Shabbat Kallah", meaning the "Sabbath of the Bride" in Hebrew. In this Shabbat service, there is a symbolic connection between the Torah and the Jewish people. The Torah is symbolic of a bride, and the Jewish people are symbolic of a bridegroom who is coming to meet his bride. And just like at Jewish weddings, there are rituals that parallel a Jewish wedding such as the performing of poetic wedding songs, the institution of a special Jewish marriage certificate known as a "ketubah" in Hebrew that is read out in the Shabbat service when the Torah scroll I.E. "Sefer Torah" in Hebrew, is taken from the Ark, just as the marriage certificate or ketubah is read under the canopy at a Jewish wedding.

Note that for Reform Judaism, there is a Sabbath that Reform Judaism adherents observe entitled "Sabbath of Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise" (1819-1900). In 1873, Rabbi Wise organized a few scattered liberal congregations into what has become the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. In 1875, he founded the Hebrew Union Seminary, and in 1879, he founded the Central Conference of American Rabbis. This Sabbath is observed on the last Sabbath in March.

Additional/Translated/Transliterated Names and Notes For The Jewish Holidays

• Rosh Hodesh or Rosh Chodesh = literally "Head of the Month" or "first of the month" in Hebrew. Rosh Hodesh is the first day of any given month. Months in the Jewish calendar can be either 29 days or 30 days in length. If a given month is 30 days in length, then Rosh Hodesh for the next month extends to 2 days: the 30th day of the given month and the 1st day of the next month. In Talmudic times, direct sighting of the first crescent of the new moon by at least two independent, reliable witnesses was reported to the Sanhedrin, which was the 71-member Supreme Rabbinical High Court and legislative body in Israel and was based in Jerusalem. The Sanhedrin, however, accepted the testimony of other witnesses besides having at least two, independent witnesses as the basis for declaring the arrival of the new moon since it did not want to discourage the practice. If the rabbis of the Sanhedrin could not find any witnesses or any credible witnesses after 29 days (meaning on the 30th day), or the witnesses did not arrive at the Sanhedrin by the 30th day of the month to report their sighting of the first crescent of the new moon, the members of the Sanhedrin would automatically declare the current month as being a month that consisted of 30 days, and declare the 31st day to be Rosh Hodesh, meaning the 1st day of the new month, essentially transforming the 31st day into the 1st day of the new month. This would make the previous month of 30 days a "full" month as opposed to a "defective" month of 29 days, which would occur if the witnesses did arrive at the Sanhedrin on the 30th day of the month and on the 30th day, reported their sighting of the new moon, had each report individually confirmed by the members of the Sanhedrin through independent cross-examination, and had their confirmed reports in agreement with the calculations made by the members of the Sanhedrin regarding the expected new moon. The result of all this would be that the members of the Sanhedrin would then declare the new moon and hence 1st day of the new month as beginning on the 30th day of the previous month, transforming the 30th day of the previous month into the 1st day of the new month and declaring the previous month to be 29 days in length. The rabbis of the Sanhedrin also did not want certain holidays such as Yom Kippur to fall immediately before or after Shabbat or the Sabbath, so in those cases they added a 30th day as well. After the Sanhedrin validated the claims of the two witnesses with a series of questions as to the location and direction of the new moon, the date of the new moon was fixed and announced to the Jewish people, initially with signal fires lit by torches atop mountains beginning from the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and extending to the Judean hills in Israel, and beyond Israel's borders to the major Jewish communities that lived west of Israel in Egypt and northeast of Israel, all the way to Babylon, then the capital city of Babylonia, as well as to other major Jewish communities in Babylonia (now in present-day Iraq). However, because this method was subject to abuse, the Sages of the Sanhedrin switched to using special messengers, which was found to be more reliable. On the following day after the sighting of the new moon, a great festival occurred, beginning with the sounding of the Shofar or Ram's Horn. The New Moon was commemorated with solemn convocations, family festivities and special sacrifices. Holding a great festival for the New Moon indicated its importance in biblical times since the entire Jewish calendar was dependent on the sighting of the New Moon, otherwise, the Hebrews/Jews could not determine the date(s) when their holidays and festivals took place. However, the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. by the Romans ended sacrificial worship, which was part of the festivals, and the increasing use of mathematical calculations to create rules to determine the Jewish calendar resulted in the decline in the significance of Rosh Hodesh. In fact, over time, mathematical calculations to create calendrical rules combined with observations of the New Moon became increasingly dominant in the determination of the date of the New Moon until a reliable system of mathematical calculations for calculating dates in the Jewish calendar (except for the year) was firmly established by 921 C.E. or 922 C.E. at the latest, and later codified by Rabbi Moses Maimonides in the 12th century C.E. In Talmudic times, Rosh Hodesh was a major festival, but today, Rosh Hodesh is essentially a semi-festival that celebrates the arrival of the New Moon. The reason for the reduction in importance of celebrating Rosh Hodesh from Talmudic times to the present is that today many Jewish lives are governed by the Gregorian, or Christian calendar, so the event of Rosh Hodesh has been observed with a mimimal degree of ritual. In prayer services for Rosh Hodesh, there is little change from the regular weekday prayer services, except for the addition of some Torah readings such as Numbers 28:1-15, which describe the offerings made on Rosh Hodesh, the addition of the prayer "ya'alei ve-yavo" to the three regular prayers (note: if the "ya'alei ve-yavo" prayer is forgotten, then the morning and afternoon prayers are invalid and need to be repeated) as well as in the "Grace After Meals" ("Birkat Ha-Mazon" in Hebrew) blessing, and the addition of part of Hallel (Psalms 113-118) following the "Shemoneh Esrei" or "Amidah", a series of 19 blessings which is the central focus of the Jewish prayer service. There is also an additional "Amidah" - called "Musaf Amidah" in Hebrew - that commemorates the sacrifices made in the Temple in Jerusalem. In some Jewish communities, there is a custom on Rosh Hodesh for women to refrain from work as a reward because in biblical times, they refused to hand over their earrings to the men who were building the Golden Calf to worship while the Hebrews were waiting for Moses to descend from Mount Sinai with the 10 Commandments. These Jewish communities base their custom on a tractate in the Talmud (Megillah 22b) which states that women are exempt from work on Rosh Chodesh, and on midrash Pirke DeRabbi Eliezer (chapter 45), which states that because the women refused to hand over their earrings, G-d rewarded women by giving them an extra holy day each month to refrain from work. The great Talmudic commentator Rashi further comments on what types of work that women are exempt from on Rosh Hodesh: "spinning, weaving, and sewing - the skills which women so enthusiastically contributed to the building of the Mishkan" [the Mishkan I.E. "dwelling place" or "meeting place" in Hebrew (it was called a "meeting place" because Moses and the priests or Kohanim met G-d in the Mishkan), was the portable sanctuary that the Hebrews carried with them in their wanderings in the Sinai Desert after the Exodus from Egypt. The Mishkan was where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, along with all the other vessels of the sanctuary]. There is also a custom to wear new clothing on Rosh Hodesh, as a mark of the special character of the day. The Shabbat or Sabbath immediately before Rosh Hodesh for each new month is known as "Shabbat Mevarekhim", meaning the "Sabbath of Blessing" in Hebrew, with its theme of Rosh Hodesh. In this Shabbat service, after the Torah reading, the leader of the prayer service holds the Torah scroll and recites a blessing hoping for a good month. In some cases, the Gabbai (literally "collector" in Hebrew, referring to a person responsible for the proper functioning of a synagogue or other communal body, an example would be the president of a synagogue) would be the one on the Sabbath before Rosh Hodesh for the next month to announce the day or days of the upcoming week when Rosh Hodesh will fall as well as the day and exact time that the New Moon will be visible over Jerusalem. If Rosh Hodesh falls on Shabbat, then the announcement is made on the Shabbat immediately before Rosh Hodesh. This announcement is made immediately following the Torah reading and is accompanied by the recitation of a brief prayer for the upcoming month. The prayer service leader then announces the day in the upcoming week when the new month will begin as well as the name of the new month. Note that Shabbat Mevarekhim is not necessarily the final Shabbat or Sabbath of a month. If a month has 30 days, and the final Sabbath of the month falls on the 30th day of the month, then Shabbat Mevarekhim will take place on the 23rd of that month, not the 30th, because in a month with 30 days, Rosh Hodesh for the following month is from the 30th day of the previous month to the 1st day of the next month, inclusive I.E. Rosh Hodesh extends for two days, and one cannot have Shabbat Mevarekhim on Rosh Hodesh, so the final Sabbath before Rosh Hodesh for the next month in a month that has 30 days takes place on the 23rd of that month. If a month has 29 days, meaning that Rosh Hodesh would fall on the 1st day of the next month, and Shabbat falls on the 29th day, meaning that Rosh Hodesh occurs on the next day, then often a special Haftarah portion known as "Machar Chodesh" (literally "tomorrow month" in Hebrew, referring to tomorrow's day being the beginning of a new month) is read as well. In "Machar Chodesh", the biblical David and Yonatan plan for the next day, the beginning of a new month. If Rosh Hodesh falls on Shabbat, then the regular Torah reading for that Shabbat includes an additional Torah reading from Numbers 28:9-15, and in certain months in the Jewish calendar, a special Haftarah portion is read. In the additional ("Musaf" or "Mussaf" in Hebrew) portion of the Shabbat service for the Shabbat that falls on Rosh Hodesh or the day before Rosh Hodesh, the theme of Rosh Hodesh is further emphasized by replacing the central benediction of the Shabbat service with a version known as "Ata Yetzarta" (literally "You Formed It" in Hebrew, where "You" refers to G-d and G-ds' forming the 'world of formation', which in turn is one of the Four Worlds that make up Creation, or the beginning of the universe). In "Ata Yetzarta", both Shabbat and Rosh Hodesh are mentioned.
• Pesach/Pesah = literally "Passover". The word(s) Pesach/Pesah are derived from the ancient Hebrew verb "Posach", which means "to pass over". "Pesach/Pesah" also symbolizes and refers to the paschal lamb; Feast of Freedom, Feast of Unleavened Bread. The commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt of the Hebrews and their attainment of physical freedom from slavery in Egypt in the year 2448 according to the traditional Hebrew/Jewish chronology contained in the Seder Olam Rabbah which is translated to being in either 1313 B.C.E. (based on Jewish tradition and if the Julian calendar and historic Gregorian calendar is used, which has no Year 0), or in 1312 B.C.E. (also based on Jewish tradition, but if the modern Gregorian calendar is used, which, unlike the Julian calendar and historic Gregorian calendars, allows for the counting of the Year 0), or in 1311 B.C.E. according to one Jewish opinion concerning how the translation of the traditional 2448 date in Hebrew/Jewish chronology is attained in the Julian and historic Gregorian calendars and 1310 B.C.E. in the modern Gregorian calendar; or 1310 B.C.E. (based on Brad Aaronson's reading of biblical chronology), or in 1476 B.C.E. (based on the generally accepted date for the Exodus from Egypt as determined by secular historians using Greek sources) or either about 1444 B.C.E. (an approximate Exodus date favored by non-Jewish religious scholars) or about 1290 B.C.E. (an approximate Exodus date favored by a large minority of secular scholars), was the first step for the Hebrews towards becoming a nation as until that time, they were simply a collection of 12 tribes. The attainment of the Hebrews' spiritual freedom was realized 50 days later on Shavuot with the Giving of the Law. Our custom of "Counting the Omer" - which begins on the second evening of Passover and ends on the evening of the day before Shavuot - serves as a bridge between Passover and Shavuot and connects the two events - physical freedom and spiritual freedom - in Hebrew/Jewish history. This is how the time from Passover to Shavuot - as well as both festivals - are connected to each other. Another custom involves lighting a candle known as a Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle [Yahrtzeit literally means A "Year('s) Time" in Yiddish, referring to an anniversary; specifically, an anniversary of the passing of a close relative in Judaism; colloquially-speaking, it is the annual time for the memorialization of the close relative who has passed, and the memorialization is done using a special candle called a Yahrtzeit candle I.E. Memorial candle that is kindled and burns for 26 hours. There are also Yahrtzeit candles that burn for 50 hours. Yahrtzeit or Yahrzeit is a compound word: "Yahr" means "Year" in Yiddish and "Tzeit" or "Zeit" means "Time" in Yiddish. Yizkor means "May (G-d) Remember" in Hebrew, it is from the Hebrew root word "zakhor", meaning "remember".]. The Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle is lit at sundown on the last night of Passover. In the prayer services, there is a special Yizkor service that takes place on the following day after lighting the Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle. Another Passover/Pesach custom is offering "Maot Chittim" (also: "maot chitim", "maot hittim", and "maot hitim" in Hebrew). "Maot Chittim" means "money for wheat" in Hebrew, and originally referred to the custom of gathering wheat to provide the poor with matzoh and other items for the observance of Passover/Pesach. More recently, Maot Chittim has been extended to include Rosh Ha-Shanah, Chanukah (or Hanukkah), and other Jewish events. The great Spanish rabbi Moses Maimonides (1135 - 1204) taught that even the poorest person is obligated to eat Matzah on Passover/Pesach. Since money is needed to purchase matzoh - as well as anything else for that matter - the custom of "Maot Chittim" or "Kimha de-Pisha" ("Flour for Pesach" in Aramaic) developed. The custom of "Maot Chittim" is just part of the overall concept of "Tzedakah" ("charity" in Hebrew, as in to give charity).
• Saharene = perhaps derived from the Kurdish word "sayeran", which means "to see, and to explore nature". In this context, the word "Saharane" may also mean "excursion" in Kurdish. Various spellings include: Saharanah, Saharaneh, Seharane, Saharane, Saharana, Seharana, Seharaneh, and Seharanah. This is the traditional national event of the Kurdish-Jewish community, celebrated at different times during the year. Originally, the Saharene was a seven-day festival that marked the close of winter and the beginning of spring in Kurdistan. Kurdish-Jewish families went on an excursion of a few kilometers away from their homes to either the mountains or the banks of rivers, and remained there for seven days. Musicians and singers were invited, food and drink were prepared and organized, clothes and tents were packed, and the people would arrive either by foot or on horseback and set up their tents to the sound of music and dancing. The men drank arak and wine together, bonfires were lit in the evening, families would sample each other's foods, and in the morning, the sounds of Kurdish instruments such as the dola and zirne were played. Activities such as cooking, playing various games, strolling and going shopping in the nearby town or towns, and buying things from Moslem peddlers who came to the area where the Saharane took place throughout each day of the seven-day event, which was guarded by armed police. At the end of the seven-day festival, the Saharane festival broke up and all the people returned to their villages. The Saharene festival was eventually added to the Pesach/Passover and Sukkot festivals, taking place during the intermediate days of each festival. The Saharane festival was also observed during the festival of Shavuot. Some Kurdish-Jewish communities in Kurdistan observed the Saharane only during the Pesach/Passover festival, while other Kurdish-Jewish communities in Kurdistan observed the Saharane on the day after the festival of Sukkot. The communities which observed the Saharane on the day after Sukkot base their claim on observing it on that day from the Talmud, where it says that "one must not be in discomfort" on this day (Sukkah 45b). Still other Kurdish-Jewish communities did not observe the Saharane during the Chol Ha-Moed or intermediate days of Pesach/Passover and/or Sukkot, but instead, simply walked along the outskirts of their towns and met relatives during the intermediate days of Pesach/Passover and Sukkot. This "excursion" is reminiscent of the excursions that took place in Temple times leading up to each of the three pilgrim festivals (Pesach/Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot), when Jews from all around the region in the Middle East would make a pilgrimmage to Jerusalem for each of the aforementioned festivals. Thus, the Saharane for many Kurdish-Jewish communities takes place during the intermediate days of the Pesach/Passover festival and the Sukkot festival and for some, during the Shavuot festival. In Israel, the Saharane festival is primarily celebrated during the intermediate days of the Sukkot festival, but is also observed during the intermediate days of Pesach/Passover. It is akin in many respects to the Mimouna festival of the Moroccan-Jews.
• Mimouna (alternate spellings: Maimuna, Mimuna, Mimunah, Maimunah, Mimounah, Maimouna, Maimounah) = a one-day Moroccan-Jewish festival held just after the close of the Passover/Pesach holiday, the name "Mimouna" has several explanations as to its origin. The word "Mimouna" is taken from either the Hebrew word "emunah", meaning "faith" in that one must have faith in G-d for G-d saved the Hebrews at the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea" in the month of Nissan, and that future redemption for the Jews will come in the month of Nissan; from the Arabic word for "wealth" or "good fortune", in reference to the Hebrews' newfound wealth after discovering the Egyptian coins that washed ashore after the "parted" "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea" closed on the Egyptian army; from the Hebrew word "Maimon", in reference to the name of the father of Rabbi Moses Maimonides (born Moshe ben Maimon, or "Moses, son of Maimon" in Hebrew, in C rdoba, Spain), who lived and died in Fez, Morocco. Since Maimonides' father died on the final day of Passover and in Jewish tradition death is seen as a reunion of man with his Creator, a celebration is held on the anniversary of the death. To avoid having both the Passover celebration and the anniversary celebration of the death of Maimonides' father on the same day, the anniversary celebration of Maimonides' father's death was moved up to the day after the final day of Passover. Finally, the word "Mimouna" may derive from the Aramaic or Hebrew word "mammon", meaning "prosperity" or "riches", in that one's future prosperity, personal productivity, and wealth as well as the national productivity, prosperity and wealth of one's country for the coming year is determined on the day of Mimouna. Essentially, Mimouna, is a one-day celebration beginning at sundown just after the close of the Passover/Pesach holiday. Mimouna primarily celebrates the miracles created by G-d that occurred at the "Sea of Reeds" or "Red Sea" after the Exodus from Egypt: that being the "parting" of the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea", that enabled the Hebrews to cross through and escape the pursuing Egyptian army, which drowned after the "parted" sections of water closed in on the entire Egyptian army, who followed the Hebrews through the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea". Thus, the food symbols on Mimouna include foods that recall the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea" miracles, and the prosperity and wealth that the Hebrews acquired after discovering the coins washed ashore as well as the feeling of being wealthy like a king at being physically free from slavery, just as a king and other wealthy people are free from enslavement. During Mimouna, Moroccan-Jews will greet each other at the evening ("Ma'ariv" in Hebrew) prayer service with wishes for a prosperous year ("Tarbah" in Hebrew) as well as the traditional Mimouna blessing: "Alallah Mimouna, Ambarka mas'uda". There is also a traditional Mimouna greeting in Hebrew: "Tirbahu vetis'adu" or "tirbehu v'tisadu (may you prosper and be successful)". Moroccan-Jews will drink the traditional drink of Morocco, Mahia (also: Mahya, or Mahiya), which is either a honey-based or sugar-based alcoholic drink flavored with aniseed and in some cases, dates. On Mimouna, Moroccan-Jews will pay customary visits to the Rabbi's house, the Hazzan or Cantor's house ("Hazzan" or "Chazzan" means "cantor" in Hebrew, a cantor is the synagogue official who leads the singing of the liturgy, and may also lead the congregation in prayer), followed by the house of one's parents, friends, and neighbors. On Mimouna, Moroccan-Jews in and outside Morocco will dress either in their best clothes or in their best traditional clothing. A table is set up with a white cloth in each Moroccan-Jewish home and decorated with the food symbols of Mimouna: Mufleta, which are crepes dipped in honey and butter; a plate of flour that is decorated with five or seven green bean pods; sheaves of grain that are scattered on the table; Zabane or Zaben, which is a white almond nougat; milk jugs that are surrounded by lettuce and vegetables; a tray of flour that consists of a full cup of oil in its center as well as five or seven gold coins that are scattered on the tray; honey and butter wafers; dates that are stuffed with nuts and marzipan; Mrouzia or Marozia, which are fried raisins decorated with nuts; Mazun, which is jam made from grapefruit, oranges, turnips, carrots and beets; trays of fruit such as oranges, apples, almonds and nuts; and finally, live fish which are placed on a plate with a bed of lettuce and vegetables. As you can see by these food symbols, they recall various objects in the story of the miracles that occurred at the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea", as well as the types of fruits and nuts that grew - and still grow - in Israel in order to symbolically re-create the setting at that time. Laughter and jokes with much music and rejoicing characterize the Mimouna evening well into the night! In the morning, there is a Mimouna custom to picnic near a body of water and even to go into the water to again recall and symbolically re-create the feeling of being at the miraculous events that happened at the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea". There is also a custom to encourage matchmaking on Mimouna, since it is believed that G-d answers one's prayers on Mimouna, just as G-d answered the Hebrews' calls to save them from the pursuing Egyptian army by producing the miracles at the "Sea of Reeds" or the "Red Sea". Singles will meet and mingle in the streets outside the homes of those who are celebrating the Mimouna festival in the hope of finding a match.
• Isru Hag or Isru Chag = literally "order" or "bind up the festival" in Hebrew, this is a term borrowed from Psalm 118:27 and used to denote the day following one of the three Pilgrim Festivals (Pesach/Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot). Isru Hag is observed today as a semi-festive day, a sort of spiritual "easing back" into the routine of everyday life from the loftiness and holiness of the festival. On Isru Hag, the "aftermath" of the holiday, fasting and funeral eulogies are specifically prohibited. In Israel, traditional Mimouna celebrations are arranged by Israelis of Moroccan origin on the Isru Hag of Passover I.E. Isru Hag ha-Pesah ("the day after the close of Pesah" in Hebrew), when picnics are organized and a mass assembly takes place in Jerusalem. In Temple times, Isru Hag was the day when those who had gathered in Jerusalem for the three pilgrimage festivals (the "Shalosh Regalim" in Hebrew) traditionally departed from Jerusalem and headed for home. This gathering and departing is re-created today when the aforementioned mass assembly takes place in Jerusalem on Isru Hag, and ends with the mass of people departing for home. In prayer services on Isru Hag, the Tachanun supplications are omitted from the Shacharit ("morning service" in Hebrew) and Minchah ("afternoon service" in Hebrew) services. According to a talmudic statement (Sukkah 25b), he who observes Isru Chag as a festive day with eating and drinking is as if he offered sacrifices upon the Mizbeach ("Altar" in Hebrew, referring to the Temple altar in Temple times). Although there are no symbolic foods connected with Isru Hag, it is a day of celebration, so sweets are eaten in accordance with the atmosphere of joy. Other Jewish sources that mention Isru Hag are found in the Shulchan Aruch 429:2, and in the Jerusalem Talmud, Avoda Zarah 1:5 .
• Yom Kippur Katan = "little Yom Kippur" or "little Day of Atonement" in Hebrew. Observed by Orthodox Jews, there are some congregations that observe Yom Kippur Katan each month, while others invoke it in times of special need. Yom Kippur Katan is normally observed on the day prior to the start of each new month, however, if a festival begins on a Sunday, then Yom Kippur Katan takes place on the Thursday before the festival because Yom Kippur Katan cannot be observed on the Sabbath or Shabbat, which for the Jewish people is from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday. Yom Kippur Katan, like Yom Kippur, involves fasting (either part of the day or the whole day) and reciting special penitential prayers, as well as readings from the Torah, the latter performed if there are 10 adult males fasting for the entire day. The Torah readings are the same as for other fast days, and the afternoon service involves reciting the Haftarah for fast days. Yom Kippur Katan also involves reciting supplications for peace in Israel. Yom Kippur Katan involves doing some "soul searching" about one's own deeds of the previous month, whereas Yom Kippur involves performing "soul-searching" about one's deeds for the previous year. The observance of Yom Kippur Katan is more widespread on the eve of the month of Elul, which is the month of intense repentance before the High Holy Days. The Kabbalist Rabbi Moshe Cordovero of Safed (1522-1570) began the custom of observing a "little Yom Kippur" on the day before the day of the New Moon. Yom Kippur Katan is based on the kabbalistic belief that the waning new moon is a symbol of the exile of the Divine presence. According to the Kabbalists, each New Moon is a time of forgiveness for sins. Therefore, by repenting fully on the day before the New Moon, the new month can be entered free of sin - indicating renewal. Ultimately, the purpose of Yom Kippur Katan is to correct our behavior through honesty, humility and integrity.
• Sefirat Ha-Omer = literally "Counting of the Omer" in Hebrew ("Sefirah" or "Sefira" means "counting" or "the count" in Hebrew). According to the Torah, in the biblical Book of Leviticus (Leviticus 23:15), we are obligated to count the days from Passover/Pesach to Shavuot: "And you shall count for yourselves - from the day after the holiday ("U'Sefartem lachem Mi'Mochorat Ha-Shabbat,..." in Hebrew), from the day on which the waved Omer Offering is brought, seven complete weeks. Until (but not including) the day after the Seventh Week, you shall count (until) the fiftieth day, and you shall bring a new Meal Offering to Hashem (G-d)". Jewish tradition interprets "Mi'Mochorat Ha-Shabbat" to mean "the day after the holiday" rather than "the day after Shabbat", which is always Sunday. In this context, "holiday" means the first day of Passover and "the day after the holiday" means the first evening following the first day of Passover (the Jewish day is from sundown to sundown the following day). This interpretation of the word "holiday" results in a variation of the date for Shavuot and prevents Shavuot from always falling on a Sunday, where it would be quite rigorous to celebrate Shabbat (from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday) and then immediately following Shabbat, celebrate a holiday. The time period of counting the days and weeks from the second evening of Passover/Pesach to the evening before the festival of Shavuot is known as "Counting the Omer", where the Hebrew term "Omer" is an ancient Hebrew unit of measure, amounting to about 3.6 litres. Biblical law forbade the use of any of the barley and wheat crop until an offering was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem and so in Temple times, pilgrims to the Temple would bring an offering of barley from the early barley harvest. The amount and name of this offering of barley was known as the "Omer" offering. Why is this time period called the "Counting of the Omer"? The answer is that this time period is called the "Counting" because, as mentioned, we count the days between the second evening of Passover/Pesach (which precedes the day when the Omer offering was brought in Temple times) until the evening before the Shavuot festival, which totals 49 days or seven weeks or a "week of weeks". In the synagogue, we first recite a blessing (Jewish blessings always begin with: "barukh atah..." ("blessed art Thou..." in Hebrew) and then we state the count of the Omer in both days and weeks. It is customary to stand while one performs the Count, if one can. So for instance, if today is the 18th day of the Omer, then we would say: "Today is eighteen days, which is two weeks and four days of the Omer". What is the purpose of this counting? To connect the Passover/Pesach festival with the Shavuot festival. Physical freedom from slavery was just the first step for the Hebrews: they were still clinging to the spiritual mentality of being enslaved by the Egyptians after being in Egypt for hundreds of years and becoming accustomed to the Egyptian way of life, with their multiple G-ds in physical form. That is why after the Exodus from Egypt, while the Hebrews were impatiently waiting for their leader, Moses, to descend from Mount Sinai with the Law - meaning the Torah and the 10 Commandments, some Hebrew men decided to build a Golden Calf and worship it, just as the Egyptians worshipped physical objects, and do what the Hebrews were accustomed to seeing from the Egyptians. The Hebrews needed to break free from the spiritual mentality of being enslaved by Egyptian culture and instead, spiritually accept wholeheartedly their own relationship with the one true G-d. Essentially, the "Counting of the Omer" leads us down the path from physical freedom without spiritual freedom to both physical freedom and spiritual freedom and the covenant I.E. relationship between the Hebrews/Jews and G-d. Complete redemption from slavery was wholly fulfilled when the Hebrews received the Torah and 10 Commandments. The basic idea here is that there is no physical freedom without spiritual freedom, so the purpose of physical redemption for the Hebrews was to attain spiritual redemption. The human being can only create rules and implement them while in government to prevent society from descending into chaos: human being cannot create a moral code on their own, despite being highly creative. The receiving of the Torah - with its moral code - elevated the Hebrews from purely physical beings to spiritual, moral, and physical beings. This enabled the Hebrews to get in touch with their conscious and to realize that it was placed there by G-d and to model their behavior - albeit to a limited extent - after their Creator I.E. G-d. Thus, we realize that the purpose of the Exodus from Egypt was to physically free the Hebrews from being servants to a human overseer or master - the Egyptians - so that the Hebrews would instead become servants to G-d, the true Master of the Universe. The 49 days of "Counting of the Omer" ends on the evening before Shavuot, and the 50th day - the first of the two days of Shavuot (or just the day of Shavuot in Israel as they celebrate Shavuot for only one day) is similar to the Yovel year or Jubilee year, also known as the "Year of Freedom", which follows seven Sabbatical cycles ("Shemittah" in Hebrew) I.E. a Sabbatical cycle consists of six years of working the land of Israel and a seventh year of resting the land, meaning doing no work on it. The following year - the Yovel or Jubilee year or "Year of Freedom" - is when the owners of the land must free the laborers to return to their native homes for the duration of that year. Thus, the Yovel year of freedom is akin to the holiday of Shavuot in that on Shavuot, we attained spiritual freedom, and a spiritual elevation of ourselves from idol-worship, superstitions, and self-worship. There are many events throughout Jewish history that took place during the Sefirat Ha-Omer period, most of them tragic events. As a result, there are partial customs of mourning in the Ashkenazic tradition (Jews whose ancestors came from Central and/or Eastern Europe) that surround this time period which involve many prohibitions concerning joyful events. There are four reasons for seeing this period as a mournful period: (1) in the Talmud (Yevamot, 62B), "It was said, 'Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students, from Gevat to Antipatros, and they all died in one short period of time, because they did not have proper respect for each other'. And we learned in a Tosefta, 'They all died between Pesach and Shavuot'. "The deaths from plague ceased completely on the Thirty-Third day of the Omer (Lag Ba-Omer). [Note: the "Tosefta" ("supplement" in Hebrew) is a second compilation of Oral Law, compiled about 220 C.E. - 230 C.E. that supplements the Mishnah, or principal compilation of Oral Law]. Rabbi Akiva (also: Akiba ben Joseph) lived from about circa 50 C.E. - circa 135 C.E., and he was a great authority on Jewish tradition and was the one of the most central and essential contributors to the early Oral Torah, mainly the Mishnah of the Talmud and the "Midrash Halakhah"; (2) the loss of the "Beit Ha-Mikdash" ("Temple" in Hebrew); (3) the failure of Simeon Bar Kosiba [nicknamed: Simon "Bar Kochba", meaning "son of the star" in Hebrew, an allusion to a verse in the Book of Numbers (Numbers 24:17): "there shall come a star out of Jacob". This star is understood to refer to the Messiah.] to defeat the Romans in the years of the Bar Kochba rebellion, from 132 C.E. to 135 C.E. Simeon Bar Bar Kosiba was given the nickname "Bar Kochba" by Rabbi Akiva because his early string of military successes against the Romans made Rabbi Akiva think he was the Messiah; and (4) the final military loss by the Hebrews to the Romans in 135 C.E. at the city of Beitar, ending the Bar Kochba rebellion, and leaving thousands of Jews dead. Later on in history, the Bogdan Chmielnicki Massacres of Jews in Poland and Russia in 1648 and 1649 also occurred during the "Sefirat Ha-Omer" period, as well as other persecutions against the Jews throughout history. Based on the aforementioned reasons, it is customary during this period known as "Sefirat Ha-Omer" to refrain from public as well as private parties, weddings, and dinners with dancing, as well as to not cut one's hair or cut one's beard. On the 33rd day of the "Counting of the Omer" - known as "Lag B'Omer" or "Lag Ba Omer" (literally "Thirty-three in the Omer" or the "Thirty-third day in the Omer" in Hebrew), a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar - traditionally explained as the day on which the plague that had afflicted Rabbi Akiva and his students in Judea in the 2nd century C.E. ended, the aforementioned customs surrounding Sefirat Ha-Omer are lifted just for that day (for Ashkenazim I.E. Jews of Central and/or Eastern European ancestry, not Sephardim I.E. Jews of Spanish and/or Portuguese ancestry), but continue again on the following day until the end of the Sefirat Ha-Omer period of 49 days. For most Sephardim, the end of the 33rd day of the Omer or Lag La'Omer (as Sephardim call it) and continuing on until the dawn of the 34th day of the Omer marks the end of the mourning-like restrictions of the "Sefirat Ha-Omer" or "Omer" period of 49 days, and so from the dawn of the 34th day of the Omer and onward through to the rest of the 49-day Sefirat Ha-Omer period, it is once again permissible to have marriages take place for Sephardim, although there will be some Sephardic communities that will end their semi-mourning restrictions on the 33rd day of the Omer I.E. on Lag Ba'Omer / Lag B'Omer. The Lag Ba'Omer / Lag B'Omer custom of when to end the semi-mourning restrictions during the Counting of the Omer period depends on the opinion of the specific rabbi that the Jewish community in question follows. In prayer services on Lag Ba'Omer, there are some changes in the liturgy that communicate that Lag Ba'Omer is a joyous day.
• Yom Ha-Shoah = literally either "Day of Catastrophe", "Day of Cataclysm", "Day of Disaster", or "Day of Destruction" in Hebrew, as the Hebrew word "Shoah" literally means either "catastrophe", "cataclysm", "disaster", or "destruction", and is a word that is used to denote the Holocaust I.E. Holocaust Commemoration Day.
• Yom Ha-Zikaron or Yom Ha-Zikkaron = literally "Day of Remembrance" in Hebrew, referring to Israel's Memorial Day.
• Yom Ha-Atzmaut = literally "Day of Independence" in Hebrew, referring to Israel's Independence Day.
• Lag Ba'Omer or Lag B'Omer or Lag Ba-Omer (Ashkenazic tradition = Central and Eastern European Jewry) or Lag La'Omer [Sephardic tradition = Spanish and Portuguese Jewry; Lag La'Omer is more gramatically correct in Hebrew, and the name "Lag La'Omer" is taken from the "Shulchan Aruch", meaning "Set Table" or "Prepared Table" in Hebrew, the most authoritative compilation of Jewish law since the Talmud, completed in the 1560's by the Sephardic Rabbi Joseph Karo of Safed, Israel, with added notes by the Ashkenazic Rabbi Moshe Isserles of Krakow, Poland (these supplementary notes are called the "Mappah", meaning "Tablecloth" in Hebrew) which gives the rulings followed by Ashkenazic Jews]. Lag Ba'Omer = literally "thirty-three in the Omer" or the "thirty-third day in the Omer" in Hebrew, as opposed to Lag La'Omer = "thirty-three of the Omer", or the "thirty-third day of the Omer". Lag Ba'Omer is the 33rd day in the "Omer" or "Sefirat Ha-Omer" period of 49 days, which begins on the second evening of the Passover/Pesach holiday and ends on the evening before the Shavuot festival. Lag Ba'Omer is a joyous and festive minor holiday - in terms of its liturgy and its origins - for Ashkenazim (Jews whose ancestors came from Central and/or Eastern Europe) which traditionally commemorates the end of a plague that, according to the Talmud (Yevamot 62:2) and midrashic sources, killed "12,000 pairs" I.E. 24,000 students of the great rabbinic authority in Jewish tradition and Talmudic contributor, Rabbi Akiva (also: Akiba ben Joseph) in the 2nd century C.E. in Judea. However, some say that the "plague" was actually the Roman plague, and that these students were killed by the Romans in the Bar Kochba rebellion against the Romans that lasted from 132 C.E. to 135 C.E. Lag Ba-Omer is a day of special joy and festivity. However, despite the aforementioned traditional explanation for celebrating Lag Ba'Omer, the need for the Jews to go underground after the period of the Bar Kochba rebellion against the Romans from 132 C.E. to 135 C.E. meant that the definitive reason for celebrating the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer was shrouded in secrecy. One theory has it that the words "Lag Ba'Omer" were in fact a secret coded message that was sent in the course of the Bar Kochba rebellion. In the first Jewish rebellion against the Romans in 66 C.E., it was decided to begin the rebellion on the 18th of the Hebrew month of Iyar or Iyyar, which today is the 33rd day of the Omer. The Jews encoded the critical date by referring to it as "Lag B'Omer", instead of the 18th of Iyar [Wars of the Jews (2, 16-17), by Josephus (Yoseph Ben Mattityahu, the Jewish historian)]. Another theory says that Simon Bar Kochba, the Jewish leader of the rebellion from 132 C.E. to 135 C.E. suffered a series of losses during the rebellion but on the 33rd day of the Omer, he scored a victory, which raised the morale of the Jewish fighters. To commemorate this morale-boosting victory, the holiday of Lag Ba'Omer was started. Despite losing the war to the Romans, the Jews kept alive the spirit of revolt by continuing to commemorate Lag Ba'Omer in order to retain the fervant hope of gaining freedom for and returning to the Land of Israel as a free people, just as it is now stated in the Israeli national anthem. After the Jews were defeated by the Romans, Roman rule in Judea became extremely severe, in the manner of a police state as well as a strict military occupation, and so the observance of Lag Ba'Omer went underground. Despite the fact that the meaning of Lag Ba'Omer was kept a secret, as well as its meaning becoming somewhat obscured over the ages, Lag Ba'Omer has always been an extremely popular Jewish holiday. The word "Lag" in "Lag Ba'Omer" is not actually a word. In ancient times, the Hebrews used Hebrew letters in place of numerals or numbers (it is still used in "Gematria", meaning "number" in Greek; Gematria is a specific form of Kabbalistic numerology I.E. Jewish mystical numerology). This was just like how the Romans used Roman numerals. Thus, the word "Lag" in "Lag Ba'Omer" is actually a combination of the letter "L" and "G" in the Hebrew words "Lamed", which has the numerical equivalent of "thirty", and "Gimmel", which has the numerical equivalent of "three", where the sum total of both numerical equivalents equals "thirty-three". So the "L" in "Lamed" and the "G" in "Gimmel" are combined with the letter "a" (pronounced like the "o" in the word "hot") to produce the word "Lag", meaning "thirty-three" or the "thirty-third". The "Ba" in "Lag Ba-Omer" is, gramatically-speaking, a combination of the definite article "in" and the preposition "the" I.E. "Ba" means "in the", and "Omer" in "Lag Ba-Omer", which refers to the grain offering brought to the Temple in Temple times as well as the day on which it was brought, which was the 16th of the Hebrew month of Nissan or Nisan. The Day of the "Omer" is Day 1 of the Sefirat Ha-Omer, or the "Counting of the Omer" in Hebrew, which last for 49 days whereupon on the 50th day - which is not part of the counting - is the first day of the holiday of Shavuot on the 6th day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (first of two days - the 6th and 7th of Sivan - for Jews living outside Israel; for Jews living in Israel and for Reform Jews, the holiday of Shavuot takes place for one day only, on the 6th day of Sivan). As mentioned, Lag Ba-Omer is a joyous and festive holiday and so Lag Ba-Omer customs include: going out on a picnic or other outing, omitting the Tachanun prayer in prayer services [the Tachanun ("supplication" in Hebrew) prayer is a prayer for special Divine Mercy for oneself] because on all Jewish holidays, G-d is displaying a "smiling face" to us and so there is no need to ask for Divine Mercy on holidays; children go out to the fields with their teachers with bows and (rubber-tipped) arrows, and bats and balls (which symbolizes the fighting between the Jews and the Romans in the Jewish rebellions against the Romans), and in Israel, specifically in Meron, Israel (near Safed, Israel, in the Galilee), people who come from all over Israel celebrate "Hillulah De Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai", which literally means "the celebration of Rabbi Shimon, son of Yochai" in Hebrew, and go to the burial site of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who was a Kabbalist (Jewish mystic) and the traditionally known author of the major literary work of Kabbalism (Jewish mysticism), the Zohar. Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai was a student of Rabbi Akiva, the spiritual leader of the Bar Kochba Revolt against Rome from 132 C.E. to 135 C.E., and to the burial site of Shimon bar Yochai's son, Rabbi Elazar b'Rabbi Shimon, to celebrate the "Yahrtzeit" I.E. the anniversary of the death of Rabbi Yochai. After nightfall, they celebrate by carrying torches and lighting bonfires (this custom makes sense since bonfires were used to transmit signals in wartime, and would have been used in the Bar Kochba rebellion), singing songs, and feasting, which were requests made by Rabbi Yochai to his students. Since the 16th century when the Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572, born in Jerusalem) lived, it has been a custom for 3 year-old boys to get their hair cut primarily at the Meron, Israel festivities while their parents give out sweets and wine to the merrymakers. Furthermore, in Israel, about 10 days before Lag Ba'Omer takes place, children in all the cities and towns of Israel start looking for any kind of wood they can use to burn on the day of Lag Ba'Omer because Lag Ba'Omer is usually a school holiday (or else there is special programming), and children go out with their parents to open areas in cities and towns throughout the country to light bonfires. In addition, this is the day when students celebrate Lag Ba'Omer on the campuses of their universities, known as "Student's Day". Since the restrictions for the Sefirat Ha-Omer period are lifted just for Lag Ba'Omer, many weddings take place throughout Israel on this day. In the Middle Ages, Lag Ba'Omer became known as the "Scholar's Festival" because it became a special holiday for students who were planning to become rabbis. These students celebrated Lag Ba'Omer with various kinds of merrymaking. In prayer services on Lag Ba'Omer, there are some changes in the liturgy that communicate that Lag Ba'Omer is a joyous day. For most Sephardim (Jews whose ancestors came from Spain and/or Portugal), the end of the day of Lag La'Omer (as they refer to the holiday) and continuing on until the dawn of the 34th day of the Omer marks the end of the "Sefirat Ha-Omer" mourning-like restrictions, and so starting once again at dawn on the 34th day of the Omer and onward throughout the remainder of the Sefirat Ha-Omer period of 49 days, marriages are permitted to be held for Sephardim, however, there are some Sephardic communities that will end their semi-mourning restrictions on the 33rd day of the Omer I.E. on Lag Ba'Omer / Lag B'Omer. There are different rabbinical opinions concerning when to end the semi-mourning restrictions during the Counting of the Omer period of 49 days and each Jewish community follows the opinion of the rabbi that leads their particular community. Lag Ba'Omer or Lag La'Omer thus teaches us about the long struggle for freedom and the importance of persevering in the face of defeat. After all, the Jews are still here today while the powerful Romans, Babylonians, Assyrians, and more recently, the Nazis, have all been destroyed. There is a message in this for us, and for all humankind.
• Yom Yerushalayim = literally "Jerusalem Day" in Hebrew; also: "Jerusalem Re-Unification Day", which occurred in 1967.
• Shavuot, Shavuoth, or Shavuos (Yiddish) = Feast of Weeks, Festival of Reaping; Hebrew names: (1) "Chag Shavuot" or "Hag Shavuot" = "Feast (or Holiday) of Weeks", (2) "Z'man Matan Torateinu" or "Chag Matan Torah" = "The Time of the Giving of Our Torah", (3) "Chag Ha-Bikkurim" = "The Holiday of the First Fruits" or "Yom Ha-Bikkurim" = "The Day of the First Fruits". In Temple times, Shavuot was a time when pilgrims would travel to Jerusalem and to the Temple and freely offer (it was not prescribed) the first fruits of the wheat harvest as well as two loaves of shewbread as sacrifices to the priests or "Kohanim" in Hebrew, and various animal sacrifices; no work was permitted during Shavuot. Shavuot was the concluding festival of the grain harvest, just as Sukkot was the concluding festival of the fruit harvest. After the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. by the Romans, people did not bring any more Bikkurim or First Fruits to Jerusalem as it was abolished, and so the Shavuot festival turned to focussing more on the Giving of the Law, or the Torah and 10 Commandments ("Aseret Ha-Dibrot", meaning "Ten Commandments", or "Ten Utterances" in Hebrew) on Mount Sinai. However, a custom still remains of bringing the first fruits of one's garden and one's field to one's rabbi or to the head of one's community. In Israel, first fruits are brought to the Jewish National Fund, which then redeems them for money which goes into the building of the land of Israel, (4) "Atzeret" = "The Holiday of "Being Held Back, or Restrained, Close to Hashem, in the Temple". The term "Atzeret" is used exclusively in the Mishnah of the Talmud as the name for the holiday of Shavuot, although in the Torah, the name "Atzeret" is also applied to Passover and Sukkot. "Atzeret" means "assembly" in Hebrew, as in a festive assembly of all the people. In Temple times, Jewish people from all over the region would come to Jerusalem and the Temple to celebrate the festival of Shavuot in a joyous manner. Today, people in Kibbutzim (communal farms) and Moshavim (cooperative Israeli villages or settlements comprised of small farms) in Israel celebrate this as an agricultural festival with dancing and singing. "Atzeret" is the final day of the period from Passover to Shavuot, similar to "Shemini Atzeret" being the day of assembly of the Hebrew/Jewish people in Jerusalem which occurred on the day after the final day of the seven-day festival of Sukkot. The term "Atzeret" also refers to something being "held back" for the purpose of bringing it to its state of completion. As an example, G-d held back the Jews for just one day after Sukkot, instead of requiring them to travel to Jerusalem and the Temple in the winter months, in order to show G-ds' love for the Jewish people. In the case of Shavuot, "Atzeret" means that G-d wants the Jewish people to be close to G-d at all times, just as the holiday of Passover and Shavuot have a special relationship with each other, almost, in a sense, being one holiday: the Holiday of Redemption, Physical and Spiritual, of the Jewish People. Returning to the case of the 7-day holiday of Sukkot, "Shemini Atzeret" means the eighth day which is the additional day that brings the 7-day holiday of Sukkot to its state of perfection. Shemini Atzeret is not connected to Sukkot, but rather, is a separate holiday. As a separate holiday, it requires ushering in by the woman of the household reciting the "Shehecheyanu" blessing while lighting the candles for the holiday, and the male of the household reciting the "Kiddush" blessing at the evening festive meal, known as a "Seudah" in Hebrew, (5) "Chag Ha-Katzir" = "The Holiday of the Cutting of the Crop" or "Feast of Harvest"; Pentecost (New Testament name, from the Greek word meaning "fiftieth"). The first fruits for Shavuot would be marked off by the Hebrew/Jewish farmers by tieing a ribbon around the branch when the first ripened fruits were ready to be picked. These first ripened fruits were known as the Bikkurim, or first fruits. Prior to the start of the wheat harvest, Hebrews/Jews would come to the Temple in Jerusalem to offer "shtei ha'lechem" ("two loaves" in Hebrew) of shewbread made with the finest of wheat flour. Musical instruments such as fifes, timbres, and drums would be played and as the Hebrews approached the city of Jerusalem, they would be greeted by the local inhabitants. Sometimes the king would accompany the pilgrims to the Temple. Hebrews who lived close to Jerusalem would bring baskets of fresh fruits while those that lived far from Jerusalem would bring figs and dried raisins. Although Shavuot occurs on the 6th day of the Hebrew month of Sivan, G-d commanded Moses to prepare the Hebrews on the 3rd day of Sivan for G-ds' descent and visit. The Hebrews washed themselves and their clothes and purified their clothes and bodies. On the 6th day of Sivan, the Hebrews awoke to the sound of thunder and saw lightening and thick, dark clouds hanging over Mount Sinai. The sound of the Shofar or Ram's Horn, echoed across the Sinai Desert, and the earth began to tremble and shake. Just then, the Hebrews heard G-d's voice, which spoke to them through the clouds. It was at that point that G-d gave the Hebrews the Ten Commandments (the Hebrew/Jewish version, that is, as people of other faiths have their own version of the Ten Commandments). Shavuot customs include: (1) "Tikkun Lel Shavuot" or "Tikkun Leil Shavuot" = literally "Repair Night Shavuot" or in full, "Repair or Prepare On The Night Of Shavuot" or the "Fixing of the Night of Shavuot" or the "Improvement of the Night of Shavuot" or the "Restoration of Shavuot Eve", a reference to a traditional all-night study session of the Torah (including the Prophets), the Talmud, and the Zohar (Kabbalah), but this all-night study session can include any intense study of Jewish text. This tradition was started by the Kabbalists, or Jewish mystics, who would undertake this all-night study session in order to prepare themselves for hearing the 10 Commandments being read from the Torah at the morning service. The Kabbalists believed that by preparing themselves for the hearing of the 10 Commandments through the reparation of their souls, they would be able to listen to the reading of the 10 Commandments with a clean conscious. A legend that grew up concerning the origin of this custom was that on the night before the Hebrews received the Torah on Mount Sinai, they had a good night's sleep. When G-d saw this, G-d was disappointed, saying: "I would have thought that they would be so excited that they wouldn't be able to fall asleep". The Zohar, a major literary work of the Jewish mystics, or Kabbalists, says that in order to atone for the Hebrews' oversleeping, says that one should stay up all night and study Jewish texts. As a result, many Jews observe this all-night study session in order to demonstrate their excitement upon receiving the Torah. The study of religious texts on the night prior to the day when the Torah was received by the Hebrews is but another example of the Jewish people's desire to not only commemorate an historical event in their past, but to actually relive it. The enhancement of our intellect and our souls towards perfection through the performance of this study session in order to feel worthy of receiving the Torah prior to the expectation of receiving the Torah is an attempt to improve upon the state which our ancestors, the Hebrews, were in prior to receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, (2) Another Shavuot custom involves the eating of dairy foods. One explanation for this custom states that after the Second Temple was destroyed in 70 C.E. by the Romans, new customs emerged, with one of them being the eating of dairy foods. Another explanation for eating dairy foods is that just as breast milk is the source of life for the suckling infant so the Torah is the source of life for all, including the Hebrew/Jewish people. Still another explanation says that Shavuot is a late spring - early summer festival, and so at this time of the year, light foods such as dairy foods were eaten in Israel. As well, cows and goats have plenty of milk in this season in Israel, and so it was natural to eat plenty of dairy foods. Still another explanation says that the Torah has many restrictions concerning the consumption of meat and before the Torah was given to the Hebrews, they often ate dairy foods, where there were very few restrictions. Also, since the Torah with its kosher laws was not yet given to the Hebrews, the Hebrews thus refrained from eating meat. Still another explanation states that since Shavuot is a time for being "pure" as we prepared to receive the Torah, there was something inherently impure about slaughtering an animal for meat, so as a result, we eat dairy products and not meat. Yet another explanation says that before the Hebrews received the Torah and its kosher dietary laws for cookware and meats, they were not keeping their dishes and utensils kosher and were not eating kosher meats. When the Hebrews received the Torah and 10 Commandments - on the day of Shabbat - they discovered that they now needed to eat kosher meats as well as use separate sets of dishes for meat and dairy foods, which are dietary laws that are part of the kosher dietary laws given in the Torah which states that milk and meat must not be eaten together and to use "kosher" methods and guidelines for slaughtering animals and eating their meat. Since they did not yet have separate sets of dishes for meat and dairy foods, and because it was Shabbat, and all types of work are forbidden on Shabbat, they were unable to use their dishes on the day they received the Torah and 10 Commandments until they were rendered "kosher" through the proper methods of "koshering" utensils. Therefore, the meal they created on that day was a dairy meal, which has far fewer restrictions in the kosher dietary laws. Another connection between dairy and the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai was that the word for milk - "Halav" in Hebrew (also: "Chalav") - has a numerical value of 40 according to the Hebrew numerical system for Hebrew letters which corresponds to the 40 days that Moses spent on Mount Sinai. Furthermore, Psalm 92:3 has a phrase which states: "To declare Your lovingkindness in the morning". The Hebrew acronym from this phrase is "Halav" ("milk" in Hebrew) and this Hebrew acronym that contains the word "lovingkindness" as well as spelling out the word "milk" is connected with all of the Torah being "lovingkindness". And still another explanation says that as the Hebrews were preparing themselves for receiving the Torah, they made certain sacrifices which increased their awareness of the coming Revelation on Mount Sinai and one of those sacrifices was abstaining from meat. Thus, a form of vegetarianism was practised as the Hebrews were preparing to receive the Torah which underscored the belief that a life of studying the Torah brings peace not only between humanity and itself, but between humanity and nature. This, says this explanation, is the reason for the connection between Shavuot and dairy foods eaten today on Shavuot, such as blintzes, cheese kreplach (a kind of stuffed dumpling), and cheesecake. Cakes such as cheesecake and especially tall cakes were and are baked on Shavuot to symbolize the Giving of The Law I.E. the Torah and 10 Commandments on Mount Sinai. Other traditions say that the Jews waited so long for the Torah that they were exhausted; when they returned to their tents, they fixed the simplest food possible, which was dairy. Furthermore, in the biblical "Song of Songs", the Torah is likened to honey and milk (Song of Songs 4:11), thus the connection between the Torah and dairy foods. In addition, another explanation for eating dairy foods on Shavuot is that there are many references in the Torah - and in the Hebrew Bible as a whole - to the Land of Israel being "a land flowing with milk and honey" (Torah: Exodus 3:8, Exodus 3:17, Exodus 13:5, Exodus 33:3, Leviticus 20:24, Numbers 13:27, Numbers 14:8, Deuteronomy 6:3, Deuteronomy 11:9, Deuteronomy 26:9, Deuteronomy 26:15, Deuteronomy 27:3, Deuteronomy 31:20; the rest of the Hebrew Bible: Joshua 5:6, Jeremiah 11:5, Jeremiah 32:22, Ezekiel 20:6, Ezekiel 20:15 = all biblical references to: "a land flowing with milk and honey"). On Shavuot, it is customary to have at least one dairy meal, usually in the morning, before having a meat meal at lunchtime. Some Jews will instead eat specific dairy products. In Israel, it is customary for some Jews to eat plenty of various fruits, including fruits from the "seven species" of Israel, since the first fruits of the "seven species" were brought in highly decorated baskets to the Temple ("Beit Ha-Mikdash" in Hebrew) in Jerusalem in Temple times. Other Shavuot customs observed by some Israelis include a pilgrimmage to King David's tomb [King David was born on Shavuot and died on Shavuot, therefore we observe his "Yahrtzeit", meaning the anniversary of his death, by reading the Book of Ruth, since David was the great-grandson of Ruth, thereby making her the mother of the royal lineage I.E. "Ima Shel Malchut", meaning "mother of royalty" in Hebrew, as it is written in the Talmud, as well as being the mother of the future Messiah or "Moshiach" in Hebrew, who will end all exiles, and restore Israel to its highest glory, and lead the entire world to a destiny of peace and happiness], paying visits to the tombs of Sages and pouring water, sending gifts to the poor, and observing the laws of "Shemittah" I.E. the Sabbatical year, including the law of "kilayim", meaning "the junction of two inappropriate things" in Hebrew and in this context, meaning the mixing of crop seeds that should not be mixed together. The aforementioned customs of sending gifts to the poor and observing the laws for the Sabbatical year are closely connected to the laws for working the land, and hence to Shavuot. On Shavuot, the laws prohibiting working are the same as the laws prohibiting working on Shabbat except that Shabbat laws such as the prohibition of cooking, baking, carrying a fire, and transferring a fire on Shabbat are permitted on Shavuot. However, if Shavuot falls on Shabbat, then all the laws for Shabbat as well as all the laws for Shavuot apply. A Midrash [meaning an imaginative interpretation of Hebrew Scripture; also referring to collections of writings (some legal but mostly non-legal) that are ordered around the layout of the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible. Midrashic writings are mostly collections of stories that relate to words, themes, or narratives in the Tanakh.] says that since the Torah is inherently loving kindness ("Hessed", "Hesed", "Chessed", or "Chesed" in Hebrew), and the Book of Ruth also consists of loving kindness, then that connection resulted in the reading of the Book of Ruth on Shavuot (from "Midrash Rabbah" I.E. the "Great Midrash" in Hebrew, the largest collection of Midrashic writings, consisting of a multi-volume commentary on the 5 Books of Moses and the 5 Megillot (scrolls) - Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther; the word "Midrash" derives from the Hebrew word "Darash", meaning "to investigate" or "to search"). Another Shavuot custom is to re-create the look of Mount Sinai when the Hebrews received the Torah and/or to create a peace between humanity and nature by decorating the synagogue and one's home with flowers, green plants, shrubbery, and foliage. According to this explanation, the decoration of flowers, shrubbery, and foliage also symbolizes the agricultural roots of the Shavuot festival. An Aggadic (non-legal text of the Talmud I.E. the ethical sayings and scriptural exposition of the Sages as opposed to the Halakhic - meaning legal - text of the Talmud) explanation says that when the Torah was given, Mount Sinai, being situated in the south-central part of the Sinai Desert, suddenly burst into a mountain of flowers, trees, and grass. The time of year - late spring to early summer - of the Shavuot festival another reason why we honor Shavuot by using these symbols. Some Temples will even decorate the Torah scrolls with wreaths of roses. Another Shavuot custom, as mentioned, involves the reading of the Book of Ruth (otherwise known as the Scroll of Ruth, one of the five "Megillot", or Torah "scrolls" in Hebrew) on the second day of Shavuot in the Diaspora (Jewish communities living outside Israel), before the Torah reading (with the general exception of the Sephardic and Chassidic Lubavitch communities). There are many explanations as to why we read the Book of Ruth on Shavuot. Ruth was a Moabite who was a convert to Judaism. The origin of this custom perhaps lay in the fact that the Torah was not only given to the Hebrews alone, but rather, the Torah was given to all those that accepted it, that G-d's word was and is accessible to all. Another explanation for reading the Book of Ruth was that just as Ruth took it upon herself to accept the Torah, so to on Shavuot, do we accept the Torah. Another explanation is that just as "Matan Torah" (the "Giving of the Torah" in Hebrew) marked the Hebrews' entry into a covenant with G-d, so the Book of Ruth tells how Ruth entered into the same covenant with G-d. Another reason for reading the Book of Ruth on Shavuot was that many of the events in Ruth's life took place around the time of the grain harvest, which ran from the early barley harvest to the end of the wheat harvest I.E. from Passover to Shavuot, inclusive. Another legend concerning Shavuot says that the mountains were vying to be chosen as the place where the Torah and its 10 commandments were to be received. Shavuot is also a time when one reconfirms their commitment to Judaism. As a result, Reform-Jews celebrate a confirmation ceremony in which 10th graders reconfirm their commitment to the Torah and Judaism as a whole. In prayer services for Shavuot, after the Kohen I.E. "priest" in Hebrew is called up to read from the Torah but before he gives the congregation his priestly blessing, the 90-verse piyut (a liturgical "poem" in Hebrew) known as "Akdamut", meaning "Before I Speak" in Hebrew, is read responsively, with either the Torah reader or the Hazzan/Cantor saying two verses, and the congregation saying the following two verses. It is called "Before I Speak" because at the beginning of the piyut or piyyut there is an introduction in which the poet asks permission to speak his words, meaning to write down the greatness of the acts of G-d, to glorify and praise G-d. "Akdamut" is made up of forty-five double verses, which are ninety rhyming pairs that all end with the rhyming syllable "-ta". "Akdamut" serves as an introduction to the 10 Commandments. "Akdamut" is a most beloved liturgical poem in Judaism and describes how G-d created the world and gives a close look at the splendors and magnificence of the world to come. "Akdamut" also describes the praises to G-d given by the Malachim ["Malachim" means both "messengers" and "angels" (an angel being a divine messenger, but can also refer to human messengers as well)], as well as the greatness and suffering of the Hebrews/Jews and their ultimate restoration to Jerusalem and the land of Israel and the Messianic Era. "Akdamut" was written in Aramaic by Rabbi Meir ben Yitzchak, a renowned composer of piyyutim ("liturgical poems" in Hebrew), and was also a "shaliach tzibbur" ("prayer leader" in Hebrew) in Worms, Germany in the 11th century C.E. Rabbi Yitzchak also lived in Orleans, France. On the second day of Shavuot, after the reading of the first verse of the Haftarah reading, another piyut is chanted. It is known as "Yetziv Pisgam" ("Upright Saying" in Hebrew). It is a piyut in praise of Yonatan ben Uzziel, who wrote the books of Nevi'im (prophets) of the Targum (Aramaic translation of the Hebrew Bible). Yetziv Pisgam is a 15-verse liturgical poem that has been attributed to Rabbi Jacob ben Meir Ha-Levi, identified by some with Rabbi Tam, who was the grandson of Rashi, the great Talmudic commentator who lived in Troyes, France from 1040-1105 C.E. The reason for the Exodus from Egypt was for the Hebrews to experience Shavuot. Although the Hebrews were physically free from slavery in Egypt, they had yet to experience their spiritual freedom, since they succumbed to their temptation of reverting back to the idolatry that they were exposed to for hundreds of years in Egypt by building a Golden Calf while waiting for Moses to descend from Mount Sinai. It took 7 weeks after the Exodus from Egypt for the Hebrews to throw off the feeling of being subject to their Egyptian taskmasters or overseers. For Judaism believes that there is no legitimate master for a human being other than G-d. This is likely the most important lesson of Shavuot. Another custom involves lighting a candle known as a Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle [Yahrtzeit literally means A "Year('s) Time" in Yiddish, referring to an anniversary; specifically, an anniversary of the passing of a close relative in Judaism; colloquially-speaking, it is the annual time for the memorialization of the close relative who has passed, and the memorialization is done using a special candle called a Yahrtzeit candle I.E. Memorial candle that is kindled and burns for 26 hours. There are also Yahrtzeit candles that burn for 50 hours. Yahrtzeit or Yahrzeit is a compound word: "Yahr" means "Year" in Yiddish and "Tzeit" or "Zeit" means "Time" in Yiddish. Yizkor means "May (G-d) Remember" in Hebrew, it is from the Hebrew root word "zakhor", meaning "remember".]. The Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle is lit at sundown on the second night of Shavuot. In the prayer services, there is a special Yizkor service that takes place on the following day after lighting the Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle.
• Shivah Asar B'Tammuz, Shivah Asar Be'Tammuz, Shiva Asar B'Tammuz, or Shiva Asar Be'Tammuz = literally "17th of Tammuz" in Hebrew, where "Shivah", "Shiva", or "Shiv'a" corresponds to the number 7 in Hebrew numerology, and "Asar" or "Assar" corresponds to the number 10 in Hebrew numerology, together totalling 17. This is a fast day that primarily mourns the breaching of the defensive wall of Jerusalem by the Roman leader Titus and the Roman legions in 70 C.E., however, many other Jewish tragedies occured on this day as outlined in the Jewish holiday calendar table.
• Tisha B'Av or Tisha Be'Av = literally "Nine in Av" in Hebrew ("Av" is the name of a Hebrew month). This is a fast day in the Hebrew/Jewish calendar. On this day, Jews fast for 25 hours. The restrictions on Tisha B'Av are similar to those on Yom Kippur: to refrain from eating and drinking (even water); washing, bathing, shaving or wearing cosmetics; wearing leather shoes; engaging in sexual relations; and studying Torah. Work in the ordinary sense of the word is also restricted. People who are ill need not fast on this day. Many of the traditional mourning practices are observed: people refrain from smiles, laughter and idle conversation, and sit on low stools. Tisha B'Av is a day of mourning for Jewish tragedies, including the loss of both the First Temple (587 B.C.E. or 586 B.C.E.) and Second Temple (70 C.E.), as well as the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492 and Portugal in 1497. The biblical Book of Lamentations ("Eikhah" or "Eikha" in Hebrew, literally meaning "How" or "Alas"; also: Scroll of Lamentations, one of the five scrolls or five "Megillot" in Hebrew) is read. "Kinot" ("Dirges of mourning" in Hebrew) are also read. There are seven weeks between Tisha B'Av and the start of a new Jewish year, and these weeks are dedicated to special readings of consolation on Shabbat. During these seven weeks, we are to climb from the depths of despair, to the heights of hope and reconciliation.
• Tu B'Av (also: Hamisha-Asar B'Av or Hamishah-Asar Be'Av; also: "Hamishah Asar B'Menahem Av", "Hamishah Asar Be'Menahem Av", "Hamishah Asar B'Menachem Av" or "Hamishah Asar Be'Menachem Av") = literally "15th of Av" in Hebrew ("Av" is the name of a Hebrew month). Tu B'Av or Tu Be'Av is also known in Israel as: "Tu B'Ahava" or "Tu Be'Ahava", literally meaning: "15th of Love" in Hebrew, referring to the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av being a day for celebrating romance. The word "Tu" in "Tu B'Av" is the combination of the Hebrew letters "tet" and "vav", meaning in Hebrew numerology: "tet" = 9 + "vav" = 6, respectively, therefore = 15. The Hebrew word "Hamishah" or "Hamisha" corresponds to the number "5" in Hebrew numerology, and the Hebrew word "Asar" or "Assar" corresponds to the number "10" in Hebrew numerology, thus totalling 15. The words "Menahem Av" or "Menachem Av" ("Consoling Av" in Hebrew) are added to the name "Hamishah Asar Be'Menachem Av" because after the deep mourning of Tisha Be'Av, we express the wish that Av may soon be a month of great consolation, after having been a month of great calamities since the first Temple was destroyed. This is a minor Jewish festival that was instituted in Second Temple times to mark the start of the grape harvest, which ended on Yom Kippur. According to the Babylonian Talmud (Ta'anit 4:8), in Second Temple times, Tu Be'Av (as well as Yom Kippur) was celebrated as a joyous occasion: "There were no greater holidays ("Yamim Tovim" in Hebrew) for Israel than Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur, for on them, the girls of Jerusalem used to go out in borrowed white dresses...and dance in the vineyards. What would they say? 'Young man, lift up your eyes and see what you choose for yourself. Do not set your eyes on beauty but set them on good family. Grace is deceitful (or "Charm is false") and beauty is vain. But a woman that fears G-d, she will be praised (Proverbs 31:30)...'". In Temple times, on the day of Tu Be'Av and Yom Kippur, eligible young Jewish girls from Jerusalem - both rich and poor - would dress in simple white clothing as a form of equality. The purpose of this was to create no distinction between rich and poor as well as to display each girl's purity and simplicity. Better still, the daughters of more affluent families would lend dresses to those maidens whose families were too impoverished to provide them with an appropriate gown in which to go courting. The young women then went out to dance and play their tambourines in the fields and vineyards under the full moon in the Hebrew month of Av (roughly in August), performing circle dances following the harvesting of the crops, as Tu B'Av was originally a harvest festival, coming during the ingathering of the grapes. The custom of young women dancing in the fields and vineyards in Israel began in Talmudic times (roughly 10 B.C.E. to about 500 C.E.) and they were developed in order to commemorate many positive historical events in Hebrew/Jewish history that took place on the 15th day of Av as explained below. Eligible young Jewish men would then come to the fields and vineyards where the young women were dancing, circle the women, and then select their wives from among these girls as they were dancing. Although all the women were dressed in white garments which represented a form of equality in terms of personal wealth and external beauty, each was hoping to catch the eye of a prospective husband. There is also a claim by some that it was the opposite: the women selected their husbands. Whichever is the case, as stated, the women wore white so as not to be selected on the basis of wealth and beauty alone, but rather, the men should look into a woman's soul and determine whether they were a good person with good character and hence, a model wife for a future family. If it was suspected by a woman that she were being chosen solely on the basis of beauty, the woman would admonish the man for choosing her based only on that reason. The last mishnah in the Babylonian Talmud Tractate Ta'anit (Ta'anit 26b, and Ta'anit 30-31, written by Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel II, the head of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish "Supreme Court") of the Talmud describes the festivity of Tu Be'Av in a rather eye-opening manner: "There were no happier festivals for Israel than Tu Be'Av and Yom Ha-Kippurim. On these days the young women of Jerusalem would go out...dancing in the vineyards. And what would they say? 'Young man lift up your eyes and decide which woman you will choose (to marry)...'". According to our sages, on Tu Be'Av, there was no need for separation between men and women, since all Israel had erected about themselves fences of purity, chastity and holiness by wearing the color white. Clothed in integrity, you could go anywhere. From this custom developed a sense that Tu B'Av is a lucky day in matters of love, so festivals centering on the theme of love abound on this day, especially in Israel. Both Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur are considered by many Jews to be the most joyous days of the Jewish calendar year: Tu B'Av because of its association with new beginnings in potentially creating a new family from matchmaking and weddings and Yom Kippur because it is the day on which one's sins are forgiven, and hence, it represents a new ethical beginning in terms of possessing a clean slate by eliminating one's transgressions from the past year to start anew for the upcoming year. This explains why marriage proposals are done on both Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur. One must be reminded that Yom Kippur is a solemn day but not a sad day, and there is also inherent joy on Yom Kippur from being forgiven for one's sins after repentance and having obtained a fresh start for the upcoming year. Yom Kippur represents G-d's faith in human nature in that G-d gives us a chance to repent for our sins from the past year through the 10-day "Teshuvah" process that begins from Rosh Ha-Shanah and leads up to Yom Kippur, whereupon on Yom Kippur G-d gives us the opportunity to start with a clean slate. Thus, both Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur represent faith in the Jewish people's future and our never-ending reliance that G-d will fulfill his guarantee of ultimate redemption for the Jewish people. This explains how, despite past negative experiences, we understand the blessing of thanksgiving to the G-d "Who is good and Who does good" on the occasion of permission to bury our dead after we lost a rebellion against Rome. And, logically enough, our Sages maintain that this, too, happened on the 15th day of Av. The fact that Tu Be'Av occurs 6 days after Tisha Be'Av - which is a day when Jews mourn the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem, meant that Tu Be'Av would have likely been given many associations with happiness. Among the reasons for celebrating Tu Be'Av include: this was the final day in a series of 9 wood-offering days for bringing wood to the Temple and Temple altar for prestigious families such as the Levite and Kohen families, as well as other families. It was the final day for wood-offerings because on this day, the peak of the solar heat occurred. These wood-offerings and the bonfires that have become associated with Tu Be'Av may have had roots in the pagan mid-summer solstice celebrations, as Tu Be'Av is celebrated in mid-summer. The Talmudic Sages, Rabbah and Rav Yosef, teach that Tu Be'Av was the day when the people stopped chopping wood for the holy Temple Altar because the barks of the trees were no longer dry enough. The Great Rabbi Eliezer explains that after the 15th day of Av the rays of the sun become weakened and therefore the wood is no longer dry (Babylonian Talmud: Ta'anit 30b). The days of bringing wood were known as "Wood Bringing Day", which, as mentioned, was observed as a holiday by Jews who brought wood contributions to the Temple, and the day of Tu B'Av was the last day of cutting wood for the "Mizbeach" ("slaughter place", referring to the Altar in the Temple in Temple times; this day was known as "The Day of Breaking the Axes" or the "Day of the Breaking of the Axe" in Hebrew, when wood ceased to be chopped for the Temple Altar since the increased moisture might cause the wood to rot.). Because of Tu Be'Av's association with the story of unmarried young girls going out into the vineyards to dance and hopefully to find a mate, matchmaking and weddings on this day have also become strongly connected with Tu Be'Av, however, this custom may have originated from an earlier custom dealing with early fertility rites practised in Middle Eastern cultures. Thus, the practise of matchmaking in Temple times in Judaism was a kind of celebration of the nuclear family. There are many other reasons that have been given for commemorating and celebrating Tu Be'Av, and they are stated by different Talmudic Sages in many parts of the Talmud, including the Jerusalem Talmud (Babylonian Talmud: Ta'anit 26b and 30-31, Berachot 48b; Bemidbar Rabbah 23:7; Jerusalem Talmud: Ta'anit 4:11, 69c; Ta'anit 30b-31a; Bava Batra 121a, 121b). These reasons include the following: (1) the Pharisees, a religious Jewish group that focussed on religious guidance for the common people, defeated the Sadduccees, an elitist religious Jewish group, on the 14th or the 15th of Av; (2) Tu Be'Av is also the anniversary of the day when according to the biblical Book of Numbers (Numbers 36:8), and according to the Talmud, members of the 12 Hebrew tribes were permitted to marry outside their tribe, meaning they could marry someone from another Hebrew tribe on the 15th of Av (this reason is the reason that is given for celebrating weddings on this day). This ban on inter-tribal marriage was in effect since the Hebrews' wanderings in the Sinai Desert after the Exodus from Egypt in order to maintain distinct landholdings for each of the Hebrew tribes. Although marrying inside one's tribe was a way of preserving one's tribal identity, marrying outside one's Hebrew tribe to someone from another Hebrew tribe had the advantage of insuring that there would be a unified Hebrew nation and a deep, fundamental sense of Jewish oneness between the Jewish people rather than viewing the Jewish people as a loose confederation of states. Therefore, Tu B'Av marks a day of traditional unity among the Jewish people in addition to celebrating the many other joyous events that occurred on this day at different times in Jewish history; (3) people who were from the excommunicated Hebrew tribe of Benjamin were permitted to appear before the other members of the Hebrew community on this day [the tribe of Benjamin was excommunicated by the other Hebrew tribes for committing an atrocity against the concubine of a Levite passing through Giv'a (Gibeah, identified with today's Tel el-Ful, the site of what was to have been King Hussein's summer palace) as well as for killing a woman who, along with a man, were travelling in the area owned by the tribe of Benjamin and had been taken in by an elderly man as a neighborly gesture. This resulted in the other Hebrew tribes forbidding their women from marrying any man from the tribe of Benjamin and also resulted in the other Hebrew tribes making war on the tribe of Benjamin (these events occurred approximately 1395 B.C.E. - 1060 B.C.E), which resulted in the killing of 25,000 Benjaminites, the destruction of their towns, and the imposition of the ban against them. This inter-tribal warefare is detailed in the final three chapters of the biblical Book of Judges]. After this civil war between the Hebrew tribes and the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin had ended, the other Hebrew tribes realized that the surviving male Benjaminites did not have enough surviving female Benjaminites to marry and so the tribe of Benjamin would become extinct if they were not permitted to marry outside their tribe, so the tribe of Benjamin was once again permitted by the other Hebrew tribes to intermarry with the other Hebrews. Upon re-admission into the Hebrew community again, the male bachelors of the tribe of Benjamin were directed to the town of Shiloh (or Shilo) in Judea where they were permitted to select from a group of young women who were dancing for the harvest festival of Tu B'Av. The permission to marry again into the other Hebrew tribes saved the tribe of Benjamin from extinction. The Book of Judges (Judges 21:19, 21), has an excerpt written by Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel II which speaks of "a yearly festival of G-d at Shiloh (in the land of Ephraim)", when "the maidens of Shiloh come out to dance". After lifting the ban, the other Hebrew tribes told the tribe of Benjamin: "...there is an annual feast at Shiloh (in the land of Ephraim)...Go and lie in wait in the vineyards, and watch: and when the maidens of Shiloh come out to dance, then come out of the vineyards and let each man seize a Shiloh maiden to be his wife ...". According to Rabbah bar bar Hannah, this event occurred on the 15th of Av (Ta'anit 31a; Bava Batra 121a-b). Thus, while there is no mention of the date of this "annual feast at Shiloh" in the account in the Book of Judges, the Talmud connects the feast with the Tu B'Av holiday. However, no explanation is given concerning the origin of this aspect of the Yom Kippur observance; (4) Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel II states that the reason for celebrating this day was because "It is the day on which the generation of the wilderness ceased to die out". The reference is to the generation of the Exodus. Hebrew/Jewish tradition - based on a chronology taken from a straight reading of the Torah text - says that the Israelites believed in the evil reports of spies over the word of G-d and "cried in their tents". The Midrash tells us that G-d then decreed that, since Israel cried for no reason on that Tisha Be'Av, Israel would have reason to cry on that day for all time - starting with the death sentence on all those 20 years and older who came out of Egypt with Moses. The Israelites would have to spend a total of 40 years in the desert, until last remnants of the "evil generation" died. During that time, again according to tradition, G-d withheld direct contact with Moses. The tradition is based on Deuteronomy 2: 14-17, in which Moses states: "And the time from our leaving Kadesh-Barnea, until we came over the brook Zered, was 38 years; until all the generation of the men of war had perished from the camp, as the L-rd swore to them... . So it came to pass, when all the men of war had perished and died from among the people, that the L-rd spoke to me...". That day, tradition states, was Tu Be'Av. And, so the belief goes, just as G-d restored His presence to Israel on that day in the past, so will He restore it on that day in the future. Thus, this day also marked the end of the death of the generation of those Hebrews who experienced the Exodus from Egypt and who believed the false report given to them by the 10 spies who were sent ahead by the Hebrews in advance of the Hebrews' arrival in Canaan to scout the land of Canaan to report on conditions there and to determine whether it was conquerable (two additional spies - Caleb and Joshua - rejected the report, and they were spared by G-d and were permitted to go into Canaan). The 10 spies said that the land was not conquerable and to not have faith in G-d in that G-d will not help the Hebrews conquer the land of Canaan. As a result, G-d punished the 10 spies and all the Hebrews who believed them by making them wander in the Sinai Desert for 40 years until they died out and as a result, they were not permitted to enter into the land of Canaan. Tu Be'Av is also known as the day when, 40 years after the Israelites left Egypt, G-d told them they would be able to enter the land promised to them by G-d, the land of Canaan; (5) according to I Kings 12:29, and II Kings 18:4, this was the day on which the barriers that were set up by King Jeroboam I of the southern Kingdom of Judah, which prevented Jews in the northern Kingdom of Israel from making pilgrimmages to Jerusalem for the festivals, were removed by King Hosea (the final king of the northern kingdom of Israel); (6) this was also the date on which the Romans, after defeating the Jewish rebels under Simeon Bar Kochba at the city of Beitar (or Betar) in the final battle of the Bar Kochba rebellion of 132 C.E. to 135 C.E., permitted the Jews to bury their dead after being forbidden by the Romans to bury them for 5 days. (7) Another reason for celebrating Tu B'Av derives from the time of the Hebrews' 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert after the Exodus from Egypt. For each of the 40 years in the wilderness, the Hebrews would sleep in graves on the night of Tisha B'Av, the ninth of Av. In the morning, 15,000 people would not awaken, due to G-d's decree that the generation of 10 spies out of the 12 spies that were sent ahead by the Hebrews to scout the land of Canaan for 40 days (Caleb and Joshua were two independent spies who rejected the false report of the other 10 spies which stated that the Hebrews would not be able to conquer the land of Canaan from the Canaanites) would die in the Sinai Desert for losing faith in G-d by believing that G-d would not give the land of Israel to the Hebrews. The two independent spies who rejected the false report were permitted by G-d to survive the 40-year Sinai Desert wanderings and enter Canaan, but the 10 spies who filed the false report as well as Moses and all the Hebrews who lost faith in G-d who were over the age of 20 were not permitted to enter Canaan and instead were destined by G-d to wander in the Sinai Desert for 40 years until they died out. In the Hebrew Bible, there are several references to 40 years being the equivalent of a generation, and so this may explain why the Hebrews wandered for 40 years in the Sinai Desert. In the 40th year, the Jews lay down as usual on the day of Tisha B'Av, but in the morning, all were alive. Not wanting to celebrate prematurely, they slept there an additional week, until the full moon of the 15th, when they realized the decree had been lifted. Then, the Talmud states, "They stood up and made it a day of celebration". As mentioned, in biblical times, the day of Tu B'Av represented the peak in the sun's force, meaning it represented the longest day of the year in terms of daylight and the shortest amount of darkness. From Tu B'Av onward until Tu B'Shevat, the New Year For Trees, the cycle began for an increasingly shorter amount of daylight and an increasingly larger amount of darkness until the darkness peaked on Tu B'Shevat. Then, from Tu B'Shevat onward, the sun's strength began to rise again, with less and less amounts of darkness until the sun's peak strength on Tu B'Av. Tu B'Av is an especially noteworthy holiday since it follows Tisha B'Av, when we fast and mourn the exile and persecution of the Hebrews/Jews, as well as the destruction of both Temples in Jerusalem. The reason why Tu B'Av is important is that the words of the prophet Isaiah in the first Shabbat following Tisha B'Av - named Shabbat Nachamu, meaning the "Sabbath of Comfort" in Hebrew - command us to be comforted [the word "Nachamu" comes from the first words of the Haftarah or Prophetic portion that is read in this Shabbat service following the Torah reading: "Nachamu Nachamu Ami - Comfort my people, comfort them. (Isaiah 40)".]. This "comforting" by Isaiah enables us to be reminded of our faith in G-d and G-d's promises to us as well as maintain a conscious awareness that G-d will keep the promise of granting oneself a future as well as granting the ultimate redemption for the Jewish people and for all humankind. Judaism commands us to have faith, to walk around despite not having obtained what we want in life because we know that G-d will keep G-d's promises of a personal future and ultimate redemption. This reasoning is proven by our wanderings for close to 2,000 years after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 C.E. until the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, where we now enjoy the fruits of our faith in G-d and G-d's promises to the Jewish people. Essentially, the only antidote to the fast of Jewish tragedy is our faith in Jewish redemption in the future. And Tu B'Av, which almost always falls on the week that Shabbat Nachamu falls in the Jewish calendar, further enhances our hope and mood after the "comforting" we have received on Shabbat Nachamu just prior to Tu B'Av. In the wake of mourning for past tragedies and apparent "endings" in specific phases of Jewish history on Tisha B'Av, we are reminded - first on Shabbat Nachamu with its "comforting" and then on Tu B'Av with its joyous festivities and the signaling of a new beginning in the creation of new Jewish families - that G-d does not forget us and that G-d comforts us and enables us to continuously observe joyous new beginnings because both the Jewish people and G-d know that these events serve to maintain one's faith in the new beginning of future redemption which is the ultimate goal. Both Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur focus on introspection as well as on new beginnings regarding our personal values and our relationships. This is demonstrated in Temple times when the young girls in Jerusalem would all wear white garments when they went into the fields and vineyards in search of a mate in order to not be chosen based on materialistic concerns or on the basis of one's beauty. This tells us that we should look past the surface and deep into a person's soul when choosing a mate, just as we do on Yom Kippur when we look deep into ourselves prior to G-d granting us life for the coming year. The difference in this reflection and introspection process on Tu B'Av and Yom Kippur is that on Yom Kippur it is an individual process and experience while on Tu B'Av, it is a mutual, shared process and experience between two people. This is in sharp contrast to contemporary times, when the ideals of beauty, status, and being fashion-conscious are determined by the mass media, such as in the movies and on television. On Tu B'Av, just as all the Hebrew tribes were permitted to intermarry with each other, on Yom Kippur, with repentance and forgiveness, our "marriage" to G-d is restored and renewed. In prayer services, Tu Be'Av does have strict customary observances: the prayer known as "Tahanun" ("supplication" in Hebrew), which asks for Divine Mercy is not said. As well, there are no eulogies that are said at funerals on this day. It is for the 15th of Av that the Sages of Yavneh decreed that we add a blessing to the Grace after Meals in praise of the G-d: "Who is good and Who does good". A remarkable Talmudic statement (Berachot 48b and Bamidbar Rabbah 23:7), states that the Sages at Yavneh [the town of Yavneh in Judea was where the seat of the Sanhedrin (Jewish "Supreme Court") was located], introduced the "...G-d...who is good and does good" benediction into the Birkat Ha-Mazon ("Grace after Meals" in Hebrew) - "good" in that he caused the Jewish corpses at Betar not to putrefy; "does good" in that he caused them finally to be given a decent Jewish burial. In modern Israel, members of Kibbutzim (collective or communal farming settlements) tried to revive the grape harvest as "Hag Ha-Keramim", meaning "Festival of the Vineyards" in Hebrew, but this did not become popular. The most recognizable custom for Jewish people today is to hold a wedding on Tu Be'Av. Tu B'Av comes 6 days after the end of "The Three Weeks" period of mourning for many past tragedies in Hebrew/Jewish history. "The Three Weeks" period in the Hebrew/Jewish calendar is from the 17th of Tammuz until the 9th of Av, inclusive, and during this period, one is not permitted by custom to hold joyous events, such as weddings. Thus, Tu B'Av kick starts the wedding season in Judaism, especially since it occurs in the summertime. There are also activites held that are associated with romantic love and matchmaking. Today, in Israel, Tu B'Av has evolved into a day of festivals, dance, gift giving, special matchmaking prayers and outdoor concerts. Popular spots in Israel for holding Tu B'Av festivities are along the shores of Lake Kinneret and along the Mediterranean shores. Like its Christian counterpart, Valentines's Day, there is also romantic food and drink consumed on this day, meaning chocolate and wine. In Israel today, the growing popularity of Tu B'Av has sparked mass commercialization from ambitious entrepreneurs, eager to cash in on its supposed theme of love. The biblical story of Ruth and Boaz and passages from the Song of Songs are appropriate readings on Tu B'Av. It is very interesting that in the list of holy days found in the Torah there is not one that is dour. The agricultural festivals are pure joy. Shabbat, Rosh Hodesh and Rosh Ha-Shanah are tranquil times of celebration. Even Yom Kippur is solemn, but not sad. Remember that the Talmud even says that "there were no happier days than Tu Be'Av and Yom Kippur" (Ta'anit 26b). All the days of sadness are the result of events that happened to us later in history, days of mourning. They are not part of the divine scheme of worship, but reflect the need to remember history. The basis remains joy. It is also interesting to note that passages from the Mishnah Talmud that do not accord with present-day practice, such as Mishnaic sources that cite eligible young girls dancing in the fields and vineyards in front of eligible young men, have actually been censored when cited in Haredi newspapers in Israel and abroad. As a result, because of the Mishnaic references to eligible young women dancing in the fields and vineyards in front of eligible young men, there are many ultra-Orthodox Jews who have spent years in ultra-Orthodox institutions of higher learning without ever having heard or read about Tu B'Av since mentioning these Mishnaic passages might entail recalling some ancient Jewish dating rituals which might not mesh with the shidduch match-making model ("Shidduch" or "Shiduch" means "[a] match" in Hebrew, as in a match between a man and a woman. The term "Shidduch" or "Shiduch" also refers to the system of introducing eligible and marriageable singles to each other in Orthodox Jewish communities). According to the Orthodox Jewish interpretation, the Talmud refers to a gala shidduch event on Yom Kippur and Av 15 (Ta'anit 26b and 30-31). Orthodox Jews do not refer to the custom of young women dancing in the fields and vineyards as being done for love, in other words, they do not refer to Tu B'Av as being an "ancient biblical Festival of Love". Furthermore, observant Jews do not mark this day, except with a few minor changes in the prayer service. However, some Orthodox Jews would prefer to view the 15th of Av as being a "Festival of Reconciliation" - reconciliation foremost with ourselves, with each other, and with our shared culture, history and destiny. This theme of reconciliation derives from two of the reasons the Talmud describes for celebrating this day: that the excommunicated tribe of Benjamin was permitted to rejoin the Hebrew community, and that on this day, intermarriage was permitted between the Hebrew tribes. Among some Chassidic (or Hassidic) sects, Tu Be'Av has long been associated with Messianic hopes (when Jewish people speak of a "Messianic Age", we are referring to a time when morality, ethics, and the absolute justice of the Torah will hold sway in the world). In the Jewish lexicon of love and marriage, there is a word that is used often: "Segula". "Segula" is both a biblical and kabbalistic (Jewish mystical) term, often interpreted as "special" or "chosen" in Hebrew. But it also refers to remedies and healing powers, which is why many men and women in Israel travel to northern Israel to the tomb of Rabbi Yonatan Ben-Uziel on Tu Be'Av, to be touched by the "Segula" of his historical matchmaking prowess. It is also a "Segula" to drink from the wine cup of the bride and groom on their wedding day, or to wear the bride's jewelry as she walks down the aisle. There is also a plant that is associated with Tu B'Av: an autumn wildflower that grows all over Israel known as the white squill ("Urginea maritima", "Scilla autumnalis", or "Hatzav" in Hebrew), which blossoms as early as August. Some authorities connect with this white-colored flower the fact that white dresses were worn by maidens on this date in ancient times. This flower, a member of the lily family, lies dormant all through the summer and then springs up and bursts into flower in mid-August, or around the 15th of the month of Av, the minor holiday known as Tu Be'Av. Amazingly enough, unlike other wildflowers that vary their arrival according to altitude and temperature, the squills all make their appearance at the same time in Israel, whether on the plains of Lachish or in the hills of Galilee. After the Second Temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 C.E., the customs of Tu B'Av, like many others listed in the ancient Megillat Ta'anit as having been celebrated in Second Temple times and earlier, fell largely into disuse, except for a few vestiges that remained in some communities, where certain penitential and semi-mourning prayers that are part of the daily service are not said; bridegrooms do not observe the pre-wedding fast; there are no yeshiva classes, and after the morning synagogue service teachers are supposed to treat their students to a glass of brandy and a piece of cake. Tu B'Av was never celebrated in the Diaspora (Jews living outside Israel), it is a festival that was entirely rooted in Israel.
• Rosh Ha-Shanah le'Ma'aser Beheimah or Rosh Ha-Shanah le'Ma'aser Beheimoh = "New Year For Tithing Animals" in Hebrew or "New Year For The Herds" in Hebrew. The "New Year For Tithing Animals" or the "New Year For The Herds" is characterized by "Ma'aser Behemah" or "Ma'aser Beheima", which means one animal out of ten, and not more. On this day in Temple times, every tenth animal amongst cattle and sheep was to be given to the Temple in Jerusalem. The tithed animal had to be born during the same year. In the Temple, this 10th animal is then consecrated to G-d.
• Rosh Ha-Shanah = literally "Head of the Year" in Hebrew. This is the "year for years", meaning this is the date when the year number changes in the Jewish calendar, and is also the date when Creation was formed by G-d. On this day, an individual's destiny for the coming year is judged and determined by G-d. All Jews except most Reform Jews celebrate Rosh Ha-Shanah for 2 days. Most Reform Jews celebrate it for 1 day. In Biblical times, the moon determined the date of festivals after the first sighting by two witnesses of the first crescent of the new moon low in the western sky. Since Rosh Hashanah begins on the 1st day of the month, people living far from Jerusalem didn't have time to learn of the exact date; even those living near Jerusalem could miss the festival if the messengers who delivered the news did not arrive on time. So a 2-day festival was proclaimed so everyone would have time to participate in the festival. However, as mentioned, most Reform Jews only celebrate Rosh Ha-Shanah for 1 day, on the 1st day of Tishrei. Other names for Rosh Ha-Shanah: Yom Teruah = the "Day of the Blowing [of the Ram's Horn (or Shofar)" in Hebrew], Zikaron Teruah or Zikkaron Teruah = "Remembrance or Tribute to the Blowing [of the Ram's Horn (or Shofar)" in Hebrew], Yom Ha-Din = The "Day of Judgement" in Hebrew, Yom Ha-Zikaron or Yom Ha-Zikkaron = The "Day of Remembrance" or the "Day of Memorial" in Hebrew, and Yom Machzor = "Day of the Cycle" in Hebrew, referring to the first day of the cycle of the year. Rosh Ha-Shanah only began to be known as "Rosh Ha-Shanah" starting in Mishnaic times (Mishnaic times were from about 10 B.C.E. until about 200 C.E. or 220 C.E., when the Mishnah of the Talmud was compiled and codified); the oldest reference to this day is in Numbers 29:1, where it is referred to as "Yom Teruah", as in the blowing of the Ram's Horn - also known as the "Shofar" in Hebrew. In pre-Mishnaic times, this day also likely served as a "memorial" to the Creation of the World although this may or may not mean that the name "Yom Ha-Zikaron" derived from that function. Note that while the month of Nissan is declared in the Hebrew Bible to be the first month of the year, Tishrei has come to be regarded as the beginning of the civil year, since this was the month of Creation and it was in this month that the jubilee year commenced, when slaves were freed and all property was restored to its original owners. In other words, the first of Tishrei is the new year for years, for release years (I.E. when either slaves or poor Jewish workers for other, more affluent Jews were released or freed from their labor) and jubilee years (a "Yovel" or jubilee year is the year following the seventh of a seven-year cycle I.E. 49 years, in the Jewish calendar, so the jubilee year is the 50th year), for plantation, the 1st day of Tishrei or Tishri was also the date that determined the beginning of the year when it came to the three years that a tree must be left ungleaned (Vayikra 19:23 or Leviticus 19:23), and the 1st day of Tishrei or Tishri was also the date for (the tithe of) crops, specifically vegetables. This date marks the day from which the years are reckoned and it is the "official" beginning of the year (meaning it marks the transition from one Hebrew year number to the next Hebrew year number). Another opinion that is central to Jewish tradition states that the 1st of Tishrei was chosen as the start of the year for years because it marks the creation of the universe. Another opinion states that other ancient peoples such as the Canaanites began their year in the season that Tishrei was in, the autumn season. The Mishnah Talmud also notes several agricultural reasons for starting the new year in Tishrei. The Mishnah confirms a duality between the natural or universalist view that the new year begins on the 1st of Tishrei (I.E. when Creation occurred), and the particularist view, such as kingship and faith I.E. the "New Year for Kings" or the "New Year For Kings and Festivals", that the new year begins in Nissan (I.E. when a Jewish king ascended to the throne in the middle of the year, then his second year of reign is calculated as starting from the following 1st of Nissan, with the interim ruling period being referred to as merely a transitional period). The Mishnah also confirms a harmonious relationship between the two new years, which divide the year into two equal halves. On the day(s) of Rosh Ha-Shanah, one's destiny for the year is determined and written down by G-d, and on Yom Kippur, it is allegorically sealed either in the "Book of Life" or "Book of Death". This determining of one's destiny by G-d is described in the Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur prayer-poem I.E. "piyut" or "piyyut" in Hebrew entitled: "U'Netaneh Tokef" ("Let Us Evoke the Solemn Holiness of This Day" in Hebrew): "On Rosh Hashanah it is written and on Yom Kippur it is sealed; how many shall pass away and how many shall be born; who shall live and who shall die; who shall attain the full measure of his days and who shall not attain it; who shall die by fire and who by water; who by sword and who by beast; who by hunger and who by thirst; who by earthquake and who by plague; who shall die tranquilly and who shall be torn apart; who shall be brought low and who shall be raised up". "U'Netaneh Tokef" is a moving prayer about fear, despair, and fate. However, Jews can contribute to the betterment of their verdict through sincere repentance, giving to charity with a cherful spirit, and prayer from the heart. Rabbi Amnon of Mainz, Germany established "U'Netaneh Tokef" in the 11th century C.E. Although it eventually played a central role in Ashkenazi (Central and Eastern European Jewry) and Italian-Jewish prayer services, Sephardim (Spanish and Portuguese Jewry) did not give it a central role in their prayer services. "U'Netaneh Tokef" is said as part of the Musaf Amidah (additional part of the Amidah prayer), which is the liturgical highpoint of the Rosh Ha-Shanah service. Customs on Rosh Ha-Shanah include, for Sephardic Jews (Jews of Spanish and Portuguese descent) and Mizrahi Jews ("Mizrahi" means "Eastern" in Hebrew, referring to these Jews being of Middle Eastern and Asian descent in general), holding a Rosh Ha-Shanah Seder. Like Passover and the Passover Seder, the Rosh Ha-Shanah Seder includes a Kiddush ("sanctification" in Hebrew) blessing, a Ha-Motzi blessing, and various foods as symbols of the holiday, with these foods varying depending on one's custom. There are also additional blessings, verses, and bakashot ("requests" in Hebrew) added in to the Rosh Ha-Shanah Seder depending on one's custom. There are also different kinds and orders ("sederim" in Hebrew) of food symbols in a Rosh Ha-Shanah Seder. In one Seder, or order, food symbols include: Tamar = dates, Rubiya (aniseeds or black-eyed peas or fenugreek depending on the interpretation) or Lubiya (white or green beans), Karti = leeks, Salka (Hebrew: selek) = Swiss chard, or it can be beetrot, K'ra = pumpkin, Rimon = Pomegranate, Apple in cooked sugar or honey, and a Sheep or fish head (verses include a reference to Akedat Yitzhak, Abraham's trial of the command to sacrifice Isaac). Another set of food symbols used in other Rosh Ha-Shanah Seders include: Tamar = dates (two verses recited), Apple in honey, Karti = leeks (two verses recited), Salka = beetroot or Swiss chard (two verses recited), K'ra = pumpkin, Fish head (two verses recited), Sheep's head (commemorating Abraham's trial of the command to sacrifice Isaac), and the Rimon = Pomegranate. A Rosh Ha-Shanah Seder will begin by reciting the song "Eliyahu Ha-Navi" ("Elijah the Prophet" in Hebrew), then reciting other biblical verses repeatedly, some as much as 10 to 12 times, and one verse up to 17 times, then reciting two series of "bakashot" ("requests" in Hebrew), then reciting Ha-Motzi (blessing over bread), then reciting special verses and then eating a portion of specific fruits and vegetables, particularly those that symbolize sweetness, prosperity, and good fortune, as well as vegetables and fruits whose names are from the same Hebrew root word as the "request" I.E. bakashot that one just made. Other Rosh Ha-Shanah customs include the performing of "Tashlich" or "Tashlik". The word "Tashlich" or "Tashlik" means "You will cast away" in Hebrew. In this context, "Tashlich" refers to a custom that dates from at least as early as the 14th century, but probably much earlier, based on the last verses of the Book of Michah ("Micah" in Hebrew) I.E. Micah 7:18-20, which mentions G-d casting into the sea all of the sins of the Hebrews/Jews. This "casting into the sea" of one's sins is done in preparation for Yom Kippur, a day in which we repent for the sins that we might have committed over the past year. Thus, on the first day of Rosh Ha-Shanah, Jews have gathered next to a body of water to recite the Tashlich prayer, which consists of certain chapter in the Book of Psalms ("Tehillim" in Hebrew) as well as the aforementioned excerpt from Micah 7:18-20. By reciting these chapters and verses, the Jewish people are symbolizing their wish to get rid of their sins, and to be forgiven by G-d. Some Jews have a custom of placing bread crumbs in their pockets and then shaking them out into the water as a more concrete way of expressing their desire to be free of their sins. If the first day of Rosh Ha-Shanah falls on Shabbat, then Tashlich is said on the second day of Rosh Ha-Shanah, Sunday. If, for whatever reason, Tashlich cannot be recited on either day of Rosh Ha-Shanah, then it is permitted to be recited until Hoshanah Rabbah. Historically, Jews would be told by their community leaders to go far from the center of town to perform Tashlich, lest the non-Jews saw them perform Tashlich and think that the Jews were poisoning the water either by witchcraft or uttering curses, or thinking that the Jews were actually poisoning the water if food was thrown into the water as part of the ritual. There is also a preference to perform Tashlich next to a body of water that contains fish and the reasons include many parallels that are drawn between the fish and the water, and between G-d and the Jews. Parallels include: water offering protection for fish compared with G-d offering protection for the Jews; fish can swim freely and suddenly be caught in a net compared with the Jews moving freely and suddenly being caught in the net of sin; the eyes of fish always being open compared with G-d keeping a vigilant watch over the Jews.
• Teshuva or Teshuvah, short for "Asseret Yemey Teshuvah" or "Aseret Yemai Teshuvah", meaning "The Ten Days of Penitence", or "The Ten Days of Repentance" in Hebrew. Teshuva or Teshuvah by itself = literally "turning" in Hebrew, as in turning back to G-d through our acts. "Teshuvah" also means "repentance", "return" and "response" and is one of the seven gifts created by G-d before the world came into existence. The first two days of "The Ten Days of Penitence", or "The Ten Days of Repentance" (Rosh Ha-Shanah) and the final day of "The Ten Days of Penitence", or "The Ten Days of Repentance" (Yom Kippur) constitute the "Yamim Nora'im", meaning the "Days of Awe" in Hebrew. The "Days of Awe" are also known as the "High Holy Days", however the phrase "Days of Awe" most closely translates to "Yamim Nora'im" in Hebrew.
• Tzom Gedaliahu, Tzom Gedaliah, Tsom Gedalyah = Fast of Gedaliah ("Ta'anit" is another Hebrew word meaning "fast"). This is an annual fast day that commemorates the assassination of Rabbi Gedaliah ben Achikam, the Governor of Judah during the days of Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylonia, who appointed Gedaliah Ben Achikam as the Governor of Judah after Nebuchadnezzar II conquered the Kingdom of Judah in 587 B.C.E. or 586 B.C.E. Many Jews were killed in the takeover of Judah and others fled to neighboring lands such as Moab, Ammon, Edom, and others. Nebuchadnezzar II allowed a few impoverished Jews to remain as a remnant of the Jews in Judah with Gedaliah Ben Achikam as their Governor and the remaining Jews were exiled to Babylonia. A few years later, the Jews that had fled to neighboring lands slowly returned to Judah after the King of Babylonia granted them vineyards to tend and thus enjoyed a new respite after their earlier oppression. However, the King of Ammon, who was hostile and envious of the Judean remnant, sent a loyal Jew, Yishmael Ben Netaniah, to assassinate Gedaliah. Yishmael not only assassinated Gedaliah, but he also killed the Jews that had joined him in the town of Mitzpa in the month of Tishrei, where he cordially received Yishmael, and scores of Babylonians whom the King of Babylonia had left with Gedaliah. Fearing the King of Babylonia's vengeance, the remaining Jews fled to Egypt. Thus, the surviving remnant of Jews in Judah was dispersed and the land of Judah remained desolate. In remembrance of these tribulations, our Sages instituted the 'Fast of the Seventh' on the day of Gedaliah's assassination in the seventh month.
• Yom Kippur = literally "Day of Atonement" in Hebrew. Yom Kippur is the day when an individual's destiny - judged and determined by G-d on the first day of Rosh Ha-Shanah - is sealed for the coming year. On this day, only sins between man and G-d can be atoned for; for sins between one person and another person, one can only hope to gain forgiveness from the other person. This day is marked by fasting and prayers of forgiveness. The origin for observing Yom Kippur is found in Leviticus 23:27. The eve of Yom Kippur is considered to be a semi-holiday. Customs include having a festive meal just before the fast, giving money to charitable causes on the day of Yom Kippur, males wearing a "kittel", which is a long white garment to symbolize purity, and women wearing white garments as well for the same reason, and lighting a memorial candle to recall departed ones which should last throughout the fast period which takes place from sundown to sundown on the following day. Prayer services include: Kol Nidre ("All Vows" in Aramaic), chanted prior to the evening service on Yom Kippur, which is essentially a formal abrogation of all unfulfilled vows, especially unfulfilled vows that were made under great emotional strain. The purpose of Kol Nidre is to release one from oaths that may have remained unfulfilled through either negligence or forgetfulness, and refers only to those vows that were voluntarily taken upon the individual by himself or herself, and that involve only the relationship between the individual and G-d, and not between an individual and another person, a community, or a court of justice. Penitential prayers of forgiveness are also recited, a Yizkor ("Remembrance" in Hebrew) service is conducted for departed loved ones and relatives, and the "Neilah" ("closing" or "locking" in Hebrew) service marks the closing of the Yom Kippur service, completed with the final blowing of the Shofar, or Ram's Horn. On the day before Yom Kippur, kreplach, a stuffed noodle dumpling, usually stuffed with either cheese, roasted buckwheat groats known as "kasha", or chopped chicken livers and served in soup, is traditionally eaten. Another custom involves lighting a candle known as a Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle [Yahrtzeit literally means A "Year('s) Time" in Yiddish, referring to an anniversary; specifically, an anniversary of the passing of a close relative in Judaism; colloquially-speaking, it is the annual time for the memorialization of the close relative who has passed, and the memorialization is done using a special candle called a Yahrtzeit candle I.E. Memorial candle that is kindled and burns for 26 hours. There are also Yahrtzeit candles that burn for 50 hours. Yahrtzeit or Yahrzeit is a compound word: "Yahr" means "Year" in Yiddish and "Tzeit" or "Zeit" means "Time" in Yiddish. Yizkor means "May (G-d) Remember" in Hebrew, it is from the Hebrew root word "zakhor", meaning "remember".]. The Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle is lit at sundown on the first night of Yom Kippur. In the prayer services, there is a special Yizkor service that takes place on the following day after lighting the Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle.
• Sukkot, Sukkoth, Sukkos (Yiddish), Succot, Succoth, or Succos (Yiddish) = literally "booths" in Hebrew, referring to the temporary dwellings that we are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of our period of 40-year period of wandering in the Sinai Desert after the Exodus from Egypt; Festival of Booths or Feast of Booths ("Chag Ha-Sukkot" in Hebrew), Feast of Tabernacles, Feast of Ingathering or the Harvest Festival ("Chag Ha'Asif" in Hebrew), the latter name given for the agricultural nature of the festival that is also associated with Sukkot, when the ingathering of the fruit and grain takes place in Israel (also: Feast of Gathering), Zeman Simchateinu (Season of our Rejoicing), Chag : The Feast. Technically speaking, the first two days of the festival are called "Sukkot". Symbols of Sukkot include the Arba'a Minim" or "Four Species" in Hebrew: an etrog (a citrus fruit similar to a lemon that is native to Israel; in English it is called a citron), a palm branch or "lulav" in Hebrew, two willow branches ("aravot" in Hebrew) and three myrtle branches ("hadassim" in Hebrew) that are used in a custom on each day of Sukkot, as well as on the 7th day of Sukkot which is called "Hoshanah Rabah" ("The Great Hoshanah" in Hebrew). What was this custom? In Temple times, a custom existed on Sukkot whereby huge willow branches were placed around the altar in the Temple and a circuit was made around the altar while the worshippers held the "Four Species" [a palm branch or lulav, an etrog (citron), two willow branches, and three myrtle leaves] in a specific manner while reciting "Hoshanah" ("O L-rd, Deliver Us" in Hebrew) (Psalms 118:25), which was a calling for rain to help grow the crops in Israel and avoid famine and drought, since Sukkot is the festival in which the divine judgement for water or rain is made as well as the judgement for the blessing of fruit and crops. On the seventh day, the worshippers would hold the "Four Species" in a prescribed manner, circle the altar seven times and when leaving it for the last time they would praise the altar. While the "Four Species" were used in the Temple on every day of Sukkot, if one preferred to use the "Four Species" outside the Temple, then the "Four Species" were only used on the first day of Sukkot. Based on this practice, it eventually became the custom on Sukkot - beginning from the late 16th century in Safed, Israel onward - for the worshippers to hold the "Four Species" by binding the palm branch, two willow branches, and three myrtle leaves together (known collectively as the "lulav" because the palm branch is by far the largest of the six branches), then hold the bound group of six branches known as the "lulav" in the right hand and the etrog in the left hand and recite a blessing while waving the "Four Species" in all six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down), to symbolize the fact that G-d is everywhere. In addition, the "Four Species" are held and waved during the Hallel prayer (a prayer of praise to G-d) during religious services, as well as during the making of one circuit around the "Bimah" ("pulpit" in Hebrew) on each of the first six days of Sukkot while reciting a special hymn known as "Hoshanah" and during the making of seven circuits around the Bimah on the seventh day of Sukkot while reciting the "Hoshanot" hymns (plural form of "Hoshanah" in Hebrew) that, like in Temple times, call for G-d to rescue the Jews from famine and drought. The custom of reciting one Hoshanah for each of the first six days of Sukkot and seven Hoshanot on the seventh day has continued to this day. During the first 6 days of Sukkot, the lulav is shaken during the Hallel [praise psalms sung right after the Amidah in the morning service] as well as during the Hoshanah - a hymn that begins with Hosha' na (save us, please!) that is sung during the service. The Torah is taken from the Ark and set on the Bimah (the pulpit or the Torah reading table) and the congregation circles it once in a processional (called "hakkafah" in Hebrew) while shaking their lulavot (plural form of "lulav" in Hebrew) and carrying their etrogim (plural form of "etrog" in Hebrew). On the seventh day of Sukkot, known as "Hoshanah Rabbah" (the "Great Hoshanah" or literally, "many Hoshanot", where "Hoshanot" is the plural form of "Hoshanah" in Hebrew), seven circuits are made around the Bimah or sanctuary, where each circuit is accompanied by the singing of a "Hoshanah" hymn, with the seven "Hoshanah" hymns known collectively as the "Hoshanot", as mentioned, due to the fact that each of the seven hymns begins with the words "hosha' na", meaning "save us, please!", hence the name for the day being named "Hoshanah Rabbah" or "The Great Hoshanah". Collectively, the "Hoshanot" consist of 22 verses or stanzas which ask for G-d's deliverance. During every morning service on Sukkot, a "Hoshanah" hymn is recited on the first six days of Sukkot and seven "Hoshanot" are recited on the seventh day, in both cases with the exception that the day is Shabbat or the Sabbath. One interpretation of making a circuit around the Bimah on the first six days of Sukkot and seven circuits around the Bimah on the seventh day of Sukkot comes from the Palestinian Talmud which says, in addition to the above historical explanation of making a circuit in the Temple on the first 6 days of Sukkot and making 7 circuits on the 7th day of Sukkot, that the practice of making six circuits on the first six days and seven circuits on the seventh day mimics the siege and conquering of Yericho (Jericho) in the time of Yehoshua (Joshua), when they circled the city once a day for six days and seven times on the final day, causing the walls to come tumbling down (Yehoshua 6). In another interpretation of this ceremony, the Hoshanah prayers that accompany the circuits recall the praises of Jerusalem and the redemption of Israel. Thus, seven hoshanot and seven hakkafot are made on Hoshanah Rabbah. Normally, all the Torah scrolls are taken from the Ark and put on the Bimah while this sevenfold processional takes place. After this is done, the Four Species are put aside and the "aravah" ("willow branch" in Hebrew) - actually several willow branches or "aravot" in Hebrew - are taken in one's hand and are beaten against the floor five times until their leaves fall off. This ceremony recalls the days of the Temple when branches were struck against the ground near the altar as a symbolic gesture of casting away of one's sins. In a similar manner, the "beating of the willows" ceremony symbolizes the ridding of any remaining sins (the leaves representing these transgressions) that might yet influence G-d's decision to "seal" the Book of Life with our names inscribed therein. Many Jews will keep the beaten willow branches to use when they burn the chametz ("leaven" in Hebrew, referring to anything that consists of leaven or can cause leavening to occur, including leavened bread and yeast, respectively) just before Passover. Another interpretation of this ceremony is that the beating of willow leaves symbolized faith in the continuing nature-cycle of rebirth after the year's produce was brought in. Still another interpretation of the "beating of the willows" ritual was that the rainy season begins in autumn in Israel and the falling leaves off the willow branches symbolizes the desire for rainfall for the crops. This actually connects Hoshanah Rabbah with the folliwng day, Shemini Atzeret, because on Shemini Atzeret, we begin adding a Prayer for Rain. Both the Hoshanot and the Prayer for Rain were written by Rabbi Eleazar Ha-Kallir who lived in Israel either in the 6th or 8th century C.E., depending on the historical scholarly account. Why do we use these four particular plants that constitute the Four Species? There are many explanations, but the two primary explanations are that each of these plants represents a part of the human body and that each of these plants represents a specific kind of Jewish person. There is also the custom of Ushpizin (Ushpizin means "holy guests" in Aramaic): in this custom, one invites our forefathers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron and David - to partake in the Sukkot meals, just as Abraham invited guests in for meals in his time. As well, one also invites poor Torah students in for the Sukkot meals. Ultimately, the purpose of Sukkot is to recall and give thanks to G-ds' protection and G-d's miracles performed for the Hebrews during their 40 years of wandering in the Sinai Desert, and to dwell in "booths" for seven days just as the Hebrews did during this period as a commemoration of this period of protection and miracles. As well, the "Four Species" symbolize the abundant, agricultural nature of Sukkot. It is written that just as the farmer gathers his crops, we are also instructed to gather four kinds of growing things and use them to praise and rejoice with G-d. Since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. by the Romans, the Rabbis have instructed us to use the "Four Species" on every day of the Sukkot holiday as a reminder of the Temple, and this has continued to this day. On Sukkot, the Book of Ecclesiastes is read (also known as the Scroll of Ecclesiastes, one of the five "Megillot" or scrolls).
• Hoshanah Rabbah, Hoshana Rabah = The Hebrew word "hoshanah" or "hoshana" means "please save (us)" and is a series of as many as seven liturgical poems calling upon G-d to rescue and redeem the Jewish people, primarily by sending rain. The Jews in Israel during biblical times were especially dependent on the seasonal rainfall to ensure sufficient crops for the community to survive. The word "Rabbah" or "Rabah" literally means "great" in Hebrew. In Temple times, the altar was circled seven times while holding the "Four Species" (lulav, etrog, branch of willow, and myrtle) and repeatedly chanting the "Hoshanah" prayer: "Save now, I beseech you, G-d; G-d, I beseech you, send now prosperity". This day is also the day when one has one final chance to repent for one's trangressions before one's destiny is sealed for the year. Food customs include eating kreplach ("stuffed dumplings" in Yiddish) on this day. Kreplach are small noodle dumplings filled with either cheese, chopped chicken livers, or roasted buckwheat groats known as "kasha" and are usually boiled and served in soup.
• Shemini Atzeret = literally "the assembly of the eighth (day)" in Hebrew; Feast of the Assembly, Solemn Assembly, The Feast of the Eight Days, or the Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly; on this day, the Torah commands that work is prohibited and that it is a day for gathering in a solemn assembly; it is also a day for highlighting the special relationship between the Jewish people and G-d; another explanation is that after a particularly rich holiday season beginning with Rosh Ha-Shanah, a midrash (an "imaginative interpretation of Scripture" in Hebrew) says that on Shemini Atzeret G-d says to the Jewish people: "your departure is difficult for me. Stay with me one more day". In a sense, the day of Shemini Atzeret in Temple times served as a ceremonial closure of the seven-day Sukkot festival which immediately preceded it, although technically-speaking, it stands as its own festival. On Shemini Atzeret, G-d's judgment on next year's rainfall is celebrated. Shemini Atzeret emphasizes the unique relationship of water to all life, and a special prayer for rainfall known as "Tefillat Geshem" ("Prayer For Rain" in Hebrew) is recited. Shemini Atzeret serves as a transitional day for the Jewish people, leading them out of their awareness of the various meanings of Sukkot and into the next phase of time; in Israel, this was the time of the approaching winter rains. Furthermore, the High Holy Days of Rosh Ha-Shanah and Yom Kippur, where Yom Kippur is followed 5 days later by the 7-day pilgrimmage festival of Sukkot, when Jews in biblical times would come from all over the Middle East to gather in Jerusalem on the first day of Sukkot and stay for 7 days in Jerusalem, resulted in G-d becoming nostalgic as the festival of Sukkot drew to a close. Since the Jewish people would not assemble again in Jerusalem until 6 months later for the Pesach/Passover festival, G-d wanted the Jewish people to stay a little longer after the Sukkot festival ended. The Torah thus states an obligation to observe an "eighth day of assembly" or a final feast/holy day immediately after the seven-day festival of Sukkot (Leviticus 23:26). Thus, the day of Shemini Atzeret was decreed by the rabbis of Talmudic times as a kind of "encore", a reprise of the celebration of Sukkot, but without the rituals of Sukkot. This is interpreted as meaning that although the symbolisms and rituals of Sukkot are important, they remain just symbols. Therefore, according to these rabbis, the day of Shemini Atzeret is when the Jewish community gathers together to end the festival of Sukkot. Jewish traditions which have been assigned to Shemini Atzeret include Shemini Atzeret being a way for G-d to maintain closeness with the Jewish people for an extra day; also, that the day of Shemini Atzeret was a way of keeping the Jewish people together in Jerusalem for one day longer, as the Jewish people had gathered together in Jerusalem for the 7-day Sukkot festival, as commanded by the Torah. In a Messianic Jewish interpretation, Shemini Atzeret represents the eighth day, which is the day after the seventh day, and the number seven in Judaism represents perfection as well as a complete unit of time, as a week in Judaism culminates in Shabbat on the seventh day of the week. The end of the seventh day of the week is also the end of both historical time (marked by progressional transitions and centered in the High Holidays in Judaism) and cyclical time (represented in the three pilgrim festivals: Pesach/Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot, with Sukkot concluding the pilgrimmage cycle as well as the High Holy Days, which in turn seems to indicate that the end of Sukkot means the end of both historical and cyclical time). Thus in a Messianic Jewish sense, the eight day after the seven days of Sukkot - Shemini Atzeret - is the time after time or in another sense, the day after time. Since G-d said to the Jewish people to remain with G-d ("atzeret", which refers to a "holding back" in Hebrew, in the sense that one is held back in order to bring something to its state of completion) for an extra day, G-d was referring to the eighth day which represents the time beyond time or the day beyond time, meaning the Messianic time. In this time beyond time, the promise of redemption has been transformed into redemption itself. Thus Shemini Atzeret displays the point at which G-d, the Jewish people, and the Torah are at one, meaning we see a glimpse of Messianic times on this day. This discovery culminates in Simchat Torah (or Simhat Torah) which occurs on the same day as Shemini Atzeret both for Jews living in Israel and for Reform Jews, and on the day following Shemini Atzeret for all Jews living outside Israel (except, as mentioned, for Reform Jews), where during the "hoshanot" prayers ["hoshanah" (singular form of "hoshanot" in Hebrew) means "Please Save (Us)" in Hebrew; "hoshanot" are a series of seven liturgical poems or prayers which essentially call upon G-d to rescue the Jewish people primarily by sending rain for the crops because the Jewish people in biblical Israel were an agricultural society and thus were dependent on the seasonal rainfall for growing their crops in order to survive. Since Sukkot falls just before the traditional rainy season in Israel, it was considered appropriate to ask G-d to bring rain.], we take the Torah - our link or ketubah ("marriage contract" in Hebrew) with G-d - and carry the Torah scrolls around the synagogue in a procession known as "hakkafot" in Hebrew ("hakkafot" or "hakafot" means "circling" in Hebrew). Although it appears that we are simply carrying around the Torah scrolls around the synagogue in an empty space, the space is actually filled with G-d, who fills all things. This is in contrast to the festival days of Sukkot, where during the "hoshanot" prayers performed during the hakkafot custom, we do not take out the Torah scrolls from the Ark but instead circle the "Bimah", meaning the "platform" in Hebrew where the prayer service is conducted, and where the Torah scrolls are held in the Ark. On Shemini Atzeret, the "Tefilat Geshem" ("The Prayer for Rain" in Hebrew) is recited in the "Musaf" or "Mussaf" ("additional" in Hebrew) part of the prayer service. There is both a Sephardic (Jews whose ancestors come from Spain and/or Portugal) and an Ashkenazic (Jews whose ancestors come from Central and/or Eastern Europe) version of the "Prayer For Rain". Another custom involves lighting a candle known as a Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle [Yahrtzeit literally means A "Year('s) Time" in Yiddish, referring to an anniversary; specifically, an anniversary of the passing of a close relative in Judaism; colloquially-speaking, it is the annual time for the memorialization of the close relative who has passed, and the memorialization is done using a special candle called a Yahrtzeit candle I.E. Memorial candle that is kindled and burns for 26 hours. There are also Yahrtzeit candles that burn for 50 hours. Yahrtzeit or Yahrzeit is a compound word: "Yahr" means "Year" in Yiddish and "Tzeit" or "Zeit" means "Time" in Yiddish. Yizkor means "May (G-d) Remember" in Hebrew, it is from the Hebrew root word "zakhor", meaning "remember".]. The Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle is lit at sundown on the night of Shemini Atzeret. If there is a Sabbath during the intermediate days of the Sukkot festival, then it is customary to read from the Book of Ecclesiastes, however, if there is no Sabbath during the intermediate days of the festival of Sukkot, then the Book of Ecclesiastes is read on Shemini Atzeret. The Book of Ecclesiastes is appropriate for Sukkot, as it revolves around several nature themes, and that despite negative events that occur in nature, the best way to overcome the sense of negativity one may feel from these negative events is an individual's relationship with G-d. On Shemini Atzeret, we again hear the themes of nature in the Book of Ecclesiastes in addition to the "Prayer For Rain", yet another connection we are reminded of with nature. In the prayer services, there is a special Yizkor service that takes place on the following day after lighting the Yahrtzeit / Yizkor candle. In Megillah 31a of the Talmud, there is a reference to the haftarah reading for the second day of Shemini Atzeret. Furthermore, the name "Simchat Torah" is not mentioned in the Talmud, except for possibly the aforementioned reference in Megillah 31a. This second day of Shemini Atzeret evolved into the day of Simchat Torah or "Rejoicing in the Torah" although likely after the 11th century in Israel, the two were combined to occur on the first day of Shemini Atzeret. As mentioned, over the course of time in Israel - likely after the 11th century C.E. when the one-year Torah reading cycle was established in Babylonia (in ancient Israel, the Torah was read and completed in a three-year cycle) - the day of Shemini Atzeret grew into an additional celebration of the rejoicing of the Torah or Simchat Torah (also: Simhat Torah). Shemini Atzeret is thus celebrated along with Simchat Torah on the same day in Israel and in Reform-Jewish congregations. For all other Jews living outside Israel, Shemini Atzeret is celebrated on this day, and Simchat Torah is celebrated on the following day, although Halakhically-speaking (meaning speaking from the perspective of Jewish religious law), Shemini Atzeret outside Israel is a two-day holiday comprising the first and second days after the final day of Sukkot, with the first day often being called Shemini Atzeret and the second day being known as Simchat Torah. This extra holy day is in keeping with the Hebrew/Jewish calendrical custom to add an extra day to a festival for Jews living outside Israel in order to ensure that all Jews worldwide would be able to celebrate a holiday on the correct day. The act of rejoicing on Simchat Torah is essentially a statement that no matter what hardships the Jewish people have endured throughout the course of history the fundamental truth remains constant: that the Torah affirms and enriches life, and hence becomes the focus of rejoicing on Simchat Torah.
• Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah: literally "Rejoicing in the Torah" in Hebrew, also known as: "Rejoicing of the Law"; Simchat Torah marks both the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings and the beginning of the new cycle of Torah readings; Feast of Rejoicing over the Law. The name Simchat Torah is not mentioned in the Talmud. Simchat Torah grew out of the In Israel, after the 11th century C.E., Shemini Atzeret also came to be known as Simhat Torah and since then, both Shemini Atzeret and Simhat Torah in Israel are celebrated on the same day, the day of Shemini Atzeret. For Jews living outside Israel, there is a second day of Shemini Atzeret which is also known as Simchat Torah. The Talmud states that on this day, the final portion of the Torah, Deuteronomy 33-34, is to be read, although the name "Simhat Torah" was not known in Talmudic times. Based on this tradition of reading the final portion of the Torah on this day, there was a gradual development to mark this day as a joyous celebratory day for the completion of the Torah reading cycle. On Simchat Torah, we perform a custom of reciting "hoshanot" prayers ["hoshanah" (singular form of "hoshanot" in Hebrew) means "Please Save (Us)" in Hebrew; "hoshanot" are a series of seven liturgical poems or prayers which essentially call upon G-d to rescue the Jewish people primarily by sending rain for the crops because the Jewish people in biblical Israel were an agricultural society and thus were dependent on the seasonal rainfall for growing their crops in order to survive. Since Sukkot falls just before the traditional rainy season in Israel, it was considered appropriate to ask G-d to bring rain.] while performing another custom known as "hakkafot" or "hakafot" ("hakkafot" or "hakafot" means "circling" in Hebrew; in the context of Simchat Torah, it refers to worshippers moving in a procession with the Torah scrolls around the synagogue I.E. circling exactly seven times around the synagogue with the Torah scrolls). The final portion of the Torah is then read except for the final few verses and it is at this point that we realize that all that exists are us (the Jewish people), G-d, and the Torah. We then begin to dance continuously in circles, revelling in this magical moment, and we lose our sense of time, meaning both historical time and cyclical time. However, this sense of unity with G-d is only a fleeting moment and both historical and cyclical time - the former by the realization of the progression of time and the latter with the beginning again of the Torah reading cycle - begins again. Our reading of the final portion of the Book of Deuteronomy from the Torah which concludes the Torah reading cycle and our immediate subsequent reading of the Book of Genesis from the Torah which begins the Torah reading cycle symbolizes that there is no finality to Torah, that the cycle of Torah readings is part of a constantly renewing cycle. Furthermore, to demonstrate that the Torah has also entered historical time in addition to its cyclical time of readings, we also read the first chapter of the Book of Joshua on Simchat Torah, which depicts many historical events in the history of the Hebrews/Jewish people, including the historic event of the Hebrews entering the Land of Israel, which demonstrates that the attaining of the Jewish people's oneness with G-d and Torah is no illusion; that the moment and fulfillment of ultimate redemption which comes with Messianic times is always near.
• Sigd = Sigd (or Siged) is an Amharic word meaning "prostrating oneself" as in prostrating oneself in worship. The word "Sigd" itself contains the letters s-g-d, which is part of the word "Mesgid" or "Masgid" ("place of prostration", referring to a type of synagogue in Ge'ez, the ancient Ethiopian liturgical language), and this connection reflects the connection between the Ethiopian-Jews and the Temple in Jerusalem, as well as Jerusalem being the focus of Jewish life and rituals. The origin of the Sigd festival is based on a passage from the biblical Book of Nehemiah, in Nehemiah 8, which speaks of the renewal of the covenant between G-d and the Hebrews. Sigd also has its origins in the fact that in the time of the prophet Nehemiah, the entire Jewish community assembled in Jerusalem for a day of fasting and confession. The custom of Sigd was passed down orally from generation to generation. Essentially, Sigd commemorates the return to Zion from exile in Babylonia led by Ezra and Nehemiah who read out the Torah before the people of Israel and reminded them of their covenant with the L-rd. Sigd, celebrated seven weeks after Yom Kippur (on the 50th day after Yom Kippur if one includes the day of Sigd itself), is a pilgrimmage holiday which marks the renewal of the covenant between G-d and Israel following the Babylonian Exile, and also commemorates the return of the Ethiopian-Jews to Israel. Sigd is also a time for recalling and mourning the Exile in Babylonia and when most of the Ethiopian-Jews were in Ethiopia, expressing a longing to return to Jerusalem. During the morning on the 29th of Cheshvan, Ethiopian-Jews fasted, and each Ethiopian-Jewish community in Ethiopia would gather together and, along with the "Kessim", "Qessim", or "Qessotch" ("high priests" or "religious leaders" in Amharic), who carried the Torah scrolls and the "Orit" (in this context, "Orit" means "the Bible" in Ge'ez. "Orit" is actually a female given name, but it is also an equivalent in the ancient Ethiopian liturgical language known as Ge'ez to the words "the Bible". Orit is similar to the respective Hebrew and Aramaic terms "ora" and "oraita", both meaning "the Law of the Bible"), would walk to the highest point on a mountain, as if going up to Jerusalem. The mountain, in fact, symbolized Mount Sinai. The Ethiopian-Jews would be dressed in their white holiday garments, the women in simple white dresses with hand-embroidered trim, white shawls, and their heads covered with colorful head scarves, making the mountain of greenery into a sea of billowing white. The "Kessim", dressed in either their black robes and white turbans, or white robes and white turbans, would recite various parts of the "Orit" in the liturgical language of Ge'ez, such as the portion about the granting of the commandments, the books of Ezra and Nehemiah and other Biblical verses, in the ancient Ge'ez tongue, which was translated into Amharic (the primary spoken language of Ethiopia). It was also customary for the Kessim to exhort the Ethiopian-Jewish community to return to Jerusalem. Members of the Ethiopian-Jewish community would also recite Psalms and remembered the Torah, its traditions, and their desire to return to Zion, which for the Ethiopian-Jews, was Jerusalem, not Israel as a whole. In the afternoon, following the afternoon prayers and the blowing of the Shofar ("Ram's Horn" in Hebrew), everyone would descend from the mountain to their village, and all would break their fast by participating in a festive meal complete with dancing, and all would rejoice. Since Sigd involves remembering the Torah, then this holiday also symbolizes the covenant in receiving the Torah on Mount Sinai, hence the symbolism of connecting the mountain with Mount Sinai. Furthering the connection between the Ethiopian-Jews, Israel, and the Torah, the Sigd festival occured exactly one month after Simchat Torah. In Israel, Ethiopians from all over Israel descend on Jerusalem to hear their "Kessim" recite their prayers while the Ethiopian-Jewish community prays as they overlook the Old City and the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, usually on a hill just south of the Old City which offers a breathtaking view of Jerusalem. The participants also hold a memorial ceremony for the thousands who died on the long trek from Ethiopia to Zion. Thus, the custom of Sigd in Ethiopia, which originally expressed the Ethiopian-Jews' yearning for Jerusalem, is now expressed as thanks and gratitude in Israel, where the Ethiopian-Jewish desire to return to Jerusalem has been realized. There are also prayers that are now recited that extoll for a rebuilt Jerusalem which is similar in meaning to when Jews say "Next year in Jerusalem" at the close of the Passover Seder in reference to the Third Temple being built in Jerusalem which will coincide with the dawning of the Messianic Age, whereas in Ethiopia, these prayers were for a longing to return to Jerusalem. Furthermore, since the seasons in Ethiopia are reversed from those in Israel, the harvest of the first fruits takes place in Ethiopia in the month of Cheshvan or Heshvan. Thus, Ethiopian-Jews in Israel mark the 29th of Cheshvan or Heshvan as the Sigd holiday when they would celebrate their harvest of the first fruits back in Ethiopia. Since Sigd falls on the 50th day after Yom Kippur, meaning exactly 49 days or seven weeks after Yom Kippur plus the 50th day if one includes the day of Sigd, just as Shavuot falls exactly 49 days or seven weeks (plus the 50th day if one includes the first day of Shavuot) after the Omer offering and the initiation of "Counting the Omer" for 49 days or seven weeks, which begins on the second evening of Pesach/Passover, this also explains why Sigd is known as a harvest festival in addition to the renewal of the Giving of the Law to the Jewish people after a remnant of Jews returned to Judah following the Babylonian Exile. The Ethiopian-Jews took the Torah commandment to count seven weeks literally, and so they fixed the date of the Sigd festival in the same manner as the Shavuot date is fixed relative to the beginning of the "Counting of the Omer" on the second evening of Passover/Pesach, meaning exactly seven weeks plus the 50th day being the day of the festival. In Israel, the Sigd has also taken on a social and political tone, with many social gatherings taking place between Ethiopians. Because the "Giving of the Law" is one of the historical themes of Sigd, "moral elegance", and "soul-searching" also characterize the theme of Sigd. The close connection between the Ethiopian-Jews, the Torah, and Jerusalem that characterizes the holiday of Sigd, demonstrates the faithfulness of the Ethiopian-Jews to Judaism.
• Chanukah or Hanukkah (most common transliterated spellings, there are many spelling variations): literally "dedication" in Hebrew; Festival of Lights ("Hag Ha'urim" in Hebrew), Feast of Dedication, Feast of the Hasmoneans; Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Temple alter after the Jews, led by the Hasmonean, Judah Maccabee ("Maccabee" means "hammer" in Aramaic, because this family was said to strike blows with a hammer against their enemies; also possibly from the Hebrew phrase: "Who is like unto thee among the G-ds, oh L-rd!"). Judah Maccabee was the son of Mattathias of the priestly Hasmonean family who founded the Hasmonean Dynasty of kings which ruled Judea from 142 B.C.E. - 63 B.C.E., successfully defeated the armies of the Greek-Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes IV in 165 B.C.E. Antiochus Epiphanes IV was from the Seleucid Greek-Syrian line of monarchs that had ruled Judea since 311 B.C.E. as part of the Seleucid Empire that stretched across the Middle East. Antiochus looted and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem with Greek religious cult objects in 168 B.C.E., outlawed Judaism, and killed many Jews. Antiochus was not content to accept the taxes and loyalty of the Jews in Judea as his predecessors had done and instead wanted to Hellenize the Jews by forcing them to give up their religion and culture and adopt Greek ways and customs. After Judah Maccabee defeated Antiochus, he rid the Temple of Hellenistic (Greek) religious cult objects, reconstructed the Temple in accordance with Torah laws, reinstituted sacrificial worship, and reconsecrated the Temple to G-d. The Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Shabbat 21b, states that when the Greek-Syrians entered the Temple in Jerusalem, they contaminated all the oil. However, after the Hasmoneans defeated the Greek-Syrians, Judah Maccabee and the Jews entered the Temple in 164 B.C.E. and wanted to relight the candelabrum (or lamp), but found only one jug of oil, uncontaminated, with the seal of the High Priest intact, and it contained only enough oil to keep the candelabrum (or lamp) burning for one day. However, a miracle occurred and the oil lasted for eight days. The next year these days were decreed a time of celebration, praise and thanksgiving. Thus, in memory of this miracle, we celebrate Chanukah for eight days and use a Shammes (also: Shames) to light candles on each of these nights. "Shammes" means "servant" in Hebrew, and usually refers to the beadle of a synagogue, but also refers to the ninth candle that is used to light the other eight candles during the Chanukah holiday. The shammes candle is the "servant candle" - the ninth candle on a Chanukah menorah - which is used to light the others. Chanukah customs include lighting an additional candle for each Chanukah evening (1 candle plus the candle that lights the 1 candle on the 1st night, 2 candles plus the candle that lights the 2 candles on the 2nd night, and so on until on the 8th night, when all 8 candles are lit plus the candle that lights the 8 candles = 9 candles in all) on a menorah ("candlestick" in Hebrew, referring to a nine-branched candelabra, sometimes seven-branched, as a seven-branched candelabra was used in the Temple in Jerusalem), eating an oily, fritter-like pancake known as a "latke" ("latke" means "pancake" in Yiddish (pronounced: lawt-ka or lot-ka; the type of "latke" eaten during the Chanukah festival is usually a "potato pancake"); in Russian: "latka") in remembrance of the oil in the vial in the Temple that miraculously burned for 8 days; in Israel, sufganiot are served ("Sufganiot" or "Sufganiyot" means "doughnuts" or "donuts" in Hebrew, specifically jelly doughnuts fried in oil), and playing a children's game of chance with a dreidel (also: "dreidl", from the Yiddish word "dreydl" which in turn is from the German word "dreyen", meaning "to turn".). A dreidel is a 4-sided toy that is marked with Hebrew letters and is spun like a top in a game of chance. Other customs include distributing gelt ("money" in Yiddish) to children after lighting the candles, and singing "Ma'oz Zur" or "Ma'oz Tzur" ("Rock of Ages" in Hebrew, referring to G-d as the "Rock of Ages") after lighting the candles. Ma'oz Tzur is a popular hymn that was composed by a man named Mordecia in Europe in the twelfth century, possibly in Germany. Ma'oz Tzur recalls G-d's miracles in defeating the enemies of the Hebrews/Jews throughout the course of history. The menorah with the lighted candles is also placed either near a window or a doorway to publicize the Chanukah miracle. Another Chanukah custom is the recitation of the "Al Ha-Nissim" (literally "for the miracles" in Hebrew) prayer in Chanukah prayer services, which serves as an addendum to the Modim ("thanksgiving" in Hebrew) blessing of the Amidah throughout the festival of Hanukkah. The "Al Ha-Nissim" prayer describes the reason for celebrating Chanukah as being the great military victory over the Greek-Syrians. In fact, suggestions that one recite "Al Ha-Nissim" date back to Tractate Shabbat 24a in the Babylonian Talmud. This explanation for celebrating Chanukah is in addition to the explanation that the reason for celebrating Chanukah is for the miracle of the oil burning for 8 days. Although there appears to be tension between these two explanations as to which is the main reason, it can be interpreted that the "Al Ha-Nissim" prayer explains the reason for celebrating Chanukah while the Gemara of the Talmud [the "Gemara" ("completion" in Hebrew) are commentaries on the rabbinic discussions of the Oral Law, meaning the Mishnah of the Talmud, where both the Mishnah and Gemara make up the Talmud] analyzes the reason for celebrating Chanukah more specifically by the lighting of candles.
• Asarah Be'Tevet, Asarah B'Tevet, or Asarah Bi Tevet = literally "10 in Tevet", referring to the 10th day of the Hebrew month of Tevet. The 10th of Tevet is a day of mourning because this day marks the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylonia in 587 B.C.E. or 586 B.C.E., as well as the beginning of the battle that ultimately led to the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple, and sent the Jews into their 70-year exile in Babylonia. The 10th of Tevet has also been proclaimed a memorial day for the six million Jews who died in the Holocaust. This is a day of fasting, Teshuvah I.E. reflection, introspection, and repentance for wrongdoings, as well as an honest re-examination of ourselves which consists of finding ways to change our past actions and change our behavior for the better. Asarah be-Tevet is also the day of mourning for people whose last resting place or date of death is unknown, and so in Jewish communities in Israel and in some Jewish communities outside Israel, this day is also observed as a day of mourning for the victims of the Shoah I.E. the Holocaust ("Shoah" means a "calamity", "cataclysm", "disaster" or "catastrophe", meaning something devoid of the presence of G-d in Hebrew). Asarah b'Tevet is the only Jewish fast that is not postponed or moved forward in the calendar if it falls on a Friday, the Shabbat or Sabbath day, which indicates its immense importance in Jewish life. In contrast, other fast days are so arranged by calendar adjustments as to never fall on a Friday, so as not to interfere with Shabbat preparations. The rabbis in Israel wanted to mimimize the number of days of mourning in the Jewish calendar, and so they combined a day of remembrance for the Holocaust with the 10th of Tevet, which today is observed by most Israelis, however, the magnitude of the Holocaust eventually resulted in the creation of a separate day to remember the victims of the Holocaust. This day is known as: Yom Ha-Shoah.
• Tu B'Shevat, Tu Be'Shevat, or Tu Bi Shevat; also Hamishah Asar Bishvat or Hamishah Asar Bishevat = literally "the 15th of Shevat" in Hebrew (Shevat is a Hebrew month name); also known as: "Rosh Ha-Shanah Le Ilanot" or "Rosh Ha-Shanah La'Ilanot", meaning the "New Year For Trees" in Hebrew; a Jewish Arbor Day. The word "Tu" in "Tu Be'Shevat" is a combination of the Hebrew letters/ciphers "Tet" ("9" in Hebrew) and "Vav" ("6" in Hebrew), which totals 15, as Hebrew letters have a corresponding numerical value, similar to Roman numerals. The Tu Be'Shevat festival is not mentioned in the Tanakh or Tanach ("Hebrew Bible" in Hebrew). The setting of its date was determined by the correct determination of the agricultural calendar for fruit trees, not for the festival itself. Two schools of religious Jewish thought came to different conclusions at that time: the school of Shamai (or Shammai) said that Tu B'Shevat should take place on the 1st of Shevat, while disciples of the school of Hillel concluded that Tu B'Shevat should take place on the 15th of Shevat. As you can see, Hillel's school of thought won out. Thus, the 15th of Shevat was seen to be the day when rains from the previous year in Israel ceased to irrigate the trees, meaning most of the rains from the previous year in Israel had already fallen. A certain percentage of the fruit has reached the stage of "begun to ripen". This is defined as from the time of blossoming until the fruit has reached one third of its full growth. Fruit which have reached this stage are attributed to the previous year. Any new blossoming of fruit after this day is a result of the blessings of the new year. Therefore, from the 15th of Shevat onward, the trees are benefitting from the new rains. There is a legend that grew from the date for the New Year For Trees where on the 15th of Shevat, a heavenly court passes judgement on the trees, much like on the 1st of Tishrei for Rosh Ha-Shanah, where on that day a Jewish person's destiny or fate is decided for the upcoming year. In biblical times, the Hebrews would plant a cedar tree to commemorate the birth of a son and plant a cypress tree to commemorate the birth of girl (Babylonian Talmud, Gittin 57 p. 1). Following the Jews' Exile from Judah to Babylonia, the physical Jewish connection between humans, trees, and the earth was transformed into one of consciousness, and as a result, various hymns were composed and customs were established about this festival. The importance of trees in Judaism as both a symbol and an existential value is expressed in the quote from Leviticus 19:2-3, which states: "When you shall come to the Land, you shall plant all types of trees". In Isaiah 65:21-22, Isaiah speaks of planting trees when the Hebrews/Jews permanently return to Israel: "And you shall build houses and dwell there and plant vineyards and eat their fruit...because the life of my people is like a tree". Specific trees that were known for their ability to withstand harsh conditions and their longevity were used by the Talmudic Sages to describe the Hebrews/Jews, their longevity, and their connection with Israel: "The days of the people are like the days of the tree - like this Sycamore, growing in the land" (Bereishit Rabba 12:6). Tu B'Shevat shows the Jewish people's connection to the Land of Israel as evidenced in the customs for this festival. Tu B'Shevat is both an agricultural festival and a celebration of the renewal of nature, and is a festival that demonstrates the Jewish people's love for trees which have long been a part of our history. This festival was born in Israel, and it demonstrates the Jewish people's love for the Land of Israel as well as the commandments from G-d that relate to the Land of Israel. Most of the customs and traditions that surround this festival have their origin in Israel. These customs include the custom of eating fruit on the 15th of Shevat that was established in the 16th century in Safed, Israel, by the Kabbalist Rabbi Isaac Luria, as a symbolic way for the Jews to participate in the joy of the trees. A table is set up with fruits that are grown in Israel such as raisins I.E. grapes, pomegranates, dates, olives, figs, and the grains (wheat and barley) that were part of the "seven species" (Shevat Ha-Minim" in Hebrew) of the Land of Israel. These "seven species" are as follows as elaborated in the Book of Deuteronomy (Deuteronomy 8:8): "A land of wheat and barley, and vines [I.E. grapes from the vine] and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of the olive and honey". The first ripened yield of the seven species was brought to the Temple in Jerusalem as an offering to the priests. These crops and fruits frequently served ancient Jewish art as decorative motifs in synagogues and on everyday utensils, such as coins, seals, rings, lamps, jewelry, glass vessels, and more. In addition to these seven basic fruits and grains of Israel that are placed on the festive table for Tu B'Shevat, additional fruits and produce grown in Israel are added to the table such as almonds, walnuts, apricots, persimmons, various berries, bananas, carob, pears, apples (whether fresh or dried), and various citrus fruits such as oranges and grapefruit. In Jewish tradition, these types of fruits and nuts are broken down into three categories: (1) Fruits and nuts with hard, inedible exteriors and soft edible insides. Examples: oranges, bananas, walnuts, and pistachios; (2) Fruits and nuts with soft exteriors, but with a hard pit inside. Examples: dates, apricots, olives, and persimmons; and (3) Fruit that is eaten in its entirety. Examples: figs, berries. Furthermore, in Kabbalistic tradition I.E. Jewish mystical tradition, there is a fourth type of fruit that is not of this world. After the Jews were expelled from Spain and Portugal in 1492, the town of Safed in Israel became the center for Jewish mystical, or Kabbalistic tradition. In the 16th century, the Kabbalists, led by Rabbi Isaac Luria, also established the custom of holding a special Tu B'Shevat Seder that was ordered somewhat along the lines of the Passover/Pesach Seder. It included setting a table with a white cloth, flasks of red and white wine, and plenty of fruit and flowers. This Tu B'Shevat Seder also included the "seven species": (1) Wheat ("chitah" in Hebrew), (2) Barley ("se'orah" in Hebrew), (3) Grapes ("gefen" in Hebrew), (4) Fig ("t'einah" in Hebrew), (5) Pomegranate ("rimon" in Hebrew), (6) Olive ("zayit" in Hebrew) (for the purposes of the Seder, use olive oil), and (7) Date (Honey) ("tamar" in Hebrew), and the drinking of four cups of wine where each cup of wine was filled with a different color of wine to reflect each season in Israel as well as to symbolize the changing seasons in Israel. The first cup was filled with white wine, and represented October, after Sukkot; the second cup of wine was filled with white wine with a bit of red wine for a different color and represented November and December, Israel's rainy season, when the colors of the landscape are changing; the third cup is filled with half white and half red wine and represents the time around Tu B'Shevat, meaning winter in Israel; and the fourth cup is filled with red wine and represents Pesach/Passover, meaning Israel's springtime. In the Tu B'Shevat Seder, for the first cup of wine, a blessing for fruit is said, and the fruit (pomegranate, dates, fig, and grapes) is then tasted. Then a blessing for the nuts is said, and the nuts are then tasted. Then the first cup is drunk. For the second cup of wine, a blessing over the bread I.E. the Ha-Motzi blessing, is said, then the bread is dipped in olive oil and then tasted. Then the second cup is drunk. At this point, the festive meal is served. Finally, after the festive meal, the third cup and fourth cup are drunk. The readings that accompanied the Tu B'Shevat Seder were from the Zohar (one of the major works in Jewish mysticism or Kabbalah), the Torah, and the Talmud, and were readings that related to fruit. In fact, all the fruit symbols, readings, and customs of the Tu B'Shevat Seder were connected in that they discussed the trees, fruit, nature, and the changing four seasons in Israel, and included references to the "inner" meanings of different types of fruit. The Tu B'Shevat Seder was ended with dancing. Today, the Jewish National Fund in Israel has compiled a Tu B'Shevat Haggadah that describes the Seder or order in which to conduct a Tu B'Shevat Seder. In addition, Tu B'Shevat and the sweetness of its fruits helped to soften the bitterness of the Hebrews/Jews being in Exile in biblical times, reminding them that Israel and its bounty lay in wait for them whenever they were able to return there. Since returning to Israel, the festival of Tu B'Shevat has been transformed into a day for planting trees, as it says in the Torah: "And when you shall enter this land, you shall plant fruit-bearing trees..." (Leviticus 19:23). The Midrash known as Vayikra Rabba 25 also states: "The Holy One, blessed be He, occupied Himself with planting immediately after Creation of the world. For it is specifically written: 'And the Lord G-d planted a garden in Eden'. So shall you also, when you enter the land of Israel, first of all occupy yourself in planting". Therefore, the custom of tree-planting is performed in addition to the custom of tasting the fruits of Israel on this day. To summarize, in Talmudic times, the Sages chose this day to compute the annual tithes of fruit for the Kohanim and Levi'im ("priests" and "assistants to the priests" in Hebrew, the latter being translated in terms of this contextual use of the word "Levi'im"). Today, however, it is customary on this day in Israel to eat fruit and nuts grown in Israel and for children in Israel to plant trees, while also in Israel, some conduct a Tu B'Shevat Seder. The Jewish National Fund in Israel has declared this day to be Israel's Arbor Day. This day also expresses the close association between the Jews and the soil of Israel. For Jews living outside Israel, this is a day to eat the fruit and nut produce that is grown in Israel in addition to donating money to plant trees in Israel.
• Ta'anit Esther = literally "Fast of Esther" in Hebrew. Esther prepared herself to go her husband King Ahasuerus by fasting for 3 days prior to meeting him. It was very dangerous to go to the king unsummoned, even for the Queen, Esther. But fortunately, the king accepted her presence when she appeared before him to tell him that she was of Jewish origin and to plead with him that he save her people from destruction.
• Purim = literally "lots" in Hebrew ("Pur" is the singular form of Purim I.E. "lot" in Persian); Feast of Lots; Purim commemorates the saving of the Persian Jews from destruction at the hands of Haman, the favored chief minister of King Ahasuerus (King Xerxes I: reigned from 486-465 B.C.E.), who used a lottery to fix a day on which to perpetrate his plot to annihilate the Jews of Persia. The name "lots" refers to the lottery that Haman used to fix a date for the destruction of the Jews. The lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar. The origin of the name "Purim" comes from the Book of Esther, also known as the Scroll of Esther (one of the five Torah scrolls, or five "megillat" in Hebrew), in Esther 3:7, where it states: "In the twelfth year of King Ahasuerus, in the first month, Nisan, they cast lots, Pur as it is called, in the presence of Haman, taking day by day and month by month, and the lot fell on the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, the month of Adar". The heros of the Purim story are Esther and her cousin Mordechai, who became a leader of the Persian Jews. Esther's parents had died when she was young and so she went to live with her cousin Mordechai, who raised her as if she was his own child. Eventually, Esther was taken by Mordechai to the house of the king of Persia, King Ahasuerus, to be a part of his harem. Mordechai told Esther not to reveal her identity as a Jewish person. It came to pass that the king held a great banquet at his royal palace in Shushan, Persia while his wife, Queen Vashti, made one for the women. The king asked Queen Vashti to come into his presence and to show off her beauty in front of him and his guests, but the queen - in a state of drunkeness from too much wine - refuses. The king then became angry and disposed of Queen Vashti. He then held a beauty contest to choose a new queen and Esther was forced to participate. No one knew of Esther's Jewish origin. The king was taken with Esther's beauty and soon began to favor Esther over all the other women in his harem, and eventually made her his wife and queen of Persia. Meanwhile, Bigthan and Teresh, two of the king's officers, planned to kill the king, and Mordechai overheard their plot and told Esther who warned the king about it. The king learned that it was Mordechai who saved his life, and wrote that he saved his life in his royal diary. Meanwhile, Haman, the king's chief minister, had a royal decree declared for him that everyone should bow down to him in his presence. Haman became angry when Mordechai did not bow down to him, and as a result, Haman decided to seek revenge on all the Jews by launching a plot to wipe out all the Jews in the 127 provinces in the Persian kingdom by telling the king that the Jewish people in his realm did not observe the king's laws, only their own Jewish laws, and asked the king for permission to annihilate the Jews in Persia. The king did not like the news that the Jews were not observing the king's laws and so the king then granted Haman permission to do with the Jews as he pleased. Mordechai found out about Haman's plans to exterminate all the Jews and the date which Haman set through his casting of lots (I.E. "Purim"). After going to the royal palace wearing sackcloth and ashes as a sign of mourning, Mordechai managed to convince Esther to go into the king's presence and tell him of Haman's plans and beg the king to spare her people, but she first had to tell the king that she was Jewish and reveal her identity to him. However, it was extremely dangerous to go into the king's presence without first being summoned by the king, and Esther was not summoned by the king. So Esther prepared herself by fasting for three days before she went into the presence of the king. Fortunately, the king saw her beauty that he was again enraptured by her and welcomed her into his presence by reaching out to touch her hand with his royal sceptre, a sign that she was welcome. The king asked Esther what she wished for, and Esther replied that she first wants to hold a feast for the king and Haman. At the feast, the king asked Esther again what she wanted, and Esther replied that she again first wants to hold a second feast on the following day with Haman and the king. That night, the king could not sleep and ordered the royal servants to read from his diary and he again learned of the heroic deed of Mordechai which saved the king's life. The king wanted to reward Mordechai, as he was told by the servants that nothing had been done to reward him. Just then, Haman arrived at the palace and entered the king's presence to try and bestow more trouble for Mordechai. The king asked Haman: "What should be done to someone the king wishes to honor?" Haman thought the king was talking about him, not Mordechai, and said that the person the king wishes to honor should ride on the king's best horse in the royal robes. The king decreed that this would be done for Mordechai, and Haman had to lead the horse that Mordechai rode through the streets of Shushan. Later on, at the second feast - with much wine and drinking - Esther revealed her identity as a person of Jewish origin and told the king about Haman's plot to kill all the Jewish people in his kingdom and pleaded with the king to save her and her people from destruction. The king asked: "Who would dare to hurt you?", and Esther pointed to Haman and said: "This man - this wicked Haman!" The king then became very angry when he was told about Haman's plot and ordered that Haman be hanged on the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordechai. The royal decree that was sent out to all the 127 provinces in the Persian kingdom was then superceded by a new royal decree sent out to all the provinces that overrode Haman's decree, as one could not revoke a decree in Persia once it was made official by the king. Mordechai became the chief minister, replacing Haman, and on the 13th of Adar, the Persian-Jews fought the Hamanites I.E. those that favored Haman, and won the battle, with all of Haman's 10 sons being hung on the same gallows as Haman. The Jewish people in Persia were saved. In Esther 9:20-22, it states that Mordechai wrote down all the events of the Purim story and then sent letters to the Jewish people in all the provinces of Persia, instructing them to keep the 14th and 15th of the month of Adar as the days in which the Jews in Persia were saved from their enemies, and as a month which changed for them from sorrow and mourning to joy and happiness and a holiday. Mordechai further stated that these two days were to be kept as days of feasting and joy and days in which people will send gifts to the poor ("Matanot la-evyonim" in Hebrew) and two gifts of food to one another (Mishlo'ah Manot" in Hebrew, or more popularly known as "Shelakhmones" in Hebrew). In Esther 9:28, it further states the following: "And these days are remembered and kept, generation after generation, in every family, province, and city - that the days of Purim always be observed among the Jews, and that the memory of them never cease among their descendants". These instructions have translated into customs that live to this day, as it is a mitzvah ("commandment" in Hebrew) to eat at a large festive meal that includes meat dishes and wine, just like the huge festive meal that Queen Esther prepared to celebrate the Persian Jews' deliverance from destruction, and to celebrate with great joy and passion, just as the Jews of Persia did when they learned of their deliverance. There is also a custom that dates from the Middle Ages in Europe of wearing masks and disguises to symbolize the reversal of fortunes as well as to symbolize the concealing of Esther's identity. Various performances of the Purim story are acted out by children in the form of Purim parades ("adloyada" in Hebrew), Purim plays ("shpiels" in Yiddish), and carnivals (shuk Purim, where "shuk" literally means "market" or "marketplace" in Hebrew, but in this context, it refers to a kid's carnival) using costumes depicting the characters of the Purim story. Noisemakers called "graggers" in Yiddish are sounded whenever the name of Haman is mentioned in order to eradicate the memory of Haman and his evil plan to destroy the Persian Jews. Customary foods eaten on Purim - particularly among Ashkenazim or Jews of Central and/or Eastern European ancestry - include: Purim challah (a type of large bread decorated with raisins), cakes with oil and butter and smeared with egg yolk and decorated with chocolate and sweets, turkey (commemorating King Ahasuerus (also spelled: King Achashverosh) who ruled from India (Hodu) to Ethiopia (Kush), beans (legumes) and cereals, seeds [due to the fact that Queen Esther did not eat any non-Kosher food in the palace of King Ahasuerus, instead eating only seeds and legumes (Daniel 1:1)], Purim fish, because Pisces (Fish) is the sign of the month of Adar; Purim fish is named as such because Purim fish are not cooked in the same way as for other festivals in that they are cooked in vinegar, raisins and spices), and kreplach ("stuffed dumplings" in Yiddish, a variant of the Yiddish word "Kreplech"; singular form: "krepel", taken from the German word "Kr ppel", meaning "fried pastry", equivalent to a "fritter" and akin to the German word "Krapfen", meaning "apple-fritter"). Kreplach are essentially turnovers or pockets of noodle dough filled with any of several mixtures, including cheese, chopped chicken livers or kasha ("roasted whole-grain buckwheat" or "buckwheat groats" in American usage; the word "Kasha" is from Old Slavic, and originally referred to a meal of boiled buckwheat, sometimes mixed with milk. In Russia, the word "kasha" is used in a broader sense for various cooked grains such as buckwheat, millet and oats. The word "Kasha" is "Kasza" in Polish). Kreplach is usually boiled and served in soup. Kreplach is customarily eaten on days where there is "hitting and eating", such as on the eve of Yom Kippur [where the custom of "kaparot" (meaning "atonements" in Hebrew) is performed, where a rooster is swung over one's head as a form of penance, although this custom is opposed by many Jewish Sages], on Hoshanah Rabbah (where the beating the willow branches is performed), and on Purim (the symbolic beating of Haman). As well, the most famous Purim food is a three-cornered cookie that originated in Eastern Europe, Germany, and Italy called "Hamantaschen" [also in singular form: hamentash, homentasch, or homentash, meaning "Haman's Pockets" in Yiddish, or "oznay Haman" (also: "oznei Haman"), meaning "Haman's Ears" in Hebrew]. Hamantaschen is filled with either prune or poppy seed (or "mohn" in Yiddish), where the three corners of the cookie symbolize the three corners of the hat that Haman wore. Another explanation says that the term "Haman's pockets" refer to the pockets filled with bribery money that Haman carried with him. The cookie filling can also include nuts, jam, and other fruits such as dates or apricots. I, personally, once had a cherry Hamantasch! Since wine is an important part of the Purim story, being the source of the turn of events with Queen Vashti's drunkeness and at the second feast that Esther held for the king which led to Haman's downfall and Mordechai's appointment, it is also customary on Purim to drink until one is a little drunk. Essentially, the 14th and 15th of Adar which make up the Purim holiday are known as "days of feasting and gladness", meaning that we are commanded to have a great celebratory meal on Purim, which should take place in the daytime after the Minchah ("afternoon prayer service" in Hebrew) prayers are recited, not in the prior evening, which, if held on the prior evening, then one does not fulfill this obligation. In the blessing over the food I.E. "Birkat Ha-Mazon" in Hebrew, meaning "Grace After Meals", we recite the "Al Ha-Nissim ("For the Miracles" in Hebrew) prayer. If the 14th of Adar falls on a Friday, then we eat the festive Purim meal before noon, so that later on, we can eat the Shabbat meal with a good appetite. In addition, in prayer services, in the "Shemoneh Esreh" ("18 Benedictions" in Hebrew, so named because it was originally a series of 18 benedictions, but later on in time it increased to 19 benedictions) prayer - in the evening, morning, and afternoon - we say "Al Ha-Nissim" in the blessing of "Hodayah" ("thanks" in Hebrew).
• Shushan Purim = the day for celebrating Purim for the Jews of Shushan, Persia (or Susa, Persia). This is the day when Purim is celebrated both in Jerusalem and in walled cities worldwide. In "open" cities, that is, in cities where there are no walls surrounding the city, the Purim holiday is celebrated in full only on the 14th of Adar.
• Purim Katan = literally "little Purim" in Hebrew, a minor Purim celebration during the Hebrew month of Adar I on leap years; specifically, the 14th day of Adar or Adar I. Some Jews also celebrate a "Purim Katan" on the anniversary of any day when their community was saved from a catastrophe, destruction, evil or oppression. Purim Katan, or Purim Sheini, meaning "Second Purim" in Hebrew (alternate spelling: "Purim Sheni") was instituted by Rabbis, as opposed to "Pesach Sheini" or "Pesach Sheni" (the "Second Passover" in Hebrew), which was found in the Torah.
• Shushan Purim Katan = literally "little Shushan Purim" in Hebrew, a minor Shushan Purim celebration during the Hebrew month of Adar I on leap years; specifically, the 15th day of Adar or Adar I.

Footnote regarding the dates on this Jewish Holiday Calendar web page: all dates discussed on this website are based on the modern Gregorian calendar, however, these dates are but one secular scholarly deduction; there are many other secular scholarly deductions as well as traditional Jewish chronological dates in addition to modern Hebrew/Jewish calendar dates regarding the timeline of events in Jewish history. To see a table of some important events in Jewish history discussed on this website and their various dates deduced from traditional Jewish sources, the modern Hebrew/Jewish calendar, and secular historical timelines, check out our Jewish History Timeline web page.

        

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