Jewish festivals
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What are Jewish festivals?
Jewish festivals are holidays observed by the Jewish community, with traditions commencing at sunset on the evening before the holiday. These holidays incorporate a wide array of feelings, histories, and sacred meanings. Some are solemn occasions involving fasting, while others are full of festivity and feasting.
Major holidays include:
* Sabbath (Shabbat) A weekly day of rest, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.
* Rosh Hashanah The Jewish New Year, observed in the fall.
* Yom Kippur The Day of Atonement, a solemn day of repentance.
* Sukkot A seven-day festival with temporary shelters (sukka).
* Hanukkah The eight-day Festival of Lights, celebrating the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem.
* Purim Celebrates the salvation of Jews in Persia, as told in the Book of Esther.
* Passover (Pesach) A seven- or eight-day holiday marking the Exodus from Egypt.
* Shavuot Celebrates the giving of the Law to Moses at Mount Sinai.8 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
Why are festivals important in Judaism?
Jewish festivals serve as more than mere commemorations; they provide a chance to relive history, reminding Jews of their origins, such as the Exodus from Egypt during Passover and God giving the laws to Moses at Mount Sinai, which is remembered during Shavuot. The Sabbath and festivals foster communal awareness and social cohesiveness, essential elements that have sustained Jews throughout history.
These occasions provide a structure to the Jewish year with a wide array of observances, from solemn days of fasting to joyous feasts. The festivals contribute to Jewish identity, sanctify daily life, and offer a sense of continuity and renewal across generations.
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What are some of the main Jewish festivals?
Jewish festivals are days of religious observance and celebration by the Jewish community.
Major holidays include:
* Shabbat: A weekly day of rest, from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday, commemorating God's rest after creation.
* Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish New Year, observed in the fall with shofar blasts, repentance, and symbolic foods like apples and honey.
* Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement, a day of fasting and prayer for forgiveness.
* Sukkot: A seven-day festival that includes building and dwelling in temporary shelters (sukkot).
* Hanukkah: The eight-day Festival of Lights, celebrating the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem and the miracle of the oil.
* Purim: A joyous holiday commemorating the survival of Jews in ancient Persia, marked by reading the Book of Esther, sharing gifts, and feasting.
* Passover (Pesach): A major holiday celebrating the Exodus from Egypt, involving a seder meal and abstaining from leavened products.
* Shavuot: Celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and the spring harvest.8 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What is the story behind Passover?
Passover commemorates the liberation of the Hebrews from enslavement in Egypt, marking when God spared the Israelite firstborns on the eve of the Exodus. The story begins with the enslavement of the Israelites by the Pharaoh, and Moses emerges as their leader, demanding their freedom. When Pharaoh refuses, God sends ten plagues to afflict the Egyptians.
Before the final plague, the death of the firstborn, God instructs Moses that the Israelites should sacrifice a lamb and smear its blood on their doorposts, signaling God to pass over their homes, thus sparing their firstborns. This "passing over" is the origin of the holiday's name, Pesach, or Passover.
The centerpiece of Passover is the seder, a ritual meal that includes reading from the Haggadah, which recounts the Exodus story and offers religious interpretations. Music and the welcoming of strangers are also integral to the seder. A seder plate displays symbolic foods relevant to the Exodus story.
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How do Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah?
Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is a joyous eight-day Jewish celebration. It commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem following the Maccabean revolt against oppression.
To celebrate Hanukkah, a nine-branched candelabrum, the Hanukkiyah, is lit each evening, with one additional candle added per night. Blessings are offered while lighting the candles. Traditional foods like potato latkes and sufganiyot, which are fried in oil, are eaten. Children play dreidel, a game of chance, and receive Hanukkah gelt (money or chocolate coins). The celebration also includes reading Scripture, reciting Psalms, giving alms, and singing hymns.
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What special foods and traditions are part of Rosh Hashanah?
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is rich with symbolic foods and traditions. Challah, an egg-rich bread, is typically baked in a circle to represent the eternal life cycle. It is dipped in honey, as are apples, to evoke a sweet new year. Pomegranates are eaten, symbolizing the 613 commandments in the Torah. Some put fish on the menu, especially a fish head, symbolizing the prayer to be the head and not the tail.
A notable practice is the blowing of the shofar, a ram's horn, in the synagogue to awaken the spirit. Another tradition is tashlik, where bread crumbs are cast into water, symbolically casting off sins.
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Jewish festivals, holidays commonly observed by the Jewish community. Below is a summary of the major Jewish holidays, which traditionally begin at sunset on the previous evening. For fuller treatment of the Jewish calendar and its cycle of Jewish religious observance, see Jewish religious year.
Sabbath, or Shabbat, is a weekly day of holiness and rest observed on the seventh day of each week. It is observed from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. Jews celebrate Shabbat to commemorate God’s rest on the seventh day of creation. Observant Jews begin the Sabbath with family and friends over a meal, abstain from work, and attend services. Many Jews avoid driving, operating electrical devices, cooking, and carrying things in public.
Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, is a major two-day holiday celebrated in the fall. It includes a service in the synagogue that begins with the sounding of the shofar, an instrument made from the horn of a ram or another animal. Attendees repent of their mistakes in the past year and resolve to do better in the new year. Common foods include apples dipped in honey and challah bread. Introspection continues for ten days (the Days of Awe) and ends with Yom Kippur.
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Yom Kippur (Hebrew: “Day of Atonement”) marks the end of the Days of Awe that follow Rosh Hashana. On this important day, Jews attend synagogue and pray for forgiveness from God; they also seek to right any wrongs they have committed against others. Religious observances include abstaining from work and undergoing a 25-hour fast, the only fast prescribed in Jewish holy scriptures. Jews who do not observe any other religious customs often participate on this day.
Sukkot, or the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Tabernacles, is a seven-day holiday rooted in the 40 years the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness. During Sukkot, Jews construct and decorate a temporary shelter called a sukka. A special prayer ritual requires the use of etrog (a citrus fruit), lulav (a palm frond), hadas (a myrtle sprig), and ʿarava (a willow branch). The festival ends with Shemini Atzeret (“Eighth Day of the Solemn Assembly”) and Simchat Torah (“Rejoicing of the Torah”), during which the Torah scrolls are carried around the synagogue to express the joy of receiving and observing God’s law.
Hanukkah, the eight-day Festival of Lights, celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Greeks in 164 bce. To commemorate a miracle, candles are lit every night and placed in a special Hanukkah menorah, an eight-branched candelabra with a ninth branch for the shammash (“servant”) candle that is used to light the others. A spinning top called a dreidel, fried foods such as potato pancakes (latkes) or doughnuts (sufganiyot or bimuelos), and gifts are associated with Hanukkah. Although a minor religious holiday, it has gained prominence due to its proximity to Christmas.
Purim comes from the Book of Esther. This holiday commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people who lived in Persia. Esther was a young Jewish woman who had been made queen by the king of Persia, although her Jewish identity was hidden. She risked her life by advocating for the Jewish people, thereby saving them from a murderous plot. On Purim Jews read the Book of Esther, share gifts of food and drink, and make charitable contributions. They also eat a special meal and participate in fun activities, including plays and beauty contests.
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Passover, or Pesach, is a major seven- or eight-day holiday marking the Jewish Exodus from Egypt. Prior to the holiday, Jewish homes are cleansed of anything containing leavening, to commemorate the preparations made for the flight from Egypt, when there was not enough time to leaven the bread. On the first or second evening of Passover, Jews engage in a dramatic retelling of their ancestors’ enslavement and prepare a ritualized meal known as a seder. They read from a book called the Haggadah, which contains all the instructions for this event. The seder involves symbolic foods eaten in a specific sequence, as well as songs, stories, and prayers.
Shavuot (“Festival of the Weeks”) was originally an agricultural festival celebrating the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest, during which people brought newly harvested grain and fruit to the Temple. It also commemorates God giving the laws to Moses at Mount Sinai. Customs include reading and studying the Torah and reading the Book of Ruth.
There are also a number of other Jewish observances, including Tisha b’Av (“Ninth of Av”), which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples; Tu BiShvat (“Fifteenth of Shevaṭ”), which marks the new year of fruit trees; Lag B’Omer, which takes on varying meanings and is often observed with bonfires; and the Fast of Gedaliah, which marks the assassination of a Jewish governor of Judah.