The Ten Days of Penitence begin on Rosh Hashanah and close with Yom Kippur. Already in Talmudic times they were viewed as forming an especially appropriate period of introspection and repentance. Penitential prayers (selichot) are recited prior to the daily morning service and, in general, during the period scrupulous observance of the Law is expected.
According to Mishnaic teaching, the New Year festival ushers in the Days of Judgment for all of mankind. Despite its solemnity, the festive character of Rosh Hashanah is in no way diminished. In Scripture it is called âa day when the horn is soundedâ; in the liturgy âa day of remembrance.â In the land of Israel and in the Diaspora, Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on the first two days of Tishri. Originally celebrated by all Jews on Tishri 1, calendrical uncertainty led to its being celebrated an additional day in the Diaspora and, depending upon the circumstances, one or two days in Palestine. After the calendar was fixed in 359, it was regularly celebrated in Palestine on Tishri 1 until the 12th century, when Provençal scholars introduced the two-day observance. Considerable speculation in recent literature concerning the origin of the Jewish New Year festival proves mostly that its early history can only be conjectured, not reconstructed.
The most distinctive Rosh Hashanah observance is the sounding of the ramâs horn (shofar) at the synagogue service. Medieval commentators suggest that the blasts acclaim God as Ruler of the universe, recall the divine revelation at Sinai, and are a call for spiritual reawakening and repentance. An expanded New Year liturgy stresses Godâs sovereignty, his concern for man, and his readiness to forgive those who repent. On the first day of Rosh Hashanah (except when it falls on the Sabbath) it is customary for many to recite penitential prayers at a river, symbolically casting their sins into the river; this ceremony is called tashlikh (âthou wilt castâ). Other symbolic ceremonies, such as eating bread and apples dipped in honey, accompanied with prayers for a âsweetâ and propitious year, are performed at the festive meals.
The most solemn of the Jewish festivals, Yom Kippur is a day when sins are confessed and expiated and man and God are reconciled. It is also the last of the Days of Judgment and the holiest day of the Jewish year. Celebrated on Tishri 10, it is marked by fasting, penitence, and prayer. Work, eating, drinking, washing, anointing oneâs body, sexual intercourse, and donning leather shoes are all forbidden.
In Temple times, Yom Kippur provided the only occasion for the entry of the high priest into the Holy of Holies; details of the expiatory rites performed by the high priest and others are recorded in the Mishna and recounted in the liturgy. Present-day observances begin with a festive meal shortly before Yom Kippur eve. The Kol Nidre prayer (recited before the evening service) is a legal formula which absolves Jews from fulfilling solemn vows, thus safeguarding them from accidentally violating a vowâs stipulations. The formula first appears in gaonic sources (derived from the Babylonian Talmudic academies, 6thâ11th centuries) but may be older; the haunting melody that accompanies it is of medieval origin. Virtually the entire day is spent in prayer at the synagogue, the closing service (neÊżila) concluding with the sounding of the ramâs horn.
Minor festivals: Hanukkah and Purim
Hanukkah and Purim are joyous festivals lacking the work restrictions characteristic of the major festivals.
Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabean (or Hasmonean) victories over the forces of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175â164 bce), and the rededication of the Temple, Kislev 25, 164 bce. Led by Mattathias and his son Judah Maccabee, the Maccabees were the first Jews who fought to defend their religious beliefs rather than their lives. Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days beginning on Kislev 25. The Hanukkah lamp or candelabrum (menora), which recalls the Temple lampstand, is kindled each evening. One candle is lit the first evening; an additional candle is lit each subsequent evening until eight candles are lit on the last evening. According to the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), the ritually pure oil available at the rededication of the Temple was sufficient for only one dayâs light but miraculously lasted for eight days, hence the eight-day celebration of Hanukkah. Evidence from the Apocrypha (writings excluded from the Jewish canon but included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons) and rabbinic literature shows an association between Sukkot and Hanukkah, possibly accounting for the latterâs eight-day duration. Hanukkah joy is expressed in festive meals, song, games, and gifts to children. The liturgy includes Hallel, public readings from the Torah, and the Êżal ha-nissim (âfor the miraclesâ) prayer. The Scroll of Antiochus, an early medieval account of Hanukkah, is read in some synagogues and homes.
As recorded in the biblical Book of Esther, Purim commemorates the delivery of the Persian Jewish community from the plottings of Haman, the prime minister of Ahasuerusâ (perhaps Xerxes, king of Persia, 486â465 bce). Mordecai and his cousin Esther, the Kingâs Jewish wife, interceded on behalf of the Jewish community, rescinded the royal edict authorizing a pogrom against the Jews, and instituted the Purim festival. The historicity of the biblical account is questioned by many modern scholars. It is now generally conceded that the Book of Esther was written in the Persian period (it contains Persian but not Greek words) and reflects Persian custom. Except for the Book of Esther, the earliest mention of the Purim festival is from the 2ndâ1st century bce. The name of the festival was derived from the Akkadian pĂ»ru, meaning âlot.â
In most Jewish communities, Purim is celebrated on Adar 14 (some also celebrate it on the 15th, others only on the 15th). On the evening preceding Purim, men, women, and children gather in the synagogue to hear the Book of Esther read from a scroll (megilla). The reading is repeated Purim morning. A festive meal during the day is accompanied by much song, wine, and merriment. Masquerades, Purim plays, and other forms of parody are common. Friends exchange gifts of foodstuffs and also present gifts to the poor. Aside from the Esther readings, the liturgy includes public reading from the Torah and recital of the Purim version of the Êżal ha-nissim prayer.
The five fasts
The commemorative aspects of the fasts are bound up with their penitential aspects, all of which find expression in the liturgy. Thus the Jew not only relives the tragic history of his people with each fast, but is also afforded an opportunity to search within himself and focus on his own (and his peopleâs) present and future. Penitential prayers (selichot) are recited on all fasts, and the Torah is read at the morning and afternoon services.
The Fast of 17 Tammuz (ShivaÊż ÊżAsar be-Tammuz) commemorates the first breach in the wall of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 ce. It initiates three weeks of semi-mourning that culminate with Tisha bâAv.
Tisha bâAv (Fast of 9 Av) commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in 586 bce and 70 ce, respectively. The most solemn of the five fasts, its self-denials are more rigorous than those prescribed for the others, and, like Yom Kippur, the fast begins at sunset. The book of Lamentations is read at the evening service, followed by poetic laments that are also recited Tisha bâAv morning.
The Fast of Gedaliah (Tzom Gedaliahu) commemorates the slaying of Gedaliah, the governor of Judah appointed by Nebuchadnezzar II after the destruction of the First Temple.
TaÊżanit Esther (Fast of Esther) occurs on the day prior to Purim to commemorate Estherâs fast (Esther 4:16) and is first mentioned as a holiday in gaonic literature.
The Fast of 10 áčŹevet (ÊżAsara be-áčŹevet) commemorates the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, in 588 bce.
The lesser holidays
A major festival in the biblical period, Rosh កodesh (First Day of the Month) gradually lost most of its festive character. Since the time of the Talmud, it has been customary to recite Hallel on Rosh កodesh. In the medieval period, aside from the liturgical practices carried over from the Talmudic period, it was celebrated with a festive meal. Always more diligently observed in Palestine than in the Diaspora, attempts to revive its full festive character are being made in modern Israel.
First mentioned in the Mishna, where it marks the New Year for tithing purposes, Tu BiShvat (15th of Shevaáč, the New Year for Trees) assumed a festive character in the gaonic period, and later in the medieval period it became customary to eat assorted fruits on the holiday. In modern times it is associated with the planting of trees in Israel.
Lag BaOmer (33rd Day of the ÊżOmer Counting) is a joyous interlude in the otherwise somber period of ÊżOmer counting (i.e., of the 49 days to Shavuot), which is traditionally observed as a time of semi-mourning. Usually celebrated as a school holiday with outings, it is first mentioned in medieval sources, which attribute its origin to the cessation of a plague that was decimating the students of Akiba, an influential rabbinic sage in the 2nd century, and to the anniversary of the death of another great rabbi, Simeon ben Yoáž„ai (died c. 170 ce).
Tu bâAv, a holiday on the 15th of Av, marks a turn toward joyfulness after the sorrowful Tisha bâAv six days earlier. The Mishna suggests it was a day when the daughters of Jerusalem would don white dresses and dance in the vineyards, and the Talmud attributes various events of Jewish history to the day. In Orthodox communities it is said to mark the date when nights get longer, thus allowing for more nighttime study of the Torah. In modern Israel it has been turned into a Jewish version of Valentineâs Day, a celebration of love replete with matchmaking and marriages.