Guide to Jewish WI 2023-2024 FLIP C - Flipbook - Page 8
Holidays
SHABBAT
SIMCHAT TORAH
(Sabbath)
(Rejoicing for the Torah) A 23 Tishrei
And God blessed the seventh day and hallowed it. — Genesis: 2:3
… and on the eighth day, there shall be a holy
convocation for you. — Leviticus 23:34
The Sabbath, a day of rest, worship and study, begins
20 minutes before sundown Friday night
and ends at nightfall on Saturday, when
three stars can be seen in the sky.
ROSH HASHANAH
(Jewish New Year) A 1-2 Tishrei
And on the seventh month, on the first day of the month,
you shall have a holy convocation. — Numbers 29:1
The beginning of the Jewish calendar year, Rosh HaShanah
begins the Ten Days of Awe, a period of repentance and
prayer that concludes on Yom Kippur. Traditions include
dipping apples in honey to symbolize a sweet year and
using round loaves of challah to symbolize the cycle of life.
The annual cycle of reading the Torah (Five
Books of Moses) aloud in the synagogue is
completed, and a new cycle begins. The holiday
is celebrated with dance and song.
CHANUKAH
(Festival of Lights) A 25 Kislev-2 Tevet
A minor festival not derived from the Torah,
Chanukah celebrates the victory of the Jews over
the Seleucid Greek/ Hellenists, the regaining of
Jerusalem and rededication of the Holy Temple.
According to tradition, the miracle of Chanukah stems
from the one cruse of consecrated oil that was discovered
in the Temple, which burned for eight days until more
pure oil could be made. Foods fried in oil, such as latkes
(potato pancakes) and sufganiot (jelly donuts), are eaten.
YOM KIPPUR
(Day of Atonement) A 10 Tishrei
And on the 10th day of the seventh month...
you shall afflict your souls. — Numbers 29:7
TU B’SHEVAT
On this holiest of holidays, Jews everywhere fast and
pray for forgiveness for their sins. The sounding of the
shofar (ram’s horn) signals the end of the holiday.
To celebrate the coming of spring to Israel, some
people eat fruits that are newly in season as part
of a festive meal featuring many new fruits.
SUKKOT
PURIM
(Festival of Booths) A 15-21 Tishrei
(Lots) A 14 Adar
On the 15th day of the seventh month is the feast of
Tabernacles for seven days. — Leviticus 23:34
The Book of Esther is read in the synagogue on this
holiday, which is also of the post-Torah period.
Celebrants dress in costume and make merry. Purim
celebrates the rescue of the Jews in ancient Persia on a
day that, according to tradition, was determined by lot.
Families send gifts of food to one another and donate
to charity. Traditional foods include hamantaschen
(triangular cookies filled with fruit or poppy
seeds). A festival meal is eaten before sunset.
On this first of the three pilgrimage holidays,
farmers in ancient Israel traveled to the Temple
in Jerusalem with the fruits of their harvest.
Today, Jews erect sukkot (booths) modeled after the
make-shift huts their ancestors lived in during
the 40 years wandering in Sinai. For the week
of the holiday, meals are eaten in the sukkah,
and some Jews sleep in the sukkah as well.
(New Year for Trees) A 15 Shevat
PESACH
(Passover) A 15-22 Nissan
SHEMINI ATZERET
(Eighth Day of Assembly) A 22 Tishrei
On the eighth day, you shall have a solemn assembly.
— Numbers 29:35
In the diaspora, Shemini Atzeret is a separate
holiday that signals the end of Sukkot. In Israel, the
holiday is celebrated on Simchat Torah. The prayer
for rain is said, ending the dry season in Israel.
6 n A Guide to Jewish Wisconsin
Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses;
for whosoever eats that which is leavened, that soul shall be
cut off from the congregation of Israel. — Exodus 12:19
The eight-day festival (seven days in Israel)
commemorates the Jewish exodus from Egypt. On
the first two nights, families gather for a seder, a
ritual meal focused on the reading of the Hagaddah,
an account of the exodus. Matzah (unleavened
bread) is eaten throughout the holiday.
