Hebrew Calendar - Festivals and Holidays

[Robert Kaiser <kaiser...>]

Hebrew Holiday Calendar - by Robert D. Kaiser


Erev Rosh Hashanah - Elul 29
Rosh Hashanah - Tishri 1

     Also known as Yom Hadin, Yom Hazikaron and Yom Teruah (Day of
the sounding of
the shofar)

     The creation of the world was finished on Tishri 1.  This
holiday, the Jewish spiritual New
Year, is characterized by the blowing of the shofar.  During the
afternoon of the first day occurs
the practice of tashlikh, the symbolic casting away of sins by
throwing stones into the waters.



Erev Yom Kippur - Tishri 9
Yom Kippur - Tishri 10

     The day of repentance.  The holiest and most solemn day of the
year.  Its central theme is
atonement and reconciliation.  Eating, drinking, bathing, and
conjugal relations are prohibited. 
Fasting begins at sundown, and ends after nightfall the following
day.

     Yom Kippur services begin with Kol Nidrei, which must be
recited before sunset.  A Talit
is donned for evening prayers - the only evening service of the
year in which this is done.

     The Ne'ilah service is a special service held only on the day
of Yom Kippur, and deals with
the closing of the holiday.  Yom Kippur comes to an end with the
blowing of the shofar, which
marks the conclusion of the fast.



Erev Sukkot - Tishri 14
Sukkot - Tishri 15

     The third Pilgrimage festival, it is also known as The Feast
of Booths (Tabernacles), The
Feast of Ingathering just simply The Hag (The Festival).

     Sukkot is an eight day festival.  The first two days are
celebrated as full holidays.  The
following five days are known as Hol Hamo'ed - weekdays that retain
some aspects of the
festival.  The seventh day (fifth of the intermediate days) is
Hosha'nah Rabbah - and has a
special observance of its own.  The last day, the eighth, is
celebrated as separate holiday, with
its own special prayers and customs (see below).

     Sukkot commemorates the life of the Israelites in the desert
during their journey to the
promised land.  During their wandering in the desert they lived in
booths (Sukkot).

     The Torah commands us to use the four species to celebrate
Sukkot, as Sukkot is also an
agricultural holiday in which we show thanks for the bounty we
found in Israel.  The four
species of plants are used to celebrate the holiday:  The lulav
(palm branch), etrog (lemon-like
citron), myrtle, and willow.  The etrog is handled separately,
while the other three species are
bound together, and are collectively referred to as the lulav.

     During the five intermediate days of Sukkot it is customary to
read the book of Ecclesiastes.


Hosha'nah Rabbah - The seventh day of Sukkot.

     This day closes the period of repentance that began on Rosh
Hashanah.  Tradition has made
this day into a sequel to the Days of Awe, lengthening the period
of penitence and postponing
the day when final sentence is to be rendered.


Shemini Atzeret - Tishri 22

     The eighth day of Sukkot.  In the Talmud it is written that
"the eighth day [of Sukkot] is a
separate festival", so Sukkot is really observed as seven days, and
Shemini Atzeret is observed
as a separate holiday.  It marks the beginning of the rainy season
in Israel.


Simhat Torah - Tishri 23

     Rejoicing with the Torah.  The finale of Sukkot.

     In Israel, Sukkot is eight days long, including Shemini
Atzeret.  In the Diaspora, Sukkot is
nine days long, in which the eighth is Shemini Atzeret and the
ninth is Simchat Torah -
Rejoicing with the Torah.  (The festivities and customs associated
with Simchat Torah are
celebrated in Israel on Shemini Atzeret.)

     The last portion of the Torah is read on this day.  The next
day we start the Torah again at
the beginning of Bereshit (Genesis).

     Festivities begin in the evening with Ma'ariv.  There are
seven hakafot (processions) of the
Torah around the Synagogue.  Services are unconventionally joyous,
and humorous deviations
from the standard service are allowed, and even expected.




Erev Chanukah - Kislev 24
Chanukah - Kislev 25

     Also known as Hag Ha'urim - The Festival of Lights

     The story of Chanukah is preserved in the books of the First
and Second Maccabees.  These
books are not part of the Tanach (Bible), but are part of the
Apocrypha (Hebrew historical and
religious material that was not codified as part of the Bible.) 
The miracle of Chanukah is
referred to in the Talmud, but not in the books of the Maccabees.

     It marks the defeat of Assyrian forces who had tried to
prevent Israel from practicing
Judaism.  Judah Maccabee and his brothers destroyed the
overwhelming forces, and rededicated
the Temple.  The eight day festival is marked by the kindling of
lights with a special Menorah,
called a Chanukiah.



Tu Bi'shevat - Shevat 15
     The new year for trees.


Erev Purim - Adar 13
Purim - Adar 14

     Purim begins at sundown.  The festival commemorates the events
found in the Book of
Esther.  (Unlike Chanukah, this book is found in Bible).

     The Shabbat preceding Purim is called Shabbat Zachor - the
Sabbath of remembrance.  The
day before Purim - Adar 13 - is the Fast of Esther.

     The book of Esther is written in the form of a scroll - the
Megillah.  It is chanted on Adar
13 in the evening, and on the next day after the Torah reading.



Pesach (Passover)

Erev Pesach - Nisan 14
Pesach is from Nisan 14 - 22

     The first Pilgrimage Festival, Pesach commemorates the
liberation of the Israelites from
Egypt.  The first seder is on the 14th.  On the night of the 15th,
the second seder is held, and
we start counting the Omer.  The Omer is a counting down of the
days from the time we left
Egypt, until the Time we received the Torah at Mount Sinai.


Sefirah (The counting)
Sefirat Ha'Omer

     Also known simply as The Omer, this 49 day period between
Pesach and Shavuot Omer is
defined by the Torah as the period to bring special offerings to
the Temple In Jerusalem, to
make physical the spiritual connection between Pesach and Shavuot. 
Pesach marks our liberation
as we left Egypt, and Shavuot marks the receiving of the Torah. 
The counting begins the second
night of Pesach.

     The Sefirah is a time of sadness.  During this period, 12,000
of Rabbi Akiva's disciples
died.  This occurred during the Hadrianic persecution which
followed the Bar Kokhba revolt,
in which Rabbi Akiva was involved.

     During this period, no weddings take place, no hair is cut,
and no activities occur involving
dancing and music.



Yom Ha'Shoah - Nisan 27
     Holocaust remembrance day.


Yom Hazikaron - Iyar 4
     Day of remembrance.  In honor of Israeli veterans of the War
of Independence.


Yom Ha'atzma'ut - Iyar 5
     Israel Independence Day



Lag Ba'Omer - Iyar 18
     The 33rd day of the Omer

     Lag Ba'Omer takes place during the Sefirah.  During this day
there was a break in the
Hadrianic persecution.  Weddings and joyful occasions are
permitted.




Erev Shavuot - Sivan 5
Shavuot - Sivan 6, 7

     The second Pilgrimage Festival, it is also known as The Feast
of Weeks, Hag Haqatsir
(The harvest festival),  Hag HaShavuot, or just 'Atseret - The
conclusion of Pesach.  [Literally,
the Hebrew word 'atseret' means conclusion.]

     Shavuot marks the end of the counting of the Omer.  According
to rabbinic tradition, the
Ten Commandments were given on this day.  It is customary to read
the Book of Ruth on this
day.




Tisha B'Av - Av 9

     The saddest day of the Jewish calendar.  On this day both the
First and Second Temples
were destroyed.  (587 b.c.e. and 70 c.e.)

     On this day in 1290, King Edward I signed the edict compelling
the Jews to leave England. 
The Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492 also occurred on this day. 
Tisha B'av also marked
the outbreak of World War I.

     The fast of Tisha B'av begins the night before, on the evening
of Av 8.  On the day of the
ninth, Tallit and tefillin are not worn during Shachrit services,
as a sign of mourning.