Festivals, Special Days and Rites of Passage
Festivals, Special Days and Rites of Passage
Jewish Festivals
Passover (Pesach)
- Passover is a spring festival commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from Egyptian slavery.
- It involves a special meal called the Seder, which involves the retelling of the Exodus story.
- Key elements include matzah (unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs), and charoset (a mixture of fruit and nuts).
Rosh Hashanah
- Also known as the Jewish New Year, this is a time of self-examination, repentance, and requests for forgiveness.
- It involves blowing a Shofar, or ram’s horn, as a call to repentance.
- Apples dipped in honey are traditionally eaten for a sweet new year.
Yom Kippur
- Known as the Day of Atonement, it’s the holiest day in the Jewish year.
- It involves a 25-hour fast and intensive prayer.
- The focus is on repentance and making amends.
Hanukkah
- Also known as the Festival of Lights, it commemorates the rededication of the Second Temple.
- The celebration lasts eight days, involving the lighting of the menorah, playing dreidel, and eating fried foods.
- It highlights the theme of religious freedom and miracle of the oil.
Jewish Rites of Passage
Brit Milah (Circumcision)
- Male Jewish infants are circumcised on the eighth day after birth in a ceremony known as a Brit Milah.
- This represents the covenant between God and the Jewish people.
- A celebratory meal, a seudat mitzvah, follows.
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
- When Jewish boys reach 13 and girls reach 12, they undergo a Bar/Bat Mitzvah.
- This signifies their obligation to observe the commandments and participate in adult religious life.
- It often involves leading a synagogue service and reading from the Torah.
Marriage
- A traditional Jewish wedding includes signing the ketubah (marriage contract), the chuppah (wedding canopy), and the breaking of a glass.
- It invokes the themes of joy, commitment, and starting a Jewish family.
- The couple is considered king and queen on their wedding day.
Death and Mourning
- On death, Jewish tradition includes a prayer called the Shema, and rapid burial.
- Shiva is the seven-day mourning period following burial.
- Yahrzeit, the annual anniversary of a death, is marked by lighting a candle and saying the Kaddish prayer.