Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), this year began at sunset on Sunday, 2 October. The centerpiece of the Rosh Hashanah service is the blowing of the shofar during morning prayers. The shofar is a ram’s horn that is curved and bent. Hearing it is meant to call you to repent.
Rosh Hashanah is also characterized by special customs. One of them is the eating of apple slices dipped in honey and of other sugary treats such as honey cake and dates, symbolizing the hope that the coming year will be “sweet.” Pomegranates, black-eyed peas and a whole fish with the head intact may also appear on dining tables.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur (Hebrew for “The Day of Atonement”) is the holiest day of the year, the day on which, according to Jewish tradition, our fates for the coming year are sealed. Since Yom Kippur is a day of introspection – the physical aspects of our lives are sublimated while we concentrate on our spiritual concerns – the day is marked by a full (sunset to nightfall) fast.
Sukkot
The seven-day Sukkot festival is a joyful, family oriented holiday, which follows – and provides a contrast to – the somber, introspective and private character of Yom Kippur. It is characterized by two main practices. Jews are enjoined to build, take all of their meals in, and sleep in temporary huts topped with thatch or palm fronds during the festival. These huts (sukkot in Hebrew) commemorate the portable dwellings in which the Jewish people lived during their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness that followed their liberation from slavery in Egypt. The second main Sukkot observance is the special bouquet – consisting of a closed palm frond, a citron, a myrtle branch and a willow branch – that is held during morning prayers on each of the seven days.
Tens of thousands of people assembled at the Western Wall to receive the priestly blessing of Sukkot. The festive prayer services took place in the shadow of a UNESCO decision last week that ignored the historical connection between the Jewish people and the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. The Chief Rabbis reacted to the recent vote saying:
“This is our answer to UNESCO. Those who doubt our connection to the Western Wall and the Temple Mount – look at the masses that come here. They are the answer to that bizarre decision."
Jewish attachment to Jerusalem has been constant from ancient times through modernity. For more than 3,000 years, it has played a central and sustaining role in the history of the Jewish people – politically, spiritually and culturally.
Countless archeological findings illustrate this link. Following is a brief list of some examples:
• An inscription from the 9th century BCE referring to the House of David
• A royal seal bearing the inscription of King Hezekiah (8th century BCE)
• Clay seal impressions of officials of King Zedekiah (6th century BCE)
• The Arch of Titus in Rome (built 82 CE), depicting vessels from the Second Temple being carried into Rome
More information and findings that are
available here discredit those who deny the ancient Jewish presence in Jerusalem. They present irrefutable evidence of historical truth.
Shmini Atzeret (Simhat Torah)
The Shmini Atzeret (literally “The Eighth Day of Assembly” in Hebrew) holiday immediately follows the last day of Sukkot. On Shmini Atzeret, the yearly cycle of Torah readings is completed and begun anew. This event is accompanied by dancing and singing. Thus, the holiday is also referred to as Simhat Torah (“Rejoicing of the Torah” in Hebrew).
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