Purim, one of the most joyous Jewish holidays, commemorates the events in the Book of Esther. It celebrates the survival of the Jews who, in the 5th century BCE, were marked for death by their Persian rulers. Traditions include costumes, retelling the story through skits and songs, festivals geared towards children, and giving care packages to […]
Passover, known in Hebrew as Pesach, commemorates the liberation of the Hebrew slaves from Egypt. A feast called a seder is held on the first two nights. During the seder, the Exodus story is read aloud and freedom from slavery is celebrated. This is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays. More Information Holiday Greeting: Pesach […]
Known in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Ha'Shoah commemorates the approximately six million Jews, and five million others who perished in the Holocaust. Shoah in Hebrew means catastrophe. This is a national public holiday in Israel. In homes and synagogues around the world, Jews will light memorial candles in commemoration of lives lost. The […]
Yom HaZikaron is Israel’s Memorial Day, observed both in Israel and in many Jewish communities around the world. A day to remember and honor soldiers who lost their lives fighting in the War of Independence and subsequent battles. It is also a day to remember civilian victims of terrorism. More Information Commonly observed by synagogue attendance, […]
Yom HaAtzma’ut, also known as Israel’s Independence Day, is celebrated on the fifth day of the month of Iyar, which is the Hebrew date of the formal establishment of the State of Israel, when members of the “provisional government” read and signed a Declaration of Independence in Tel Aviv. The original date corresponded to May 14, 1948. More […]
The festival of Shavuot celebrates the giving of Torah (Hebrew Bible) including the Ten Commandments at Mount Sinai. It also marks the end of the spring harvest, and the beginning of the summer harvest. Shavuot is celebrated by studying Torah together as a community, often late into the night. It is traditional to eat meals containing dairy. Barley and wheat are also food […]
Tisha B’Av is the annual fast day commemorating the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem and the subsequent exile of the Jews from the land of Israel. Over the centuries, other tragic events have come to be commemorated on this day, including the massacres of the Crusades, the Jewish expulsion from Spain, […]
This evening is the beginning of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. This holiday begins the period of the High Holy Days, which are widely observed by Jews around the world. It is both a time of rejoicing and of serious introspection, a time to celebrate the completion of another year while also taking stock […]
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. This holiday begins the period of the High Holy Days, which are widely observed by Jews around the world. It is both a time of rejoicing and of serious introspection, a time to celebrate the completion of another year while also taking stock of one’s life. Traditions include eating apples dipped […]
Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement. The focus of this holiday is on contemplation repentance. Jews are taught that sins between people can only be atoned for after personal reconciliation. It is considered to be the holiest and most solemn day of the year. Fasting begins at sundown and ends after nightfall the following day. […]
"Is there any rule that one should follow all of one's life? Yes! The rule of the gentle goodness: That which we do not wish to be done to us, we do not do to others."
- Analectas 15:23
Confucianism
