Jewish Life
Jewish Holidays - Fall 2018 (5779)
Rosh Hashanah
September 10-11
Rosh Hashanah (literally, “Head of the Year”) is the Jewish New
Year, which marks the beginning of a 10-day period of prayer, self-
examination and repentance. This period, known as the Yamim
Noraim (Days of Awe or High Holy Days), is widely observed by
Jews throughout the world, many with prayer and reflection in a
synagogue. There also are several holiday rituals observed at home.
Rosh Hashanah is celebrated on the first day of the Hebrew month
of Tishrei, which— because of differences in the solar and lunar
calendar—corresponds to September or October on the secular
calendar. Customs associated with the holiday include sounding
the shofar, eating a round challah, and tasting apples and honey to
represent a sweet New Year.
Yom Kippur
September 19
Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement” and refers to the annual
Jewish observance of fasting, prayer and repentance. Part of the
High Holidays, which also includes Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur is
considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. In three separate
passages in the Torah, the Jewish people are told, “the tenth day
of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It shall be a sacred
occasion for you: You shall practice self-denial.”(Leviticus 23:27).
Fasting is seen as fulfilling this biblical commandment. The Yom
Kippur fast also enables us to put aside our physical desires to
concentrate on our spiritual needs through prayer, repentance and
self-improvement.
Yom Kippur is the moment in Jewish time when we dedicate our
mind, body, and soul to reconciliation with God, our fellow human
beings, and ourselves. We are commanded to turn to those whom we
have wronged first, acknowledging our sins and the pain we might
have caused. At the same time, we must be willing to forgive and
to let go of certain offenses and the feelings of resentment they
provoked in us. On this journey we are both seekers and givers of
pardon. Only then can we turn to God and ask for forgiveness: “And
for all these, God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, and grant us
atonement.”
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Weinstein JCC | 2018 Fall Activity Guide
Sukkot
September 24-25
Sukkot, a Hebrew word meaning “booths” or “huts,” refers to
the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest. It also
commemorates the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after
the giving of the Torah atop Mt. Sinai. Sukkot is celebrated five days
after Yom Kippur on the 15th of the month of Tishrei, and is marked
by several distinct traditions. One, which takes the commandment
to dwell in booths literally, is to erect a sukkah, a small, temporary
booth or hut. Sukkot (in this case, the plural of sukkah) are
commonly used during the seven-day festival for eating, entertaining
and even for sleeping.
Sukkot also called Z’man Simchateinu (Season of Our Rejoicing), is
the only festival associated with an explicit commandment to rejoice.
A final name for Sukkot is Chag HaAsif, (Festival of the Ingathering),
representing a time to give thanks for the bounty of the earth during
the fall harvest.
Shmini Atzeret - Simchat Torah
October 1-2
Immediately following Sukkot, we celebrate Sh’mini Atzeret and
Simchat Torah, a fun-filled day during which we celebrate the
completion of the annual reading of the Torah and affirm the Torah
as one of the pillars on which we build our lives. As part of the
celebration, the Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and carried
or danced around the synagogue seven times. During the Torah
service, the concluding section of the fifth book of the Torah, D’varim
(Deuteronomy), is read, and immediately following, the opening
section of Genesis, or B’reishit as it is called in Hebrew, is read. This
practice represents the cyclical nature of the relationship between
the Jewish people and the reading of the Torah.
Hanukkah
December 3-10
Join us for a Community Menorah Lighting!
Hanukkah (alternately spelled Chanukah), meaning “dedication” in
Hebrew, refers to the joyous eight-day celebration during which Jews
commemorate the victory of the Maccabees over the armie s of Syria
in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and “rededication” of the
Temple in Jerusalem. The modern home celebration of Hanukkah
centers around the lighting of the hanukkiyah, a special menorah for
Hanukkah, preparing foods in oil including latkes (potato pancakes) and
sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts), singing special songs and playing games.