Jewish Holidays in Pictures and Text
The table has pictures and short comments, whereas beneath the table are pictures and longer text.
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The Holy Shabbos, the greatest of the holidays, refreshing us spiritually and materially every week. We usher in the Shabbos by lighting candles. The woman of the house lights the candles, because she has the capacity of Schechina, to invite the Holy Presence into our homes. There are three meals on Shabbos, and some have a custom to eat a meal after the Shabbos to honor the departing Shabbos queen. The entire week is nourished by how we keep Shabbos. |
 The
Torah we received on Shavuoth at Mr. Sinai seven weeks after the Exodus
from Egypt. |
 Here is a Matzo, unleavened bread. Our forefathers at this when they left Egyptian bondage on what became the date of Passover. Passover is a family holiday especially on the first night of the Seder when all gather together to hear the Exodus story told in song and chanting from Haggadah prayer book.
Tu Bishevat New Year of the Trees, a time to think about the miracle of nature and sustenance. |
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| Yom Kippur, praying all day to HaShem in the synagogue. Knowing what it is to repent and even cry. A day of asking forgiveness and a day of forgiving. |
 Below- building a Succah hut for Succose the Festival of Joy after Yom Kippur. |
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Shabbos
Shabbos, the Sabbath, is the prime holiday of the year, yet it occurs every week. Shabbos signifies the Creation, and its purpose. G-d worked six days and rested on the seventh, to teach us to work six days and to rest on the seventh. This rest is not just catching up on our sleep. G-d had no need of that. Shabbos comes from the word SHOV, to return. Creation of the world introduced a new element into G-d's universe. This reality is not a conflict with G-d. This reality, the creation, ultimately will "return" to the primordial holiness that preceded the world. Thus, the world began in a state of great holiness, and will return to it. Shabbos reminds us to affirm our belief in the future, that it will resolve all questions and problems of the past, and bring us to a very high level of holiness and pleasure. As we eat and drink and enjoy the day, Shabbos reminds us that in the Future World a paradise awaits us, filled with wonderful pleasure for those who worked and toiled in goodness and piety in this world.
Shabbos also reminds us that G-d created us. "Man must say, 'for my purpose the world was created.'" We affirm our importance before G-d, and with it we achieve affirmation of our role as people in the "form and image" of holiness. We dedicate ourselves to goodness. A person who realizes he is beloved to G-d and that G-d watches his every thought, word, and deed is careful to think about others, and to help those who need it. Selfishness dissipates in the glow of the Shabbos candles.
There are at least two candles, one to remind us to "guard" the Sabbath, and the other candle to remind us to "remember" the Sabbath. To remember the Shabbos means to be involved with Shabbos and its holiness, cleaning for Shabbos on Friday, and honoring the Shabbos Queen as she leaves, Saturday night. All week we remember the Shabbos, and arouse ourselves from lethargy to fulfill our role in creation.
Pesach (Passover)
Pesach celebrates the Exodus from Egypt 3319 years ago under Moses and Aaron. The Jews were in Egyptian exile 210 years. The last eighty-six years were fearful suffering. G-d sent Moses to warn Pharoah to send the Jews to freedom. When Pharoah refused, G-d sent Ten Plagues. When the Plague of the First Born killed Pharaoh's son, the Egyptians relented and the Jews left Egypt. However, the Egyptians changed their minds, and a week later approached the Jews near the Red Sea. The sea split and the Jews crossed over to Sinai on dry land. The Egyptians drowned. Therefore, the seventh day of Passover, when the sea split, is also a holiday. Jews eat matsah, unleavened bread, to remember how the Jews left Egypt, driven away by a frightened Egyptians community so the Jews had no time to allow the bread to rise. The Seder meal is held at night on the first day of Pesach, and includes eating bitter herbs, having children ask questions about "why is this night different" and a recitation of the Haggadah, prayers and thoughts about Bondage, Freedom, and Torah.
Shavuoth - Celebrates the Receiving of the Torah
Seven weeks after the Jews left Egypt they received the Ten Commandments and the Torah at Mt. Sinai. At Mount Sinai G-d spoke to the Jewish people, and they received the Ten Commandments. Moses went to heaven and received the Torah, the Written and Oral. Before he died forty years later, Moses wrote Torah scrolls and gave them to the Princes of the Tribes of Israel. During the forty years in the desert he taught the Oral and Written Law to the Israelites. Every Jewish soul ever to be born and the soul of converts were at Sinai. Thus, the Jewish soul is engraved with the holiness of Divine Revelation. This protects the Jewish people from the enormous pressures against them in the world, and indeed, Israel has survived all horrors for thousands of years and is an Eternal people. This was implanted in them at Sinai.
Shavuoth means "weeks." This refers to the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuoth. The Jews leaving Egypt were broken slaves, who had declined from spirituality and sinned during their duress. Pesach, which means "jumping" allowed them to "jump" from the abyss to find holiness and even greatness. After seven weeks of penitence and purification Israel was ready to receive the Torah from G-d.
Our religious beliefs rest on Shavuoth. Because our ancestors heard G-d speak at Sinai and because they saw the events associated with it, such as the Exodus from Egypt, and the forty year stay in the desert utilizing miracles from G-d, we accept the Torah. Other religions are the inventions of mortals, but Judaism is the revelation of G-d. We are the only religion that even makes such a claim to a divine revelation, G-d speaking to an entire nation publicly. This public revelation of G-d's choosing of Israel is the only rational reason to accept a religion.
Rosh HaShana
Rosh HaShana is the New Year of the Jewish people. There are actually two New Years in the Jewish calendar. One, specifically for Jews, is Nisan, the spring month when we celebrate Passover and the Exodus. This is the birthday and the New Year of the Jewish people. But Rosh HaShana in the fall, the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, is a universal New Year, and celebrates the Creation of the World. This day, in the fall, is a sacred holiday, and we blow the Shofar horn to arouse ourselves to repent. Little is done on the first day of Nisan, the Jewish New Year. This is because G-d created the entire world to serve Him, not just Israel. Israel is a small nation. "For you are the smallest of nations." We are, however, "a kingdom of priests, a holy nation." But the purpose of this holy nation is to be a clergy for the human race. If the human race worships G-d and obeys His Will Israel has succeeded, otherwise, Israel has failed. Therefore, even Jews celebrate not the first day of Nisan, the Jewish New Year, but the universal New Year, Rosh HaShana.
Rosh HaShana, the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, is a Day of Judgment. All people are then judged. There are, however, three days of judgment, beginning with Rosh HaShana. For ten days, from Rosh HaShana to Yom Kippur, Jews pray and supplicate for forgiveness. The Decree is written on Rosh HaShana and signed on Yom Kippur, the tenth day of Tishrei. But it is not actualized until eleven days later on Hoshana Rabo, the seventh day of the Festival of Succose.
See our Video on Shofar.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is a day of praying in the synagogue and fasting. Coming ten days after Rosh HaShana, Judgment Day, Yom Kippur is when Judgment made on Rosh HaShana is sealed in heaven by the heavenly court. Every thought, word, and deed a person does enters the heavenly records and is judged. Yom Kippur is a time of great mercy and prayer can avert an evil decree.
When the Jews received the Ten Commandments at Sinai on Shavuoth, Moses went to heaven to study the Torah with G-d to bring it down to the Jewish people. He promised to return in forty days. However, the Jews panicked at the end of the forty days and thought that Moses died. They then built the Golden Calf and worshipped it. Moses returned from heaven and instructed the Jews in penitence. From Shavuoth to Yom Kippur was a period of penitence. On Yom Kippur G-d told Moses that he forgave the Jews and would reissue the Torah. Moses had broken the First Tablets when he saw the Golden Calf. G-d now issued new tablets. Thus, Yom Kippur is really the day of the receiving of the Torah.
Succose
Succoth means "booths." The Jews in the Desert of Sinai lived in booths for forty years. We celebrate Succoth to remind us of the founding of the Jewish people. Succoth also reminds us of the exile, as we leave our homes to eat in booths.
Exile for the Jewish people is a time to teach the nations of the world, by example, the beauty of the Torah and the Jewish way. Therefore, on Succoth, Solomon would teach the savants of the world the book of Ecclesiastics. This explains why this book has a unique style. The philosophical approach was for the gentile savants. Seventy sacrifices were offered during the time of the Temple during Succoth in honor of the seventy nations.
Although Succoth had a theme of exile that is painful for the Jews, it is called "the festival of rejoicing." When Israel was not exiled, the early fall was a time of joy for it was the end of the planting season. In Israel rain comes only in the winter, and the crops grow in the summer and are harvested and processed in late summer. Thus Succoth, a fall holiday, has a theme of the end of the main harvesting period, although throughout the year there are also trees and crops.
We like to beautify our Succoth in honor of the mitzvah to eat in it. Children make designs and people hang various ornaments and fruits in it.
Succoth is the "holiday of rejoicing" coming as it does after Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, when Israel rises to a high state of purity and holiness. The barriers between G-d and people are erased and we rejoice.
During the seven day of Succoth we wave the "four species" once a day and during prayers. The four species are Esrog, similar to a lemon, the Lulav, a palm branch, Hadas, a myrtle twig, and Arovo, a plant that grows often near streams. We hold all four species and wave them to various sides, up and down.
Hoshana Rabo
Hoshana Rabo "the great day of praying" is a very special day, even though it is not a holiday. The last day of Succoth, the seventh day, is a time when in heaven the process of judging Israel is finalized. The decrees that were adjudicated on Rosh HaShana and sealed on Yom Kippur are now given over to be carried out. This is an awesome day. Rabbi Moshe Sofer said before he died, "I got through Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur, but was unable to overcome the severe judgment of Hoshana Rabo.
Shemini Atseres
The Eighth Day of Assembly is the day after the seventh day of Succoth. No longer do we sit in booths, and we do not take the Lulov and Esrog, the "four species." Although Succoth is a time when we turn ourselves outward, to the world, to the nations, rather than being concentrated on ourselves, on Shemini Atseres we turn from the world to G-d, and consecrate ourselves.
Simchas Torah
The day after Shemini Atseres is Simchas Torah, the "rejoicing of the Torah," when we dance in circles holding Torah scrolls in the synagogues.
Chanukah
Chanukah means the "Dedication of the 25th" day of the Hebrew month of Kislev. On this day the Jews celebrate the miraculous defeat of the mighty Greek armies that tyrannized Israel in the Second Temple period. About 2400 years ago, Alexander the Great conquered Israel from the Persians and befriended the High Priest Shimon the Righteous. When Alexander died the Greek generals brought great suffering on the Jews. They wanted the Jews to become pagans and reject Judaism. Matisyohu the High Priest raised the standard of revolt, and his sons, especially Judah the Macabee, drove the Hellenists and Greeks from Israel.
Tu BiShevat
The Fifteenth of the Hebrew month of Shevat is a New Year for agriculture. Crops in Israel were divided by years when they came to fruition and were eligible for various tithes. Some of these tithes went to Levites and the poor, others to priests. These tithes were the lifeblood of the spiritual tribe of Levi. Trees are greatly honored in the Torah, because "a man is a tree," to live from its fruits, and the wood of its trunk, and the shade of its leaves.
The Book of Psalms begins by comparing people to trees. A tree's roots take water from a spring and nourish a tall tree. So a person by taking the proper nourishment develops into a good person. One whose roots derive water and nutrients from a polluted source produce a damaged tree, or a damaged soul.
The Fifteenth Day of Shevat is a minor holiday, but even a minor Torah holiday has deep meanings. Indeed, the Fifteenth Day of Shevat begins a period of three great holidays, occurring one month apart: the Fifteenth Day of Shevat, New Year for trees; the fifteenth Day of Adar, or Purim as celebrated in Shushan, the Persian city where Mordechai and Esther saved the Jews from extinction, and Passover, a month after Purim, on the Fifteenth Day of Nisson, when the Jews left Egyptian bondage and went to Sinai to receive the Torah. These three holidays are connected, and they all deal with one idea: the exile of Israel, the role of Israel among the nations to enlighten them with Torah concepts, and redemption from the exile.
Israel is a small nation. "For you are the smallest of nations." This small nation is a "kingdom of ecclesiastics, a holy nation," whose task it is to enlighten the entire world. Israel is judged by how many converts it produces, whether regular converts, or people who are influenced as non-Jews to respect G-d and the Torah.
Issachar was a Jewish tribe that devoted much of its time to studying Torah. It planted trees for a few hours a day, and then went to the study hall to learn Torah. Issachar thus became the scholars and judges for the Jewish people. Miraculously, the fields produced fruits despite the few hours spent on agriculture. Furthermore, the miracle process of growing fields without much work also produced incredible fruits, unusual and unknown elsewhere.
Issachar then took these fruits on donkeys to the boundary with the tribe of Zevulun, who sailed the seas doing business. All over the world people bought the fruits of Issachar and were amazed. Some decided to see for themselves a land that produced such fruit and traveled to Israel. When they saw fields standing alone while farmers studied Torah, they realized that the fruits were miracle. They then went to Jerusalem to pray to the G-d who produced such fruits, and many converted. Thus, the Fifteenth Day of Shevat tells us the proper way to influence the nations. Sit and study Torah, have wondrous fruit, and the nations will come to Israel to see the fruit and convert or truly respect Judaism. This is the first of the three holidays dealing with exile and redemption.
Then comes Purim. Here redemption came from a terrible exile where Haman the Prime Minister of Persia had royal permission to eradicate all of the Jews in the Persian Empire. The redemption came about when the king took Esther as his bride against her will. Esther and her uncle Mordechai confounded the plans of Haman, the Jews took Haman's power, and many of the nations converted out of awe of Mordechai and the Jews. This is another way of dealing with the exile. But it is very tragic scenario, with a righteous woman taken by a brutal kind. They had a son Coresh who allowed the Jews to return to Israel and rebuild the Second Temple. Yes, this was redemption from the exile, but at what cost? Would it not be better to sit in Israel and have the nations come to us with awe and respect rather than what happened at Purim?
Last of the three holidays is Passover. The Jews left Egypt after a bitter bondage, brought upon them because they turned away from the Torah in Egypt and lived off of the fat of the land until the inhabitants rebelled against them and enslaved them. G-d still remembered them and saved them at the Exodus with Moses and Aaron. Many gentiles went up from Egypt with Israel. But what was the end result of this? These converts influenced the Jews to worship the Golden Calf, and all those who left Egypt died in the Sinai Desert. Their children finally entered Israel under Joshua. So, of all three holidays, the Fifteenth of Shevat stands out in its perfection. There is exile, when Zevulun travels far to sell his wares. But is this suffering? This is the ideal way to live and to fulfill the divinely decreed destiny of Israel.
Purim
Celebrates the deliverance of the Jews during the Persian exile, around 2500 years ago, from the wicked Prime Minister Haman and his sons who decreed death to all of the Jews in the entire Persian empire. Esther, the Queen of Persia, convinced the king Achashverush to allow the Jews to live and to kill Haman. Esther was kidnapped by the king's servants after he killed his first wife Vashti for insubordination. Esther's son was the next Persian king, and he allowed the Jews to return to Israel and rebuild the Temple.
Purim is a hidden miracle. No open miracles happened. A hideous darkness descended upon the Jews when the pious Esther was forcibly taken to the king. From this hideous darkness came eventually a salvation for the Jews and the Second Temple period. We have questions and we have to wait for a good answer until the next world, when darkness is dispelled. But today, we accept the terrors of the exile with faith. This faith connects us to the highest holiness.
