Friday

Continue Holiday 0-6.

SUKKOTH

Monday: Hanukkah Purim

Midterm

• October 6

• Yom Kippur!!! OOOOOPS…..

Calendar

• Years counted from creation of the world

• 5763.

Gregorian Calendar: from time of Christ.

Gregorian Calendar is “Solar”

12 lunar months 11 days shorter than Solar year

13 lunar months 19 days longer

Solution:

Alternate 12 month and 13 month years.

19 year cycle, 7 years have 13 months.

Extra days

• Sometimes extra days are added to some months to keep Sabbath from interfering with Yom Kippur.

•

Result.

• Date of festivals are always the same in the Jewish calendar

• Date of festivals shifts in the Western calendar

• But: each festival is always in the same season.

If you though that was odd…

• First month is Nissan, in the spring

• Seventh month is Tishri in the autumn.

• New Year is Tishri 1, 2

Tishri

• Sept- Oct.

• 13 days of festivals

• 7 days in which work is forbidden.

HIGH HOLY DAYS

10 days• Rosh Hashana Yom Kippur

High Holy DaysDays of Awe

• Time of introspection

• God’s Books are open. Written on R. HaSh: sealed on Yom Kippur

• Individual’s Fate for next year is to be decided.

Changing God’s decree

• Repentance

• Prayer

• Charity.

• "May you be inscribed and sealed for a good year." typical greeting

Rosh Hashanah

• “Head of the Year”

• Evening of Friday, Sept 26, 2003

• Celebrated over 2 days outside of Israel.

• 1 Day in Israel.

Day of CreationDay of Judgment

• Day of sounding the SHOFAR

Sounded 100 times on each day of Rosh Hashanah

Shofar

Horn from Kosher Animal

War Alarm

Announced Royalty, and Divinity

Shofar sounds

• Shevarim

• Tekia

• Teruah

Call to Repentance

• Shofar sounded when Abraham tried to sacrifice Isaac: God gives him a ram instead.

• Shofar sounded with Israel received Torah

• Shofar will sound with Messiah comes.

No work on R. HaSh.

• If R. HaSh. Falls on Sabbath, Shofar is not blown.

• Most of the day spent in Synagogue.

Yom Kippur(evening of Oct 5, 2003)

Day of Atonement.

Celebrated on 1 Day.

Ancient Israel: Y. K. day of sacrifices for Israel’s sins.

Most Holy Day

Atone: reconciliation for offences

• Talmud says: Yom Kippur only allows you to atone for offending God.

• If you have offended another person, you have to seek reconciliation from them directly, before Yom Kippur.

“Complete Sabbath”

• No work at all on Yom Kippur

• Complete Fast: no eating or drinking

• Washing

• Luxuries: leather shoes

• Sex.

Fast

• Food Restrictions are NOT binding on

• Ill

• Elderly

• Young

• Expectant and new mothers.

Synagogue

• Orthodox may spend 9 am-3 pm

• Return 5 or 6, until nightfall

• Special Yom Kippur Siddur used.

Kol Nidre “All Vows”

• Controversy:

• Asking God to annul personal vows made.

• Reform removed it from Yom Kippur liturgy

• Anti-Semitists used it to claim Jews were dishonest, unfit for public office.

Amidah

• Yom Kippur Amidah asks for forgiveness for all of Israel’s sins.

Ne’ilah: Closing

• 1 hour service: ARK is opened (congregation must stand)

• Final Shofar blast signifies God’s books are sealed: The Gates of Heaven are closed.

Sukkot

• 5th day after Yom Kippur

• October 11

• Lasts for 7 days.

• No work on first 2 days

Sukkot

• Historical: Israelites wandering in wilderness

• Agricultural: Autumn festival.

Leviticus 23:42-3

• You shall live in huts seven days; all citizens of Israel shall live in huts, in order that future generations may know that I made the Israelite people live in huts when I brought them out of the Land of Egypt, I the Lord your God.

A Sukkah

The homes of the wandering Israelites

– Must be big enough to live in it.• Eat meals in it• Sleep in it, weather and health permitting

Sukkah

• 3 walls– Any material

• Roof with hole in it– Branches, wood, etc.

• Decorated: Harvest theme.

Sukkah and Thanksgiving

• Similar motifs

• Harvest• Gratitude.

Leviticus 23:40On the first day you shall take the fruit of the goodly trees, branches of palm trees, boughs of leafy trees, and willows of the brook, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God seven days.

“4 Species”

1 Palm branch

2 Willow branches

3 Myrtle branches

Etrog: a citrus fruit

Lulav and etrog

Held and waved during prayers on all 7 days of Sukkot

Book of Ecclesiastes read on Sukkot: pleasures are futile.

Shemini AzeretSimhat Torah

Day after last day of Sukkot

In Israel: both on same day

Outside Israel, on separate days.

Assembly of the 8th

Rejoicing in the Torah

• Shemini Azeret: End of Torah cycle

• Simhat Torah: Beginning of Torah cycle

• Work is not permitted.

Simhat Torah.

ChanukahEvening of Dec. 19, 2003

• A “Minor” Festival that has grown to be very popular.

• Most important ancient festival NOT mentioned in the Bible.

• “Home-based” Festival: family oriented.

Historical and seasonal

• Victory of Maccabees against oppressors

• Traditional winter festival (solstice)

• Lights represent lengthening days.

Chanukah

• Maccabean revolt against Seleucid dynasty

• 164 bce

• Rededication of Temple.

Lamp Oil

• Ritually pure

• Purification took 8 days

• 1 day supply when temple taken, lasts 8 days.

Festival of Lights: menorah

8 days

8 + 1 candles

1 to light others.

Flames must not merge

Miracle of Oil

• A Great excuse to eat fried foods!

• Latkes: Potato Pancakes.

Judaism 101 site has recipe…

Tzedekah

• Accent on charity

Gelt

• Gifts of money for kids

• Predates Christmas Presents

Dreidel

Purim

• Starts evening of March 6, 2004

• In Leap Years with extra month, Purim happens in the second month of Adar

• One month before Passover.

Purim Commandment• To hear the book of Esther being read.

Commandment: Tzedekah

• Gifts of food and money.

PurimLots

• Esther: saved the Jews from a nasty, wicked mean so-and-so.

– Mordechai & Esther (Horray!)

– Haman: wicked advisor (Boo!)

– Ahasuerus, K. of Persia (ends up being ok)

Esther:

• No mention of God

• Read with comical voices, lamentations– 10 sons of Haman, read in one breath

Audience Participation

• Cheer etc. when heroes are mentioned

• Boo etc. when Haman is mentioned.

• Can’t drown out the reader!

Carnival

• Dress-up

• Plays, parodies,

Everyone is parodied

• Scholars, rabbis, etc

• Talmud is spoofed.

Eat Drink and Be Merry

• Drink enough to confuse:

“Cursed be Haman” and

“Blessed be Mordechai”.

Drunk?

• hOw eNoungh drunk isht thet ???

• Not drunk enough to violate commandments, or be obnoxious

• Alcoholics, kids, etc exempt from mitzvah.