High Holidays & Holy Days 2013

Rosh Hashanah -- The Jewish New Year is called Rosh Hashanah. Jews observe this holiday by attending synagogue services. During the morning service, the shofar (ram’s horn) is blown. The blasts of the shofar are a call for the penitence and spiritual awakening. It is customary to dip apples in honey and hope for a sweet year. We wish you L’Shanah Tovah - Happy New Year!

Yom Kippur -- The holiest day of the year for Jewish people is Yom Kippur. It is a day completely devoted to prayer and self-examination. The service in the synagogue begins just before sunset (Kol Nidre eve), and continues until sunset the next day. Jews fast during this entire period in order to concentrate on asking God forgiveness for their sins.

Sukkot -- Sukkot comes five days after Yom Kippur, and lasts for nine days. It commemorates the wandering of the Jews through the desert after leaving Egypt, and subsequently became a harvest festival. During the service on the eighth day of Sukkot or Shemini Atzeret, the prayer for rain is recited. This is the time of the year in Israel when rain is needed for crops. The last day of Sukkot is called Simchat Torah. On this day, the yearlong cycle of weekly Torah readings is concluded and starts all over again.

Passover -- Passover is the festival of redemption and freedom. It marks the beginning of the covenant between God, the liberator, and Jews as a people redeemed. It celebrates the birth of the Jewish people as a free nation under the leadership of our greatest teacher and prophet, Moses.

Shabbat -- The Sabbath (or Shabbat, as it is called in Hebrew) is one of the best known and least understood of all Jewish observances. To those who observe Shabbat, it is a precious gift from G-d, a day of great joy eagerly awaited throughout the week, a time when we can set aside all of our weekday concerns and devote ourselves to higher pursuits. Shabbat is the most important ritual in Judaism. It is the only ritual observance instituted in the Ten Commandments. Shabbat is primarily a day of rest and spiritual enrichment. The word "Shabbat" comes from the root Shin-Bet-Tav, meaning to cease, to end or to rest.

Shavuot - Marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer and the day the Torah was given at Mount Sinai.