Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, takes place at the beginning of the month of Tishrei, which is actually the seventh month of the Jewish year (counting from Nisan in the spring). It is both a time of rejoicing and of serious introspection, a time to celebrate the completion of another year while also taking […]
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year, when observers are closest to the Lord and to the essence of their souls. Yom Kippur means “Day of Atonement,” as the verse states, “because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the Lord, you will be clean […]
A celebration of the fall harvest that begins five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot is named after the booths or huts (sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell during this week-long celebration. According to rabbinic tradition, these flimsy structures represent the huts in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of […]
Simchat Torah is a joyful feast that marks the end of the old Torah reading cycle and the beginning of a new cycle. All the synagogue's Torah scrolls are removed from the ark and are carried around the sanctuary in a series of seven hakafot (circuits). Although each hakafa need only encompass one circuit around […]
