Chanukah or Hannukah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers, and fried foods. In the second century BCE, the Holy Land was ruled by the Seleucids (Syrian-Greeks), who tried to force the people of Israel to accept Greek culture and beliefs instead of mitzvah observance and […]
The Isra and Mi'raj (Arabic: الإسراء والمعراج, al-’Isrā’wal-Mi‘rāj) are the two parts of a Night Journey that, according to Islam, the Islamic prophet Muhammad took during a single night around the year 621. Within Islam it signifies both a physical and spiritual journey, and is remembered in prayer.
Each year, corresponding with the ninth month of the lunar calendar, Muslims spend a month in daytime fasting. This observance is called Ramadan. From dawn to sunset during this month, Muslims abstain from food, liquids, tobacco, and sex. This fast is an extremely important aspect of the Muslim faith: in fact, it is one of […]
The festival of Purim is celebrated every year on the 14th of the Hebrew month of Adar, in late winter or early spring. It commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persia from Haman’s plot “to destroy, kill and annihilate all the Jews, young and old, infants and women, in a single day,” […]
Laylat Al Qadr is considered the holiest night of the year for Muslims and is held on the 27th day of Ramadan. Translated into English as the Night of Decree, Night of Power, Night of Value, Night of Destiny, or Night of Measures, it commemorates the night that the Quran was first revealed to the […]
At the end of Ramadan, Muslims celebrate the "Festival of Fast-Breaking." On the day of Eid, fasting is prohibited. The end of Ramadan is generally celebrated by a ceremonial fast-breaking, as well as the performance of the Eid prayer in an open, outdoor area or mosque.
To our Jewish friends, Chag Pesach kasher vesame’ach, or "May you have a kosher and joyous Passover." The eight-day festival of Passover is celebrated in the early spring, from the 15th through the 22nd of the Hebrew month of Nissan. Passover (Pesach) commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. Pesach is […]
Yom HaShoah (Holocaust MemorialDay) On Yom HaShoah, Jews all over the world mourn the six million Jewish lives lost during the Holocaust. The full name of the day commemorating the victims of the Holocaust is “Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah” – literally the “Day of (Remembrance of) the Holocaust and the Heroism.” It is marked on the […]
Shavuot is the celebration of the giving of the Torah to the Jewish people, also known as the Festival of First Fruits. The Torah was given by the Lord on Mount Sinai on Shavuot more than 3,300 years ago. Every year on the holiday of Shavuot, Jews renew their acceptance of the gift, and the […]
At the end of the annual pilgrimage, Muslims celebrate the "Festival of Sacrifice." It includes a ritual sacrifice of a sheep, camel, or goat, to honor the willingness of Ibrahim to sacrifice his son as an act of obedience to God's command.
An important fast day commemorating the destruction of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BCE and 70 CE. It is the culmination of the Three Weeks, an annual mourning period that falls in the summer. Jews mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple and their launch into a still-ongoing exile. Tisha B’Av, or 9th […]
Mawlid al-Nabim, celebrated on the 12th of Rabiulawal, marks the birth of Muhammad in A.D. 570. The holy day is celebrated in different ways by different Islamic sects. Mohammed (ca. 570–632) is considered by Muslims to be the prophet and messenger of Allah. Mohammed was raised an orphan in Mecca. As a young man he […]
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 […]
