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 […]
National Dashiki Day is a day of cultural celebration of the colorful garment that was adopted by African-Americans in the 1960s and 1970s as a symbol of pride, awareness, independence, and power. Although the loose-fitting pullover garment traces its roots to West Africa, it found a place in America during the post-civil rights era of […]
Chanukah 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 belief in […]
The Jewish “New Year of the Trees”is celebrated with observances that connect humankind to the natural world. This holiday has special significance because "Man is the tree of the field" (Deuteronomy 20:19). Through cultivating strong roots – faith and commitment to the Lord – we produce many fruits. On this day it is customary to […]
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.
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,” […]
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, smoking, and sex. This fast is an extremely important aspect of the Muslim faith: in fact, it is one of […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 27th day in 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.
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 […]
