Holidays
High Holidays and Minor Holidays
Please visit our upcoming events page to see what we'll be celebrating together.
Jewish New Year
Rosh HaShanah (literally, “Head of the Year”) is the Jewish New Year, a time of prayer, self-reflection, and t'shuvah. We review our actions during the past year, and we look for ways to improve ourselves, our communities, and our world in the year to come. The holiday marks the beginning of a 10-day period, known as the Yamim Nora-im (“Days of Awe” or “High Holidays”), ushered in by Rosh HaShanah and culminating with Yom Kippur (the “Day of Atonement”). Rosh HaShanah is widely observed by Jews throughout the world, often with prayer and reflection in a synagogue. There also are several holiday rituals observed at home.
Rosh HaShanah is celebrated on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, which – because of differences in the solar and lunar calendar – corresponds to September or October on the Gregorian or secular calendar. Customs associated with the holiday include sounding the shofar (Ram's horn), eating a round challah (braided egg bread), and tasting apples and honey to represent a sweet New Year.
High Holiday
Rosh Hashanah
Forgiveness and Atonement
Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement" and refers to the annual Jewish observance of fasting, prayer, and repentance. Part of the High Holidays, which also includes Rosh HaShanah (the Jewish New Year), Yom Kippur is considered the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Yom Kippur is the moment in Jewish time when we dedicate our mind, body, and soul to reconciliation with our fellow human beings, ourselves, and God. As the New Year begins, we commit to self-reflection and inner change. As both seekers and givers of pardon, we turn first to those whom we have wronged, acknowledging our sins and the pain we have caused them. We are also commanded to forgive, to be willing to let go of any resentment we feel towards those who have committed offenses against us. Only then can we turn to God and ask for forgiveness. As we read in the Yom Kippur liturgy, “And for all these, God of forgiveness, forgive us, pardon us, and grant us atonement.”
High Holiday
Yom Kippur
Chanukah
Festival of Lights
Chanukah is the Jewish eight-day, wintertime “festival of lights,” celebrated with a nightly menorah lighting, special prayers and fried foods.
The Hebrew word Chanukah means “dedication,” and is thus named because it celebrates the rededication of the Holy Temple. Also spelled Hanukkah (or variations of that spelling), the Hebrew word is actually pronounced with a guttural, “kh” sound, kha-nu-kah, not tcha-new-kah.
Purim
Book of Esther
Purim celebrates the failure of a plot to kill the Jews in Persia a long time ago.
The story of Purim is told in the Bible’s Book of Esther. Three to five hundred years before the Common Era, a Jewish community flourished in Persia. The king banished his queen for failing to obey his every command, then married a new bride, Esther. Esther was told to keep her Jewish faith a secret by her cousin, Mordecai. When Mordecai refused to bow down before Haman, the Royal Vizier, Haman plotted to kill all the Jews as revenge.
Mordecai persuaded Esther to risk her life by going to the king without being summoned and revealing her faith. After inviting the king and Haman to a great feast, she revealed that she was Jewish and persuaded the king to allow the Jews to defend themselves against Haman’s plot. The Jews defeated the assassins, Haman was executed and Mordecai was appointed to take his place.
Pesach/
Passover
Forgiveness and Atonement
Passover commemorates the story of the Israelites’ departure from ancient Egypt, which appears in the Hebrew Bible’s books of Exodus, Numbers and Deuteronomy, among other texts. Jews observe the weeklong festival with a number of important rituals, including a traditional Passover meal known as a seder, the removal of leavened products from their home, the substitution of matzo for bread and the retelling of the exodus tale.