The Jewish Year
The Jewish year is often depicted as a circle—a "festival cycle" of traditional and religious holidays. It is an ancient cycle, yet is still as vibrant and alive as it was in antiquity. Some holidays are so old their origins are lost in prehistory; others were created as recently as this century. The cycle is a living one, reflecting the changing needs and circumstances of the Jewish people, even while being firmly rooted in a religious-cultural tradition older than any other still in existence in the world.
The Hebrew Calendar
The Jewish calendar is an ancient one, thousands of years older than the Gregorian calendar. It is a twelve-month lunar calendar, with the months based on the cycles of the moon. Each month begins on a new moon and is 29 or 30 days long. The names of the months were taken from the Babylonians and are:
- Nisan, Iyar, Sivan (spring)
- Tamuz, Av, Elul (summer)
- Tishri, Chesvan, Kislev (fall)
- Tevet, Shevat, Adar (winter)
The Jewish calendar is only 354 days long. Therefore, every 19 years a "leap month," Adar II, is added to keep the calendar current with the solar year.
The Jewish day begins at sundown, when three stars are spotted in the sky. The weeks are seven days long, perhaps reflecting the six days it took God to create the world, plus one day (Shabbat) of rest.
Rosh Hodesh, the first day of each new month, was a major festival in ancient times. Today it typically is celebrated as a minor holiday during which additions are made to the daily prayers. On 30-day months it's celebrated for two days—the last day of the old month and the first day of the new. Traditionally, women don't work on Rosh Hodesh, which may be a contributing factor in its current rise in popularity!
Take a look at the current Hebrew Calendar or the 2005 Holiday Calendar.
The Festival Cycle
The Jewish holidays, or holy days, are distinguished from ordinary days by the observance of certain ceremonies, traditions and customs. Their meaning may derive from religious law, tradition, historical events or the cycle of the seasons.
Major Holidays
The major festivals are of two types—the Pilgrim Festivals and the High Holidays. Both types resemble Shabbat in that work is prohibited. However, unlike Shabbat, it is permitted to cook, increase a flame and carry in a public place on the major holidays. In addition, Yizkor (the prayer for the dead) is recited on these festivals.
Pilgrim Festivals
The Pilgrim Festivals are Pesach (Passover), Shavuot and Sukkot and are so named because in ancient times Jews made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem on these festivals.
High Holidays
The High Holidays (also called the High Holy Days or the Days of Awe) begin with the ten days of Rosh Hashanah and continue through the New Year and Yom Kippur (which is also a Fast Day and carries the same prohibitions as Shabbat). The High Holidays are the holiest time of the Jewish year.
Fast Days
The fast days, or days of sorrow, are Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av, although some people also fast on Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day).
Minor Festivals
Although called "minor" holidays, these are still important festivals in the Jewish year. The principle difference between these and the major holidays is that work is not prohibited on the minor holidays. The most important minor holidays include Hanukkah, Purim, Tu B'Shevat, Lag B'Omer and Simchat Torah (or Shemini Atzeret). The newest additions to the list of minor holidays are Israel Independence Day and Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Memorial Day, also a fast day).
Resources
- The Jewish Holidays: A Guide & Commentary by Michael Strassfeld
- The Book of the Jewish Year by Stephen M. Wylen
- The First Jewish Catalog by Richard Siegel et al., editors