Shavuot is a Hebrew word meaning “weeks” and refers to the Jewish festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Shavuot, like so many other Jewish holidays began as an ancient agricultural festival, marking the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the summer wheat harvest. Shavuot was distinguished in ancient times by bringing crop offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Shavuot, also known as the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, dates from biblical times, and helps to explain the holiday’s name, “Weeks.” The Torah tells us it took precisely forty-nine days for our ancestors to travel from Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai (the same number of days as the Counting of the Omer) where they were to receive the Torah. Thus, Leviticus 23:21 commands: “And you shall proclaim that day (the fiftieth day) to be a holy convocation!” The name Shavuot, “Weeks,” then symbolizes the completion of a seven-week journey.

Special customs on Shavuot are the reading of the Book of Ruth, which reminds us that we too can find a continual source of blessing in our tradition. Another tradition includes staying up all night to study Torah and Mishnah, a custom called Tikkun Leil Shavuot, which symbolizes our commitment to the Torah, and that we are always ready and awake to receive the Torah. Traditionally, dairy dishes are served on this holiday to symbolize the sweetness of the Torah, as well as the “land of milk and honey”.

Pesach, known as Passover in English, is a major Jewish spring festival, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt over 3,000 years ago. The ritual observance of this holiday centers around a special home service called the seder (meaning “order”) and a festive meal; the prohibition of chametz (leaven); and the eating of matzah (an unleavened bread). On the eve of the fifteenth day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, we read from a book called the hagaddah, meaning “telling,” which contains the order of prayers, rituals, readings and songs for the Pesach seder. The Pesach seder is the only ritual meal in the Jewish calendar year for which such an order is prescribed, hence its name.

The seder has a number of scriptural bases. Exodus 12:3-11 describes the meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs which the Israelites ate just prior to the Exodus. In addition, three separate passages in Exodus (12:26-7, 13:8, 13:14) and one in Deuteronomy (6:20-21) enunciate the duty of the parents to tell the story of the Exodus to their children. The seder plate contains various symbolic foods referred to in the seder itself.

Purim is celebrated by the reading of the Scroll of Esther, known in Hebrew as the Megillat Esther, which relates the basic story of Purim. Under the rule of King Ahashuerus, Haman, the King’s prime minister, plots to exterminate all of the Jews of Persia. His plan is foiled by Queen Esther and her cousin Mordechai, who ultimately save the Jews of the land from destruction. The reading of the megillah is typically a rowdy affair, punctuated by booing and noise-making when Haman’s name is read aloud.

Purim is an unusual holiday in many respects. First, Esther is the only Book of the Bible in which God is not mentioned. Second, Purim, like Chanukah, is viewed traditionally as a minor festival, but elevated to a major holiday as a result of the Jewish historical experience. Over the centuries, Haman became the embodiment of every anti-Semite in every land where Jews were oppressed. The significance in Purim lies not so much in how it began, but in what it has become – a thankful and joyous affirmation of Jewish survival against all odds.

What is the meaning of Hanukkah?

There are many answers. Some are filled with the myths that entertain children; some are scholarly treatises on the history of the Greco-Assyrians and the Kingdom of Judea. No matter the comprehensiveness of the answer, every year I am asked by adults and children if the oil really lasted for eight days.

I have been discussing the real meaning of Hanukkah with our religious school students and wanted to share what they have been learning with our entire congregation. Rabbi Hara Person, the editor of the URJ Press, has written a wonderful synopsis of this topic. Click here to read the entire article — “Will the Real Hanukkah Please Stand Up?”

Learn how it all began, with the story of Antiochus Epiphanes and the Maccabees…

Alexander the Great of Greece conquered Judea, the home of the Jews, in 333 B.C.E. At that time Alexander allowed the Jews to maintain their beliefs and traditions. With Alexander’s death, the lands he ruled were divided between the Ptolemies, who ruled Egypt and the Seleucids, who ruled in Syria. The Ptolemies and Seleucids fought for control over Judea. The Syrians under the influence of the Seleucids became Hellenized, adopting Greek culture and habits. In 198 B.C.E. Antiochus III, king of Syria, conquered Judea. Like Alexander, he also allowed the practice of Judaism. All this changed in 175 B.C.E. when Antiochus IV, also known as Antiochus Epiphanes, came to power.

Antiochus Epiphanes wanted to Hellenize the Jews. He outlawed Sabbath observance, circumcision, and Torah study. The Temple in Jerusalem was desecrated with a pagan altar and Syrian soldiers set up altars to the Greek gods throughout Judea. A Jewish resistance movement began to grow, led by a priestly family known as the Hasmoneans or Maccabees. The leader of the family was Matityahu (Mattithias) along with his five sons – Judah, Yonatan, Eliezer, Yochanan and Simeon. Three years of fighting ensued and though the Jews were greatly outnumbered they prevailed. This was a great victory for religious freedom.

The Temple in Jerusalem was cleansed and a ceremony of rededication was held. The Hebrew word Hanukkah (also spelled Chanukah) means dedication.

The rabbis of long ago faced a dilemma; they did not want Hanukkah to be looked at as a military victory alone. In the Talmud, the rabbis recorded the legendary miracle of the oil: When the Maccabees had cleansed the Temple and they were ready to kindle the Ner Tamid – Eternal Light, only one small jar of oil marked with the seal of the Cohanim – High Priests was found. It would last only one day and it would be eight more days before more oil could be prepared. But a great miracle happened; the oil lasted for eight days. According to the rabbis this is the reason we celebrate Hanukkah for eight days.

In choosing the haftarah for the Shabbat of Hanukkah, the rabbis sought to teach us another lesson about faith. The haftarah , Zechariah 4:1-7 includes the verse, “Not by might, nor by power, but by My spirit, said the Lord of Hosts.” This was to remind us that it was not by the military force of the Maccabees that the Temple was restored, but it was by the spirit and influence of God that these events occurred.

Simchat Torah, Hebrew for “rejoicing in the Law”, celebrates the completion of the annual reading of the Torah. Simchat Torah is a joyous festival, in which we affirm our view of the Torah as a tree of life and demonstrate a living example of never-ending, lifelong study. Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and carried or danced around the synagogue seven times. During the Torah service, the concluding section of Deuteronomy is read, and immediately following, the opening section of Genesis, or B’reishit as it is called in Hebrew, is read.

Read more at www.urj.org.

Sukkot, a Hebrew word meaning “booths” or “huts,” refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest, as well as the commemoration of the forty years of Jewish wandering in the desert after Sinai. Sukkot is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th of Tishrei and is marked by several distinct traditions.

One tradition, which takes the commandment to “dwell in booths” literally, is to build a sukkah, a booth or hut. A sukkah is often erected by Jews during this festival, and it is common practice for some to eat and even live in these temporary dwellings during Sukkot.

Traditionally the sukkah is decorated with branches and harvest fruits. Or Chadash decorates our sukkah with warm hats, gloves and scarves to be donated to charity.