Jewish Holy Days and Festivals

Jewish Feasts and Festivals

Images in the Bible

JEWISH CALENDAR

(Underlined: The 3 Feasts of Pilgrimage to the Temple).         See Leviticus          

The "Sabbath": Every Saturday.
Passover (Pesach)... March or April. Passover, Seder
Unleaved Bread... Same.
First Fruits... Same, last day.
Pentecost (Shavuoth)... May or June.
Tisha bee-Av... July or August.
Rosh Hashanah (New Year)... Sept. or October.
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)... Same.
Tabernacles (Sukkot)...same: 5 days later.
Simchat Torah (joy)... same, Sept. or October.
Hanukkah (Feast of Lights)... Nov. or December.
Purim (Dedication of the Temple)... Feb. or March.

The "Sabbath" ("rest"):
    Is the one holy day that has kept Judaism going on for centuries, a most important one together with the hope of the Messiah...
    - It is celebrated every Saturday both at home and in the synagogue, beginning at sundown Friday to sundown Saturday.
    - It is (1) a time of rest, and (2) a time to remember God and his creative works. There is no work, no cooking, no traveling, no buying nor selling, not gathering wood nor kindling fire...
    - Of course, men go to the synagogue, but the most important part of the Sabbath is the celebration by the family at home... 24 hours of family joy and unity, celebrating God's creation and goodness... this family aspect of the Sabbath should be imitated by many Christians.
    - In Christianity, the day of "rest" is Sunday, since the first Sunday after the resurrection of Jesus on a Sunday... it is the day of "re-creation", the "new creation", in contrast with the Sabbath which celebrates the "first creation of God". The Sabbath

The 3 "pilgrimage feasts",when Jews went to the Temple at Jerusalem, like Jesus did, are Passover, Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles, the 3 of them related to the Exodus of Egypt.

1- "Passover" ("Pesach"):
    It is central to Jewish worship and religion. In spring (March-April), commemorates the liberation from the Egypt slavery and the pass of the Red See.
    - Moses instructed the people of Israel to smear the doors and lintels of their homes with blood, and the angel of destruction "passed over" the firstborn of Israel in order to slay the firstborn of the Egyptians (Ex.12).
    - It is the "Day of Independence" of Israel, celebrated, not with fireworks, but with adoration to God, starting with a good, joyful, family, Seder meal on the first night... During this Seder meal Jesus celebrated the "Last Supper" and instituted the Eucharist on the third cup of wine.

    "Feast of the Unleavened Bread":
    For 7 days after the Passover is celebrated the "Feast of Unleavened Bread" (Massot), at the same time that Christians celebrate the "Holy Week", the passion and resurrection of Christ, that also lies at the heart of Christianity. The bread is "unleavened" because the Jews did not had time to make normal bread with the haste of the Passover... the bread of the Eucharist is also unleavened, like the one used by Jesus in the Last Supper.

    "First Fruits", is the last day; each one gives to the Lord the First Fruit of the year: The first lamb, the first fruit of each tree... - The Passover is the Religious "New Year".

2- "Pentecost" ("Shavuoth"):
    "Pento": 50... 50 days after the Passover. Judaism commemorates the day God gave the 10 Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai (Lev.23)...
    - In Christianity, it is celebrated at about the same time (May or June), when the Holy Spirit came to the Apostles, and God put the Law, not in stone, but in their hearts, the Low-of-Love of Jesus Christ, as prophesied by Jerem. 36.

3- "Feast of Tabernacles" ("Sukkot"):
    It is the third "pilgrimage feast": An 8 day festival on September, remembering the 40 years the Israelites wandered through the wilderness after the Exodus from Egypt.
    Jews live for 8 days on booths (sukkah), without electricity, they have a good wonderful time that unites the family, and when they go home they appreciate more what God have given them now a days.

Besides this 3 "pilgrimage feasts", there are another important feasts:

4-"Rosh Ha-Shanah" ("head of the year"), or New Year Festival:
    In late September or October; it is also called the "Feast of the Trumpets", because the ram's horn ("shofar") is blown in the synagogue summoning men for the period of 10 days to do penance and forgiveness, to start a new life. It is a period of divine judgment in which the fate of the world in the coming year ahead is determined. The Jews eat "sweet foods", a symbol of the good year to come, and "celebrate" to show that they are confident of God's mercy.

5- "Yom Kippur" or "Day of Atonement":
    It is the last day of the Rosh-Hashanah, the most solemn day of the year, the only one day that the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies to ask forgiveness of the previous year, and blessings for the ensuing year, as a renew commitment to God is made. It is a 24 hour period mostly spent in the synagogue.

- The "Feast of the Tabernacles", already commented, is 5 days after the Yom Kippur.

6- "Hanukkah":
    An 8 day "Feast of Lights", on November or December, around Christmas time, also called the "Feast of Dedication of the Temple", to celebrate the liberation and purification of the Temple by the Maccabees (1Macc.4, 2Macc.10).
At that time, with a little oil, miraculously, they could maintain the lights of the candles on for 8 days. Now the light a candle every day. A joyful time exchanging gifts, and giving money to the poor.

7- "Purim" ("Feast of Lots"):
    A carnival-like festival, around the time of the Christian Carnival, on February or March. Commemorates the events of the book of Esther 9, when the "lots" were exchanged:
The Jews were saved from the designs of the villainous Persian Haman, and instead, the "cursed Haman" was killed, thanks to the intervention of the Queen Esther and her step-father "blessed Mordecai". Whenever Haman's name is mentioned the congregation boo and stamp their feet. They send gifts of food to each other and give charity to the poor.

8- "Tish'ah be'Av", in July, remembers the destruction of the Temple in 70 AC.

9- "Simchat Torah", a few days after the Feast of Tabernacles, in October, is a thanksgiving day for the Torah given to Moses, a feast of joy.

10- "Rosh Chodesh", a minor festival at the beginning of each month.

11- In the modern times, a number of new festivals have been introduced, associated with the modern state of Israel: "Israel Independence Day", "Jerusalem Day"... and in relation to the Nazi Holocaust, "Holocaust Remembrance Day.

12- "Sabbatical Year" (Lev.25), every "seven years", it is like a Sabbath, "rest" without work, and adore God with thanksgiving... but for one full year!.

13- "Year of Jubilee" (Lev.25), every 49 years, 7x7; it is like a "Sabbatical Year", but now all land was returned to the original owner.

The Jews know how to have Feasts, and "rest"... every Sabbath, and every 7 years!
... and they are very industrious people!...
... they should be imitated!

Jewish Feasts, calendar, the Sabbath         
        Leviticus 3: Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, Trumpets, Jesus our Lamb, our High Priest, His Second Coming
        Leviticus 5b: Passover, Unleavened Bread, First Fruits, Pentecost, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Tabernacles (Sukkot)
        Leviticus 6: Purim, Hanukkah, Sabbatical Year, Jubilee Year, Jewish Weddings, Bar Mitzvah, Bat Mitzvah, Holocaust... others
        Leviticus 7: Idols, Rewards and Punishments of God, tithes, first-fruits, number "7"... Judgment of God 
        Exodus 2: Passover-Seder-Eucharist-Red See-The Two Columns the Great Miracle to Come-Song of Moses
        Exodus 2b: Pass of the Red See: Baptism, Resurrection
        Exodus 3: Feast of Tabernacles-Pilgrimage


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