1. Jewish Holidays

2. Chanukkah
literally means dedication

3. Chanukkah
Lasts 8 Days
Celebrated on the 25th of Kislev of Jewish calendar
Occurs around the winter solstice

4. Chanukkah Syrian/Greek attack
Syrians/Greeks took over Jerusalem on the winter solstice and destroyed the temple
Jews retook Jerusalem and the temple on the winter solstice

5. Rededication of the Temple
Chanukkah
Rededication of the Temple
Eternal flame was lit
There was only enough oil for 1 day
They went out to get more but it would take 8 days to return
The oil continued to burn until they did return with more oil

6. Traditions of Chanukkah
The Chanukkiah
9 candles
Light one a day or put one out a day
Keep in the window

7. Traditions of Chanukkah
Eat fried foods
Like Latke

8. Traditions of Chanukkah
Dreidel
A 4 sided spinning top
“A Great Miracle Happened There”
Everyone starts with some pennies, candies, etcetera
Each person playing puts one in the pot
If top falls on:
Nun- nothing happens
Gimel- you win the pot
Hay- you win half the pot
Shin- you put in one more piece in the pot

9. Rosh Hashanah The autumn festival called the Jewish New Year
Holiday of remembrance
Lasts for 10 days and ends on Yom Kippur

10. Rosh Hashanah There are three groups of people: 1. The wicked
2. The Righteous
3. The In-betweeners
*Rosh Hashanah is a time of repentance and prayer for the in-betweeners to gain righteousness

11. Rosh Hashanah Period of return, repentance, and renewal
Beginning of the process of forgiveness and forgiving others

12. Rosh Hashanah Ways to Repent: Deep Prayer Change of Conduct
Gifts to Charity
Confession

13. Rosh Hashanah Some Traditions: Blowing a ram’s horn each morning
Reading Psalm 27 each morning: “The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?”

14. Rosh Hashanah
Another tradition is to empty pockets of old crumbs into a body of free-flowing water

15. Yom Kippur A one day celebration of prayer and meditation
Known also as the “Day of Atonement”

16. Yom Kippur Three steps of forgiveness 1. Forgiving 2. Letting go
3. Atonement

17. Yom Kippur
Should have all atonements against other people completed during Rosh Hashanah
Yom Kippur is the day to atone for sins against God

18. Yom Kippur Atonement must have reparations for sins committed
Those that truly atone are given a blanket forgiveness from God

19. Yom Kippur
Atonement does not automatically receive forgiveness, you must also refuse to commit the same sin later

20. Yom Kippur Traditional Jews do not do the following on Yom Kippur:
Bathing luxuriously
Use perfumes or moisturizers
Having sex
Wearing leather
Eating or drinking

21. Yom Kippur Fasting lasts from sundown to sundown, 24 hours..
Pregnant women, the sick and children under 13 should not fast

22. Yom Kippur There are five services on Yom Kippur
At many services Jews can be seen bowing during prayer
This symbolizes service to the Higher Spirit
During Yom Kippur some Jews will kneel, or even lay on the floor

23. Sukkot The Jewish Thanksgiving Five days after Yom Kippur
Falls near the Autumnal Equinox
A festival lasts eight or nine days

24. Sukkot
King Solomon dedicated the First Temple on Sukkot

25. Sukkot A time of feasting, drinking, singing, and ecstatic dancing
Praising an abundant harvest

26. Sukkot Building the Sukkot Often built in backyards, parks, synagogues
A hut like structure representing the shelters people lived in during the harvest

27. Sukkot Rules for building the Sukkah Needs four sides
Roof must be made of plant material
Decorated (by kids)
Can’t be built under anything else
Big enough to enter it

28. Purim The Jewish Halloween Child-oriented holiday
Celebrated around mid-March
The 15th of Adar on the Jewish calendar

29. Purim Memorializes the story of Haman
He wanted to exterminate the Jewish people of ancient Persia
They are saved by Queen Esther who is Jewish

30. Purim Haman became the symbol of any serious enemy of Israel
Celebrating Purim is an expression of persecution the Jews have suffered

31. Purim A time to look inside yourself, at the dark side….
The holiday allows you to let out the monsters inside you in order to acknowledge them

32. Purim Traditions of Purim Reading the Book of Ester
Read out loud at the synagogue once in the morning and once at night
People boo and hiss and make noise during the reading when Haman is mentioned

33. Purim Traditions of Purim 2. Being festive and rejoicing
Dress in costume
Get sweet treats
Adults drink alcohol

34. Purim Traditions of Purim 3. Giving gifts of fruits and nuts
To family, friends and neighbors

35. Purim Traditions of Purim 4. Offering gifts to the poor
Required that you give to those less fortunate

36. Passover Most-celebrated Jewish holiday
Celebration of Spring, birth and rebirth, and responsibility
Celebrated around the Spring equinox

37. Passover
Remembers the Jews being redeemed from slavery in Egypt

38. Passover Lasts seven days Eat Matzah No leavened bread
No wheat, barley, rye, or oats

39. Passover Why eat Matzah?
Jewish Bible states “So you shall tell your children on that day, saying: We eat unleavened bread because of what the Eternal One did for me when I came out from Egypt”

40. Passover Kosher during Passover
Many products such as Pepsi, Coffees, juices, etcetera will have labels that say “Kosher for Passover” on them during the holiday

41. Passover Spring Cleaning
Must not only not eat certain foods but can’t touch it
For 2 weeks before the Passover a major cleaning of the home

42. Passover The night before Passover begins The hunt
Children are given a feather and a bag and have to find crumbs
The bag is burned the next morning
***permission slips due 3/31***

43. Passover The Seder meal
A 15 step ritual revolving around the Passover dinner

44. Shavuot The Festival of Weeks Occurs in late May or early June
50 days after the second night of Passover

45. Shavuot
Honored the start of the harvest as well as the shift from Spring to Summer
Make the first offerings of fruit to God

46. Shavuot
Also the anniversary of the receiving of the Torah at Mount Sanai

47. Shavuot Some traditions: Ritual bath
Staying awake and praying all night
Decorating the home and temple with flowers
Eating meals heavy with dairy
Read the Book of Ruth

48. Tisha B’Av Late July or early August
Day of mourning of the two Temples of Jerusalem

49. Tisha B’Av
This was the anniversary of the day that God told Moses and the Jews they couldn’t enter the Promised Land for 40 years

50. Tisha B’Av
Follow the same rules as Yom Kippur

51. Tisha B’Av
Traditions:
Visiting cemeteries
Quiet reflection