CALENDAR & HOLIDAYS
1. WHAT WAS THE “ZERO” YEAR ON THE HEBREW CALENDAR, WHEN THE COUNTING
STARTED? WHY IS THAT SIGNIFICANT? The zero point of any calendar represents a
philosophy. Thus the zero point of the Christian (secular) calendar is the birth of
Jesus, and the zero point of the Moslem calendar is Mohammed’s hejira from Mecca to
Medina. The zero point of the Jewish calendar is symbolic: it begins not with a
specifically Jewish experience, but from Creation itself (acknowledging that the world
really is 4.6 billion years old). The message is that all humanity must work together to
complete Creation: it is a universal task to transform the world from the way it is to
the way it needs to be.
2. IN WHAT HEBREW YEAR WERE YOU BORN? To derive the Hebrew year you were born,
subtract 1240 from the civil year, and then add 5000. Thus, one born in 2014 would
subtract 1240 (= 774) than add 5000 (= 5774). Caution: The Hebrew year changes as of
Rosh haShana in September! A June, 2014, birthdate is a different year (5774) than an
October, 2014, birthdate (5775).
3. HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN A HEBREW MONTH BEGINS? HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN IT IS
THE MIDDLE OF THE MONTH? The word month is derived from various words meaning,
“moon”: the lunar month is simply the time it takes the moon to orbit the earth. Thus,
a new month begins with the “appearance” of the new moon, and concludes when the
moon “disappears.” The middle of the month is marked by the full moon.
4. WHY DOES A LEAP YEAR HAVE AN EXTRA MONTH? Twelve cycles of the moon =
approximately 354 days, or 11 days shorter than the “solar” year, meaning that after 3
years we are approximately 33 days behind. Thus, if we do not add a month the
holidays would always come 11 days earlier each year, and Hanuka would eventually
wind up on July 4th! So, for example, if Passover is April 11th, then next year it would
be on March 31st and the following year should be on March 20th. Since Passover must
be the first full moon after Spring begins, we have to add a month to push it back into
April so that it comes “in season.” Technically, the Jewish calendar is a lunar calendar
that is adjusted for the seasons.
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5. WHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT HOLIDAY OF THE YEAR? Shabbat, the Sabbath, which
begins Friday at sunset and continues through Saturday. The Torah refers to Yom
Kippur – considered to be holiest day of the year – as “Shabbat Shabbaton,” the
Sabbath of Sabbaths.
6. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO SAY “TIME” IS THE MAJOR PRINCIPLE OF SHABBAT? Six days a
week we focus on spending money, buying things, and making a living; on Shabbat we
focus on spending time, highlighting the intangible relationships and qualities of
character that make living worthwhile. Six days a week we give priority to making and
spending money; on Shabbat we give priority to spending time with people and with
the natural world around us.
7. HOW IS THE SHABBAT “THE DAY OF REST”? Yes, it is helpful to stop and take a breath.
But “rest” does not necessarily mean sitting still and meditating for 24 hours. Rather,
it is a day to “give it a rest” – to take a break in our weekday routine of getting things
done. We run from appointment to appointment, carpool to carpool, checking items
off on our list of things to do. Shabbat comes and says “Stop!” Give it a rest, quit
running from one thing to another, take off your watch and just go with the flow of
life. Share hugs, laugh, love and breathe.
8. WHAT IS HAVDALA? Just as we ceremonially light candles and toast Shabbat with wine,
so do we end Shabbat with a ceremony at sunset on Saturday. The intertwined Havdala
candle offers one flame from four wicks, reminding us to shine as a community in the
decision to make a difference (the meaning of “Havdala”) in the world. The cup of
wine reminds us to toast the partnership between the energy God has given us and the
physical efforts we make to transform the world from the way it is to the way it needs
to be. With a small bit of fragrant spices, we remind ourselves to take the sweet spirit
of Shabbat with us into the work-day week.
9. HOW MANY DAYS ARE THERE FROM THE BEGINNING TO THE END OF THE TWO HIGH
HOLY DAYS? There are ten days from the eve of Rosh haShana (the Jewish New Year)
through the end of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). The number 10 represents
community; the High Holy Day season represents a time for enhancing Jewish identity,
coming together as a community, and assessing our own individual integrity as we
share the destiny of the Jewish People.
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10. WHAT HEBREW WORDS ARE TRANSLATED AS “SIN” AND “REPENTANCE”? WHAT DO THE
HEBREW WORDS REALLY MEAN? The word translated as “sin” is hayt, an archery term
referring to an arrow that misses the target. We miss the target when we do
something we should not have done, or we don’t do something we should have done.
“Repentance” is t’shuva, which literally means “return.” After we miss the target, we
pick up the arrow, return to the line, take aim again, and try to hit the target. The
ultimate focus of the High Holy Days is to assess how we missed the target in the year
gone by, and what we need to do in order to do better in the New Year.
11. WHAT MAKES A HOLIDAY “MAJOR” OR “MINOR”? The word “major” does not mean
more important, or “minor” mean less important.
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A major holiday is described in the Torah, the first Five Books of the Hebrew Bible.
Each of the three major holidays is a Pilgrimage Festival, when offerings were
brought to the Temple in Jerusalem.
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A minor holiday is not described in the Torah. Each of the three minor holidays
describes a miracle that facilitated the survival of the Jewish People.
12. WHAT ARE THE THREE MAJOR FESTIVALS (BEGINNING IN THE SPRING)? WHAT ARE THEIR
HISTORICAL THEMES? The three Major Festivals are listed in the Torah – Pasover,
Shavuot and Sukkot – are linked to a seasonal harvest and pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
They are linked through the “historical” narrative of the Torah:
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Passover celebrates the physical release of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt.
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Shavuot celebrates the spiritual freedom of the Israelites through the acceptance
of Torah at Mt. Sinai.
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Sukkot recalls the temporary shelters the Israelites built for themselves through
their 40-year Wilderness trek on their way to the Promised Land.
13. ON WHAT HOLIDAY DO WE END AND BEGIN THE TORAH? WHY DO WE END AND BEGIN
THE TORAH ON THE SAME DAY? We study the concluding chapter of Deuteronomy and
immediately open to the first chapter of Genesis on Simhat Torah, the day closing the
“holiday season” that began with Rosh haShana and continued through Yom Kippur and
Sukkot. The symbolism is straightforward: the study of Torah is a never-ending loop.
We glean new insights each time we study the text of the Five Books of Moses. The
Sages of Jewish Tradition advise, “Turn through its pages and return to each one again
and again.”
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14. WHICH MAJOR HOLIDAY IS THE MODEL FOR THE AMERICAN HOLIDAY OF THANKSGIVING?
The Festival of Sukkot (Tabernacles) begins with the first full moon of autumn. It
commemorates the Fall Harvest with prayers of thanksgiving. While Thanksgiving was
not a set American holiday for many years after the arrival of the Puritan Pilgrims, this
group that saw themselves as the “New Israel” were certainly influenced by a
biblically-ordained formal occasion offering prayers of thanksgiving for the fall
harvest.
15. WHAT ARE THE THREE MINOR HOLIDAYS? WHAT MAKES A HOLIDAY “MINOR”? WHAT
DOES EACH MINOR HOLIDAY HAVE TO DO WITH A MIRACLE? The Three Minor Holidays –
Purim, Hanuka, Israel’s Independence Day (Yom haAtzma’ut) – are not listed in the
Torah, and are each historical narrative is linked to the few overpowering the many,
the weak defeating the strong:
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Purim is based on the story of Esther in the latter part of the Bible. Based on the
story that takes place in Persia, Queen Esther thwarts the wicked Haman’s desire
to destroy the Jewish People.
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Hanuka celebrates history’s first battle for religious freedom. Based on the story
of the Maccabees in the 2nd century BCE, the small group defending Jewish
existence defeated the overwhelming Syrian-Greek army, extending hope and
brightness in place of dark despair.
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Israel’s Independence Day reflects the wonder of tiny Israel pushing back seven
well-armed nations bent on making sure Israel never came into existence in 1948.
16. HISTORICALLY, WHY IS HANUKA 8 DAYS LONG? The Hebrew Bible tells us that Solomon
dedicated the Jerusalem Temple on Sukkot, which is seven days long, and concluded
the celebration with an added eighth day, Sh’mini Atzeret. When the Maccabees
dedicated the Temple during their battle against the Syrian Greeks in 165 BCE, they
modeled the observance on the eight days of Sukkot. The story of the single cruse of
oil burning for eight days emerged at least two centuries later.
17. WHAT DOES THE WORD “SEDER” MEAN? WHAT ARE THE BASIC RULES OF THE
PASSOVER DIET? “Seder” means order, and refers to the step-by-step symposium meal
setting during which Jews retell the story of the Exodus from Egypt, and share ideas for
bringing freedom to the Jewish People and to the world. The Passover diet reflects a
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simplicity of diet: grains must be certified that the process of baking is very specific
(matza is nothing more than flour and water), and natural non-grain foods are given
priority: vegetables, fruit, meat, eggs, cheese, etc. Passover is freedom from the
chemicals so abundant in the processing of food today.
18. HOW MANY DAYS ARE THERE IN THE PERIOD OF S’FIRA – COUNTING – THE OMER?
WHEN IS THE PERIOD OF COUNTING THE OMER? There are exactly 49 days – 7 x 7
weeks – from the first day of Passover to Shavuot. On Passover, the Jewish People were
freed from slavery in Egypt; on Shavuot (“Weeks”) the Jewish People came together as
a free People at Sinai, receiving the Torah and accepting the responsibility of
transmitting a Heritage of Freedom through the generations.
19. WHAT DAY ON THE JEWISH CALENDAR IS DEDICATED TO COMMEMORATING THE
HOLOCAUST? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THE HOLOCAUST? The 27th day of
the Hebrew month Nisan – less than a week after the end of Passover - is actually
known as Yom haSho’a v’ha-G’vura, the Day for Remember the Holocaust (Sho’a
actually means “Catastrophe) and Acts of Bravery. The Sho’a (Holocaust), in which the
Nazis systematically murdered 6 million Jews, reflects both the depths to which
human depravity can sink and the heights of the human spirit to take action at great
personal risk, as did righteous gentiles who hid and sheltered Jews. Many in the world
were silent: the American government, the Church, many nations of the earth. The
Sho’a is a reminder to the Jewish People and Humanity to speak out in the face of
human suffering, and to speak up even if no one seems to be listening. Silence is
complicity.
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PRAYER & SYNAGOGUE
20. WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF HEBREW IN PRAYER AND STUDY? Hebrew – the language
of the Bible, classical texts and prayer – serves three major functions.
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The Hebrew language allows Jews through the generations and around the world to
study and pray together.
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Hebrew allows Jews to return to the original text and derive new understandings
inasmuch as translation is interpretation.
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Hebrew is the language in Israel and in the far corners of the world that enables
the Jewish People to have its own language and universal communication.
21. WHAT IS THE HEBREW WORD FOR “HOLY”? WHAT MAKES SOMETHING “HOLY”?
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