8.7 Festivals Flashcards
Purpose of festivals
Celebrate dates from their history
Spending time with family
Food - special food to celebrate
Where are festivals celebrated?
Usually both at home and in the synagogue, involving the whole community
Importance of festivals for Jews today
Festivals remain important lessons in the history of Judaism
Connecting with other Jewish people is important
—> to sustain and help one another’s faith as they have done throughout history
Believe it is important to commemorate the Passover of over 3,000 years ago (including more modern events such as the Holocaust)
Provides an opportunity for families and synagogue communities to come together and share their common past
Tradition is important in Jewish life
Days of Awe
Days of repentance; Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur
Shofar
An ancient instrument made of ram’s horn which is blown to herald important events and to call Jews to repentance
Rosh Hashanah
Is on the first day of Jewish year
Remembers the story of creation
—> connects them to their past
Makes Jews reflect on their past year
They eat: head of fish/ram
Apple + honey - fertility
Pomegranates - hope of sweet new year
Greet each other with: Shana Tova (happy new year)
Shofar is blown (a ram’s horn)
Yom Kippur
Day to reflect on sins and to seek forgiveness from God
Jews try and replicate story of goat being led into the desert carrying the sins of the Jewish people
—> by confessing and atoning for their sins before God seals the book of judgement
—> goat is a scapegoat who takes the blame and saves their sins
Fast for 25 hours
—> following instruction from Leviticus 16 to ‘deny themselves’
—> believe this builds self-control
—> focuses their mind on the important prayers of the day
—> fasting is also a mitzvah
They wear white - symbolises purity
Avoid leather shoes which suggest luxury
Spend time in synagogue in prayer and reflection
Pesach (Passover)
Reminds Jews of when God killed the first born son
Chametz must be kept out of the house
—> food containing wheat, barley, oats
Lasts for 7 days
Shows us how God freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt + freedom from injustice
—> shows God cares
—> shows Jews as God’s chosen people
—> emphasises God’s love, protection and commitment to His people
Orthodox Jews - lasts 8 days
Reform and Liberal - lasts 7 days
Seder meal (most important event in Pesach)
Shank bone and roasted egg
—> symbolises the sacrifices Jews used to make at the Temple
Karpas
—> represents tears
Chazaret
—> bitter herbs, symbolises the bitterness of slavery
4 cups of wine
—> four symbols of freedom
A fifth cup is poured for Elias and left undrunk
—> in hope he will return to announce the arrival of the Messiah during Passover
At the end, Jews wish that they will celebrate the meal together in Jerusalem the following year
Shavuot
Celebrates the giving of the law on Mount Sinai
—> as well as marking the wheat harvest in ancient Israel
Reminder of how God gave them the gift of the 10 commandments
It marks the seven-week or 49-day counting period between Passover and Shavuot
They eat foods containing dairy
They decorate the synagogue with greenery
They celebrate the gift of the Torah by taking time to explore texts in community learning programmes
Sukkot
Celebrates the end of summer and ushers in the autumn fruit harvest
Begins four days after Yom Kippur
It reminds Jews of the dwellings the Jewish people lived in during the wilderness years
—> little booths or huts
—> Jews now rebuild the huts to live in the same way and feel deeper connection to their ancestors
Celebrated for 8 days
They treat others with hospitality during Sukkot
