Jewish Religious Festivals

Rosh Hashanah• For Jewish people, the New Year is not

on the 1st of January. • It is in late September. • There is also a part of the service where

a horn, called a Shofar, is blown many times.

What is Hanukkah celebrating?

An eight-day festival celebrating a time inhistory when the Jews won a battle againstthe Greeks to practise their religion freely.

Why does it last for 8 days?

• To celebrate, an oil lamp was lit in the temple. There was only enough oil to burn for one day - but miraculously it burned for eight days.

• This is why the Hanukkah festival lasts for eight days and why light is the main item in the celebration.

• How long do our celebrations last?• What was the miracle?

What is the Jewish Festival of Sukkot?

• Jewish people celebrate the festival of Sukkot by building a Sukkah in their garden and inviting family and friends for a meal inside.

• Why do you think they do this?

Passover

• This feast takes place in early spring for the Jews.• The feast known as Pesach reminds all Jews of

their escape from Egypt over 3000 years ago.• The items of food on the Seder plate are symbolic

of the Exodus story.• The book of the story, the Haggadah, is read by

everyone at the table, usually led by the father or grandfather.

• Everyone recalls the past and thinks about what it means for Jews today.

A Roasted Lamb Bone to remind us of the Pesach offerings that would be brought in the Holy Temple in Jerusalem.

Beitzah - A Roasted Hardboiled Egg to remind them of their mourning at the destruction of the Holy Temple.

Haroset - a mixture of ground apples, nuts, ginger, cinnamon, and red sweet wine. The look and feel of mortar symbolizes the bricks and mortar which they were forced to use when they were slaves in Egypt.

Karpas - A vegetable, which is dipped into salt water and eaten. To remind them of the sweat and tears they shed as slaves, they place a bowl of the salt water near the Seder plate.

Maror Chazeret Two types of bitter herbs (vegetables).

They take three whole Matzot and place them one above the other, either in a napkin/matza cover or in a special compartment under the Seder plate. One of the reasons for the number three is the three sections of Jewry - Kohain, Levi, and Yisroel.

ARBAKOSOT:THE FOURCUPSOF WINE

The four cups of wine represent the four promises given by God to the Children of Israel: "...and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm........and I will take you to me for a people..." (Ex 6:6, 7)

Quiz on Jewish festivals

• What month is the Jewish New year?• What does Yom Kippur mean? • What is the name of the festival that celebrates

the time the Jews had a successful protest against foreign rulers in Palestine in 165BCE and took back the Temple?

• What event in Jewish History does the Passover remember?

• What time of the year does Passover take place? • What is the name of the bread the Jews eat at the

Passover meal?