Holy Days of Israel

Overview of holidays and many observances in Israel during the year Mar 31, Saturday, Pesach I (First day of Passover), National holiday, Hebrew.
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• Holidays and National Days in Israel | Israel Travel Magazine
• Holidays and National Days in Israel
• Public holidays of a religious nature
• Holy Days in Israel

The concluding lines of Deuteronomy the last book of the Torah are recited, followed by opening lines of Genesis the first book of the Torah -- to demonstrate that Jewish study is an everlasting process that has no beginning and no ending. Whereas, in the United States, most Jews dance in the synagogue carrying scrolls of the Torah in their arms, in Israel the dancing is done in the streets and this is one of the most colorful of all Israeli Jewish customs.

Hanukkah is really an eight-day celebration of religious freedom. A Jewish legend tells that when the Maccabees drove the Syrian Greeks from Jerusalem, they cleansed and purified the Temple. When it came time to light the Temple Menorah the seven-branched golden candelabrum God instructed the Children of Israel to design only a small jar of pure olive oil could be found.

This small jar of oil should have burned for only one night, but the legend states that it burned for eight nights instead of one, giving the Jews time to prepare new oil.

The legend concludes that the festival of Hanukkah is celebrated for eight nights on account of this miracle. Actually the legend is a later addition to Jewish folklore. According to the Book of Maccabees, the first Hanukkah was celebrated for eight days because it was a late celebration of Sukkot and Simchat Torah -- the two important holidays -- since they had not been celebrated properly in Jerusalem while the Temple was in the hands of the Syrian Greeks. A special form of the menorah is used on Hanukkah. It has nine branches: Hanukkah is celebrated by lighting one candle or flame in the menorah on the first night and adding one candle each night until all eight candles are lit at once.

Until recently, it was customary to give children gifts of nuts and Hanukkah gelt token sums of money. Since Hanukkah comes around the same time as Christmas, modern Jews have taken to emulating Christian practice by giving their children more significant gifts -- sometimes even, one gift for each night of the festival. For many Hebrew words like Hanukkah there is no absolute transliteration into the English language, but the name of no other Jewish festival has received so many different possible spellings in English.

Not only are there problems in representing the opening guttural sound of the Hebrew letter het , but there are possible arguments for doubling the "n" sound of the second Hebrew letter nun and the "k" sound of the third letter caf. It is often fashion, more than scholarship, that determines the English spellings which range through Chanukah, Chanukkah, Channukah, Hanukah, Hannukah, Hanukkah, and so on.

Today, Jews around the world use the holiday as an occasion to celebrate nature, to recall God's commandment calling on human beings to care for the world, and to donate money for the planting of trees in Israel. Also in the spring, the festival of Purim "Lots" celebrates an incident from the biblical Book of Esther in which the Jews of Persia were saved from persecution. When the reader pronounces the name of the arch-villain, Haman -- who threw lots to determine the day on which he would order all Jews in Persia to be killed -- the congregation hisses and boos and spins graggers "Noisemakers".

Although Purim has its serious side as a remembrance of the importance of religious freedom, it is mainly considered a children's holiday. Children parade around the synagogue costumed as characters from the Esther story; and special three-cornered pastries called Homentashen "Haman's Ears" are baked for the occasion. Passover celebrates the Exodus from Egypt when the Jews were led out of slavery and into freedom. For eight days seven in Reform Judaism , Jews eat no normal bread but only the flat, unleavened, cracker-like bread called matzah. The Bible tells how, as the Jews made their hasty preparations to leave Egypt, they had no time to prepare bread for their journey.

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Instead, they placed the dough -- which had no time to rise and be baked -- on their backs. There the sun baked it into matzah. Passover is one of three pilgrimage festivals. In Temple times, people brought sacrifices to Jerusalem. Yet, even then, the primary focus of Passover was in Jewish homes, where the holiday meal called the Seder , "The Order [of Service]," was held. Toward the beginning of the celebration, the youngest person present asks four questions set by tradition, and the answer is read from the Haggadah , "The Telling," a short book telling the whole story of the Exodus from Egypt.

After seven weeks passed forty-nine days , these first fruits of the grain harvest were brought as an offering to Jerusalem. The fiftieth day begins the festival of Shavuot , the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, the last pilgrimage holiday of the Jewish year. During the Omer period, three Jewish holy days occur.

The first is a holy day of remembrance. Yom Hashoah is a memorial for the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis. In a sense, it is a holy day that is still in the process of being developed. Its celebration typically includes special prayer services and sometimes the lighting of candles, but no established form of worship yet exists. Here, too, the exact form of celebration is still a work in progress. Despite the celebration of Israel's Independence Day, the Omer period is a somber time, but Lag Ba-Omer , the "thirty-third day of the counting of Omer," intrudes as a day of joy and celebration.

In Israel, bonfires are lit all across the countryside, casting a yellow glow on the evening sky. Lag Ba-Omer is called a "scholar's festival" because it commemorates a time when the Romans had forbidden Jews to study the Torah, but the Jews resisted the ban by continuing to study. It marks the end of the counting of Omer and the beginning of summer.

Public holidays of a religious nature

It is also the holiday that commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It is the last of the three Pilgrimage Festivals. It is sometimes called Hag HaBikkurim , "The Festival of the First-Fruits," since farmers would bring the first fruits of their harvest as offerings to the Temple. Because it celebrates the giving of the Torah, the modern Reform movement gave it new meaning in the Diaspora by making this the occasion for celebrating the Confirmation of young people. A Confirmation ceremony is held in the synagogue in which the graduating class of the religious school typically leads the service for the whole community, thus "confirming" their commitment to the covenant made at Sinai.

The next day the holiday continues until the evening, and only then public services may resume. It is important to plan ahead and make a good plan for your trip to Israel if it falls on such a holiday. Additional information about businesses closed during Shabbat and Jewish holidays: Shabbat in Israel coming soon. Dates The dates of Jewish holidays are determined according to the Hebrew calendar, which is different than the Gregorian calendar used in most countries in the world. Thus every year the exact Gregorian date changes a bit, you can see the dates of all important days in Israel in the coming two years at the last section of this page: The most important holiday Hebrew: Pesach commemorates the famous event of the exodus of the Children of Israel from Egypt.

In some of the Kibbutzes a passover harvest festival is held. Related traditions of other religions: From the holy bible: I am the LORD. Shavuot eve is celebrated with the family, usually having a dairy dinner with many cheese-related food. Festival of Weeks, Festival of Reaping. In Kibbutzes and other farm villages a celebration that marks the end of the harvest season is held on Shavuot day, a fun time to the kids.

The Christian holiday of Pentecost that marks the birth of the Church. A fast that commemorates the destruction of both the First and second Temples in Jerusalem. Please respect the observers, avoid eating in public places during this day. This is the Jewish New Year Hebrew: New year eve Hebrew: Erev Rosh Hashanah is traditionally celebrated with a grand dinner, usually with the extended family. Pomegranates that have many seeds are eaten or used in cocking during this holiday.

Feast of Trumpets, observed by evangelical Christians. The day of atonement Hebrew: This day also intermingles with an unofficial memorial day to the war that broke on Yom Kippur in October Non-religious kids are pedaling bicycles on the streets. A complete rest day, all public and private services and businesses are closed, including radio and TV, airports are closed.

Public transport does not operate trains, buses, taxis , driving a private car is traditionally not allowed so do NOT plan on driving anywhere with your rental on that day you may see scarce emergency vehicles. Also, please respect others and refrain from eating or talking on your cellphone in public places.

School is off for 2 days. Sukkot is the time to remember how the Children of Israel walked for 40 years in the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. A lot of Israelis, especially families with children, build a special tent Hebrew: The day after Sukkot is called Simchat Torah or Shemini Atzeret, when the reading of the Torah starts from the beginning and being read entirely during the course of one year. The Feast of Ingathering.

The Christian-observed Feast of Tabernacles. The holiday lasts for 7 days, followed by one day of Simchat Torah. October, 14 days after new year. What is that, you ask? Well, these are Jewish holidays that were established around 2, years ago, long after the creation and establishment of the Jewish religion. These holidays were set as memory days for important events in Jewish history. How does that impact me as a tourist? These days are NOT observed like Shabbat, thus services and businesses usually operate as in any other weekday.

Purim commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in ancient Persian Empire from destruction. However, it is more a national than it is a religious holiday. In Purim children as well as grown-ups masquerade in costume and wear masks like in Halloween and take part in colorful, funny and happy street parades and street parties. In the evening the young people hang out on the streets, while private and public parties are held for a few days before, during and after the exact date of the holiday. Sending candy gifts to friends. Hanukkah, the festival of lights, is a popular and known holiday where Jews celebrate the victory of the Hebrew independence over the Roman empire in the Holy Land around years ago.

The holiday lasts for 8 days. The public or national holidays in Israel are not of a religious nature. During these holidays children are on school vacation, public services are mostly closed, as well as private businesses.