Shabbat
The Third Candle
We have a candlestick that belonged to our Great Grandparents. Only one has survived. This is the third candle that we light on special Shabbat occasions. Not only is it permissable to light more than two candles, in fact it is particularly meritorious. "And God blessed the seventh day: What did he bless it with? Light."
Some people light an additional candle for each child in the family. Once you've lit a certain number, it is a custom never to decrease that number.
Students away from home should light candles for themselves, as they are no longer within the household of their parents.
"Kid's" Wine
We have special "kid's" Kiddush Cups that we fill with juice rather than wine for the young children to say the prayer over. Our family also clicks the glasses in "toasting fashion" after we say the prayer!
Tearing the Challah
At our home as we say the Motzi two members of the family tear the challah in "tug of war" fashion. Thus gettting to the best part of the bread - the center - for everyone to taste before the meal.
Rosh Hashana START 5769 (sundown Sept 30,2008) BASIC LESSON ON ROSH HASHANA
The Jewish New Year Day of Judgment for the entire world. Extended, special synagogue services and blowing of the ram's horn - Shofar. Start of Ten Days of Repentance.
Many differerent traditions on Rosh Hashana - dip apples in honey, eat sweet foods, study Torah and Midrash to learn something new. For women, I suggest reading Begining Anew by Gail Twersky Reimer and Judith Kates that has some terrific essays that pertain to the holidays.
Dip your challa in sugar
Eat pomegranates traditional Rosh Hashana fruits with 613 seeds symbolizing the 613 mitzvot, fertility and the new harvest have long been used in Middle Eastern folk medicine.
Have a Rosh Hashana Seder - A Sephardic tradition
A Rosh Hashana Tradition from one of our readers:
There is a point in the service during the Birkat Cohanim (the preistly blessing) when the entire family comes together wrapped in a single talit - This comes from an orthodox tradition but is quite nice for any Jewish family to come together wrapped in a tallit to reflect on the New Year and the begining of the Days of Awe.
Submitted by
The Day of Atonement - Fast day, many special prayers, including Kol Nidre, N'eela, and Memorial (Yizkor) services.
Eve of Yom Kippur - Light Yahrzeit Candle, in memory of loved ones who have died.
• Traditional to wear white .
• We do not wear leather on Yom Kippur because it is necessary to kill an animal to make leather shoes or garments and this is why we refrain from wearing leather on this holiday. Many rabbis will wear white sneakers on the bimah on Yom Kippur - and congregants have adopted this as a tradition also in many places. (Besides they are comfortable.) But some say it is just the oposite: That in ancient times it was the leather shoes that were comfortable and it is good not to be so comfortable on Yom Kippur because you must stay aware of yourself and reflective on all things that day.
• Fast (All over Bar/Bat Mitzvah age will fast, but only if they are able to due to health.)
• Traditional to break the Yom Kippur fast first with challah followed by a light meal.
Chag'ha Succot, the "Feast of Booths" (or Tabernacles), is named for the huts (sukkah) that Moses and the Israelites lived in as they wandered the desert for 40 years before they reached the Promised Land. Commemorates the Jewish people's wanderings in the desert. All meals must be eaten in special temporary hut - the "Sukkah" Rituals with four species of plants - Lulav and Etrog - culminating with special services on the seventh day - Hoshana Rabah.
Activities:
Build a Sukkah and decorate it - Link for a plan to build a PVC Pipe Sukkah - Then you can have meals inside!
Craft activity for young children to Make a Lulav... from newspaper!
Chol Ha-Mo’ed are the four days that follow the first two festival days of Sukkot. During the morning service in synagogue, Hallel prayers are recited and a procession takes place with the lulav and the etrog.
On the first night of Chol HaMo’ed we observe the ceremony of the ‘Water Libation’. This recalls a ceremony performed in the Holy Temple, using water drawn from the pool of Siloam near Jerusalem.
It is believed that the Water Libation ceremony was originally a protest by the masses against those who believed that the more expensive the sacrifice, the more acceptable it would be to God. The ceremony evolved to show that it was the meaning and intention (kavanah) behind any sacrifice which made it valid, not the worth of the actual sacrifice itself.
In ISRAEL - note from my friend Rachel about how they celebrate:
Purim is more of a big deal here in Israel than I would have thought. Of course the little kids in kindergarten and elementary school get dressed up in costume, have parades in the school, and sometimes in town. But a lot of adults have masquerade parties in their homes, sometimes with themes.
Somewhere in our box of 8mm movie films I have a movie of a Purim costume party we had in our old apartment - Dick went as a sailor, I went as a toned-down version of the Playboy bunny, and I remember that our Argentinian neighbor (a doctor) and his wife, dressed colorfully as Argentinian farmers, burst into our apartment to the accompaniment of loud folk music (Los something or other), danced in wild circles around our living room with a covered basket over his arm, at the end of the music they uncovered the basket with a flourish and a live chicken jumped out and ran squawking all over our living room. They got first prize for best costume! Everyone absolutely shrieked with delight and amazement!
I think Jerusalem and Tel Aviv have stopped having the Adloyada Parade which is a big parade on the main street with floats and all sorts of outrageous figures, political caricatures, cartoons, whatever. I will know more after the holiday by whatever appears in the newspaper. (I think they stopped it for financial reasons, but it used to have quite a turnout).
The supermarkets and bakeries go in for a huge variety of Hamentaschen, with lots of types of fillings: plum jam, dates, nuts, chocolate, apple, dulce de leche and other more exotic types, although the dough is always a hard cookie dough, not a soft dough (as I have sometimes had in the U.S.). These are already available, and we had some during our last Shabbat dinner for dessert.
Of course our synagogue (locally called "the shul") has a reading of the megillah, lots of noisy gregar shaking, and interruptions on the name of "Haman", and intentional disturbing of the reader, almost a comedy, but all planned and part of the program. The kids love it, and the adults plan and cooperate. We have a young and young-spirited Rabbi and Rebbetzin who do their utmost to keep everyone interested.
Seudat Purim is a great tradition, which we practice a lot more now, inviting friends for Purim lunch. (I enjoy that a great deal, not having to deal with the constraints of Friday night and Shabbat).
Over the years we have spent some interesting Purims and heard the Megillah read in some out-of-the-way places- one of them in the Great Synagogue in Budapest, another one in the sand-covered floor synagogue of Curacao, another in Tokyo, another with Habbad in Pushkar, India.
Shmini Atzeret/Simchat Torah (October 21-22, 2008)
The night of Shemini Atzeret (the 8th night of Sukkot) Light Yahrzeit Candle, in memory of loved ones who have died.
An amazing tradition at many synagogues for this holiday is to open the entire Torah and then re-roll it up to start over again:
It is a happy time to start reading at Bereishit again... we parade and dance with the Torah adults and children together.
Chanukah ( December 22-29,2008)
Festival Of Lights - Celebrates the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem after the Maccabees success fighting against the Syrians (2nd century B.C.E.). Commemorated by lighting candles during each night.
from Avrham Rosenthal:
On the first night of Chanukah we light one candle. On each subsequent night
another candle is added, until the last night when we light eight candles.
On the first night, the first candle is placed on the right side of the
Menorah. From the second night of Chanukah and onwards, the additional
candles are placed to the left of the first candle. However, when lighting,
the candle furthest to the left is lit first, and then one proceeds towards
the right.
More
NEW Traditons:
• A mitzvah each night - children take 8 pieces of paper and write one extra nice thing they can do for their family each day.
When they light the candles they pull out one 'mitzvah' and try to do that before then next evening.
• A food tradition we thought of - after Sukkot you need to find a way to make a mitzvah with the etrog and lulav... So we make citrus jam with the etrog and oranges and then we share it with family and friends at Hanukkah time... goes well with latkes too.
• Have a treasure hunt for the children. Make clues and hide the clues one leading to the next until the children find their Chanukah 'treasures'. Best if the clues relate to the story of Chanukah. Follow the "Macabee Treasure map" etc. (from Ethyl Kunes)
• Another 'new' Chanukah tradition - A focus on miracles at this time
in a good way to add more meaning to this holiday.
While we recall the 'miracle' of the Macabee's success - each night
we try to discuss another miracle in history or in our lives now. It
is very interesting to think of other instances where 'right won over
might' or when 'good came from believing the right thing will happen
against unlikely odds'. It makes for an excellent family discussion
and in keeping with the spirit of Chanukah.
Tu B'Shevat, the Jewish New Year of the Trees (Feb 9, 2009)
The celebration at this festival has come to be referred to as the Tu B'Shevat Seder. In the Babylonian tradition, the dining room table is formally set like any other Jewish holiday. It is then laden with many plates/bowls, each containing different nuts or fruits (usually dried fruit, since it is really still winter). Ideally, there should be at least thirty selections, but that can be difficult ... simply the more the better! Prayers are said over the nuts and fruits. The woman of the house places a big tablecloth in the center of the table and the containers are emptied onto the top tablecloth. The dried fruits and nuts are mixed together by bringing the four corners of the cloth together. Each person gets a "goody bag" of the mixture. Since it is too much to eat in one evening, the children usually take the "goody bag" to school the next day. Often they exchange favorites!
Tu B' Shevat Jewish New Year of the Trees
A wonderful tradition for our celebration of Trees and things that grow is to plant parsley, Plant for Tu B'Shevat and have your green parsley to dip in salt water for your Passover Sedar on April 6th and 7th...
Also called Rosh HaShanah La'ilanot, the New Year of the Trees, the festival of Tu B Sh'vat illustrates the significance of trees and nature to Jews throughout history
Watch a video of a different TuB'Shevat Tradition....
Plant seeds of candy into a grahm cracker crumb dirt and water it with chocolate sauce - YUM!
Purim (March 10, 2009) Commemorates the rescue of the Jewish people in ancient Persia (Late 6th century B.C.E.).reading of the Book of Esther - Children dress in costume and play games. Adults party too and get so shikkur (drunk) they can't tell the difference between Haman and Mordechai! It is a time for fun and Wackiness! Also a time for Tikkun Olam! A new tradition for Purim is to read about the Persian Jews. They have different customs and traditions that are interesting to observe. Try to find a Persian or Middle Eastern Jew in your community and ask them about their customs. An excellent Book to consider: The Flying Camel: And Other Essays by Women of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Heritage by Loolwa Khazzoom. |
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Miriam's Cup The Egg The egg on the central Passover plate is shared by the females present. A prayer is offered that they may bear children to carry on our faith and the tradition of Passover.-contributed by Yvonne MacNeely The Orange on the Sedar Plate Reclining
The seder is supposed to take place with everyone in a reclining position. This is because slaves ate hurriedly; the affluent and free were able to recline on cushions. On erev Pesach (Passover eve), rich and poor are indistinguishable and all are free and thus privileged to recline. Many families have the tradition of placing pillows on each chair -- or at least having the seder leader follow this practice of reclining. (from ujc.org) Share Hagaddahs Sign the Hagaddah Whipping one another with scallions while singing dayenu-a Persian Jewish tradition --a big hit with young boys and others! (from Caryn Huberman) Crossing the Sea Replay - (from Caryn Huberman) A Passover Quiz -(from Edith Sommer) Pesach Bling. (from Babaganewz) To commemorate the gold and silver that the Egyptians showered on the Israelites as they fled (Shemot 12:35), Jews in Hungary decorated their Seder tables with all of their valuable jewels. Redeeming Ourselves. (from Babaganewz) Rabbi Naftali Tzvi Horowitz (1760-1827) invited Seder participants to pour wine from their own goblets into Elijah's cup. This symbolized the personal deeds and contributions that each person must make to bring redemption. When doing this, think carefully about what you can do to hasten redemption. Smacking the Onions. (from Babaganewz) Afghanis distribute green onions during the song "Dayenu" and hit each other with the stalks when the ninth stanza begins. Besides being hilarious to watch, this custom teaches text: Some have speculated that the ritual refers to when the Israelites yearned for Egyptian onions, instead of manna, while in the desert (Bemidbar 11:5-6). Seder participants scold themselves for the Israelites' complaints by smacking onions when reading, "Even if You had supplied our needs in the desert for 40 years, but not fed us manna from heaven." Download Pesach Songs to make your Seder more festive. |
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Holocaust Memorial Day - Special memorial prayers are said. |
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Israel Independence Day (April 29, 2009 ) Israel Independence Day. |
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Lag B'Omer (May 12, 2009 ) Break in the mourning period for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva (2nd century). Only day in 49-day period when weddings permitted. Best explaination of this holiday is from jewish.com: Lag B'Omer, the 18th day of Iyar, also corresponds to the date of the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of the great sages from the era of the Mishna. Although the death of a great sage is usually not marked with rejoycing, but rather with sadness, we treat Rabi Shimon bar Yochai differently. The Zohar in Parshas Ha'azinu tells us that on the day Rabbi Shimon passed away, a great light of endless joy filed the day, because of the secret wisdom he revealed to his students. That secret wisdom was written down and recorded in the holy Zohar. The happinesson that day was to him and his students like that of a groom while standing under the canopy at his wedding. On that day, the sun did not set until Rabbi Shimon had revealed all that he was permitted to. As soon as he was done, the sun set, and his soul returned to its Maker. Because of the happiness back then, we celebrate with happiness now, as well. |
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Moses Receives The Torah |
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Fast Day Lamenting Destruction of Temples Anniversary of the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, and remeberance of other Jewish tragedies. Day of study. Day of fasting. 3 weeks of mourning practices. |
