Jewish holidays.

There are two natural astronomical indicators by which it is possible to measure the passage of time - the movement of the Moon and the Sun across the sky. The Jewish calendar is lunisolar, that is, it takes into account both the movement of the Moon and the Sun. The movement of the Sun serves to count days - a day, or day, is the period of time between sunsets. The day, in turn, is divided into hours. In the modern world, it is customary to call 1/24 of a day an “hour.” Along with the conventional conventional clocks, the Jewish calendar also uses the so-called “time clocks”: the period of time between astronomical sunrise and sunset is divided into twelve parts. The size of such a “time hour” changes with the length of daylight hours. These clocks are used to calculate the times of daily prayers and the times of Temple sacrifices. Years are also counted by the Sun.

The movement of the moon is used to count the months. By definition, from the moment when a new month appears in the sky until the moment when, having become full and then disappearing from the night sky, the moon appears in it again, exactly a month passes. The concept of “solar month” has no astronomical meaning - solar “months” are in no way separated from one another. The basis of the Jewish calendar is the lunar month. However, the year of the Jewish calendar is also tied to the solar year. A lunar month is slightly shorter than one twelfth of a solar year.

A solar year is approximately 365 days and 6 hours (365.24225 days). A lunar month is equal to 29 days 12 hours 44 minutes and 3 and 2/3 seconds. If you multiply this number by twelve, you get 354 days, 8 hours, 48 ​​minutes and 40 seconds. That is, when using only the lunar calendar, all dates determined by it (including holidays) will each year shift by eleven days relative to the solar, astronomical year, and fall on a different season. However, the Torah commands that the month of Nissan, when the holiday of Pesach (Easter) is celebrated, always falls in the astronomical spring. By setting the beginning of each month in accordance with the phases of the moon, it is also necessary to ensure that Nissan always remains the spring month.

In order to coordinate the counting of the lunar months with the solar year, a nineteen-year cycle is used. The thirteenth lunar month is added to the year, compensating for the accumulated shift of the month of Nissan, which has shifted towards winter. As a result, the month of Nissan always remains a spring month and does not approach winter by more than twenty days. In each nineteen-year cycle there are seven leap years - that is, years in which there are thirteen months (the second month of Adar is added to them). These are the third, sixth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth years of the cycle.

According to traditional Jewish chronology, the Exodus from Egypt occurred in the year two thousand four hundred and forty-eight from the creation of the world. Then the holiday of Passover and the month of Nissan came at their true time, exactly corresponding to the astronomical spring. Since then, one hundred and seventy-three full nineteen-year cycles have passed. During this time (and now it is 5763 years after the creation of the world), Nissan fell behind its original point by 10 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 6 and 2/3 seconds. However, this delay has not yet moved the Passover holiday from spring to winter. According to Jewish mystical tradition, this physical world is destined to exist for six thousand years before the moment of resurrection of the dead. The Jewish calendar is designed for this time.

Months of the Jewish calendar

The new moon , called Rosh Chodesh (beginning of the month), is a holiday. Rosh Chodesh is celebrated either on the day the new moon appears or on the next day. Sometimes it is celebrated for one day, sometimes for two. The beginning of the months of Shevat, Nissan, Sivan and Av is always celebrated on the same day. The new moons of Cheshvan, Adar, Iyar, Tammuz and Elul are always celebrated over two days. In a leap year, the beginning of the second month of Adar is also celebrated for two days. On Rosh Chodesh it is forbidden to fast and it is customary to have a festive meal, special additional prayers are read, but work is not prohibited.

Months contain either thirty days (and are then called complete), or twenty-nine (incomplete), and two months - Cheshvan and Kislev - can contain 29 or 30 days in different years. Full and incomplete months alternate; almost always a full month is followed by an incomplete one. All holidays, except Purim, fall within full months.

Here is a list of months of the Jewish calendar (in parentheses are the approximately corresponding months of the Gregorian calendar, the length of the month, the zodiac sign, the holidays that fall on this month and the dates on which they are celebrated):

Nissan (March-April, 30 days, Aries, Passover/Easter, 15-21, in the diaspora 15-22 Nissan).

Yes (April-May, 29 days, Taurus, Yom-Ha-Atzmaut/Independence Day to Israel, 5 days; Lag Ba-Omer , 18 days; Day to Jerusalem , 28 days).

Sivan (May-June, 30 days, Gemini, Shavuot, 6 Sivan, in the Diaspora 6#7 Sivan).

Tammuz (June-July, 29 days, Cancer, fasting 17 Tammuz ).

Av (July-August, 30 days, Leo, Tisha B'Av / post 9th Av; Tu-B'Av / 15th Av).

Elul (August-September, 29 days, Virgo, the month is dedicated to repentance and spiritual strengthening before the days of judgment Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur).

Tishrei (September-October, 30 days, Libra, Rosh Hashanah / New Year , 1-2 Tishrei; Tzom Gedaliah / Fast of Gedaliah, 3 Tishrei; Yom Kippur / Judgment Day , 10 Tishrei; Sukkot / Tabernacles , 15-22 Tishrei ; Shemini Atzeret / Eighth day of the holiday, Simchat Torah , 22 Tishrei, in the Diaspora 22-23 Tishrei, and in the Diaspora only 23 Tishrei is celebrated as Simchat Torah ).

Cheshvan or Marheshvan (October-November, 29 or 30 days, Scorpio)

Kislev (November-December, 29 or 30 days, Sagittarius, Hanukkah , 25 Kislev - 2 Tevet)

Tevet ( December-January, 29 days, Capricorn, post 10 Tevet / Asara beTevet ).

Shevat (January-February, 30 days, Aquarius, Tu Bishvat/10 of Shevat)

Adar I/Adar II (February-March, 29 days, Friday, Post Esther/Esfiri , 13 Adar; Purim , 14 Adar).

Saturday

The beginning of the day is considered to be sunset, which marks the end of the previous and the beginning of the next calendar day. Accordingly, all holidays begin at sunset.

The days are combined into weeks of seven days. The last day of the week, Saturday (in Hebrew, Shabbat ) is a holiday. Halacha (religious law) specifies in detail what work is prohibited on the Sabbath. This is all actions that make qualitative changes in this world. On Saturday it is prohibited, in particular, to light or extinguish a fire or electricity, to cook food over a fire, to write, to destroy what has been written, to travel from one populated area to another, to carry any objects except in the personal possession of a person (house and yard), to take life any living creature, ride a horse or drive a car, water plants and carry out any agricultural work. The laws of the Sabbath also serve as a model for the major holidays of Passover, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

Violation of Sabbath laws is one of the most serious religious crimes; breaking the Sabbath rest is possible only to save a life (for example, if it is necessary to conduct military operations, provide assistance to a sick person, etc.). In this case, interrupting the Sabbath rest and performing any necessary actions is obligatory. Before the Sabbath begins, women sanctify it by lighting Shabbat candles. Three festive meals are arranged (one in the evening and two in the afternoon), during the first two meals a special “kiddush” prayer is read (usually by the head of the family) - the consecration of the Sabbath over a glass of wine; at the end, the “Havdala” prayer is read over woven candles and a glass of wine. - “dividing between the holy and the everyday.” It is customary to wear especially elegant clothes, dedicate this day to reading holy books and communication; Saturday is a day when the whole family, no matter how busy its members are on weekdays, has the opportunity to spend together. The service is particularly solemn; during the morning service in the synagogue, one of the chapters into which the Pentateuch is divided is read in its entirety from a parchment scroll (called “sefer-Torah”) of the Pentateuch of Moses.

The laws and regulations of the Sabbath, as well as holidays, begin to apply at sunset and end with the appearance of the first three stars in the sky in the evening of the next day.

Major holidays

Rosh Hashanah - New Year, 1-2 Tishrei. Celebrated for two days. The first day of Rosh Hashanah can fall on one of four days of the week: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday. It never falls on Sunday, Wednesday or Friday.

Rosh Hashanah is the Day of Judgment for all the inhabitants of the Universe. On this day, it is determined what will happen to a person during the coming year. It is said in the Talmud ( Rosh Hashana 15): “On Rosh Hashana, all people, like sheep before a shepherd, pass before the Almighty.”

At the trial held on Rosh Hashanah, a person’s place in the future world is not determined - whether he will go to heaven or hell . According to the Talmud, “on this day the fate of states is decided: which are destined for war and which are destined for peace; some are doomed to hunger, and some are destined for abundance. As for people, on this day it is decided whether they will live or die.” A person’s fate in the future world is decided after his death.

The main commandment of the holiday is the obligation to listen to the blowing of a ram's horn - the shofar. It is performed during morning prayer. The Jewish mystical tradition gives the shofar a deep meaning: its sounds can awaken repentance even in the most hardened souls and reach the Heavenly Throne, which is why the shofar is also blown during disasters. It is also an attribute of the messianic era; the sound of the shofar will herald the coming of the resurrection of the dead.

On the second day of the holiday, the “tashlikh” ritual is performed - a special prayer for the remission of sins is performed over a reservoir (preferably one where fish are found): sins are symbolically thrown into the water.

The days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are called “Yamim Noraim” - “Days of Awe.” It is believed that these days the Almighty is especially predisposed to accept repentance, and prayers reach heaven with particular ease.

Yom Kippur (Judgment Day), 10 Tishri. On this day, the verdict passed on Rosh Hashanah is finally confirmed in the Heavenly Court.

Throughout Yom Kippur, from sunset until the first stars appear the next day, there are five prohibitions. You cannot eat or drink, wash your face (even with cold water), put anything on your skin, wear leather shoes, or have sex. In the Pentateuch it is called the “Sabbath of Sabbaths.” The Yom Kippur service is the longest of the year; worshipers spend almost the entire day in the synagogue.

Three holidays - Pesach (Easter), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles), together with Shemini Atzeret, define the Jewish calendar and are, as it were, its frame. They bear the general name “Shlosha Regalim” - three pilgrimage holidays. There is a commandment obliging all adult men to visit the Temple in Jerusalem on these days and make holiday sacrifices there. All three holidays celebrate a central event in the history of the Jewish people - the exodus from Egypt. On these days, the same prohibitions on work apply as on Saturday, with the exception that it is allowed to cook food and light a new fire from a fire lit before the holiday.

Pesach (Easter) - celebrated in the month of Nissan in memory of the exit from Egypt. On the first day of Passover, the Jews left Egypt, and on the last day, the miracle of the parting of the Red Sea took place.

On all days of the holiday, it is forbidden to eat, receive any benefit, or even simply possess chametz. Chametz is called cereal flour that has undergone even a minimal fermentation process, that is, it has been in contact with water for more than 18 minutes. On Passover it is prescribed to eat matzah - unleavened bread.

On the first evening of the holiday (in the diaspora, on the first and second), the Pesach Seder is held - a ceremonial meal, for which all family members usually gather. The Seder follows a strictly defined ritual (in particular, you need to drink four glasses of wine), and the Haggadah is read. - the story of the Exodus. The Torah commands a Seder in Jerusalem, eating a specially offered sacrificial lamb, and the modern Seder is a remembrance of these Temple times.

The month of Nissan, the month of liberation from archetypal Egyptian slavery, will also be, according to Jewish tradition, the month in which the coming Liberation will take place.

Shavuot (Pentecost) - occurs forty-nine days after the beginning of Passover, 6 Sivan. The Diaspora celebrates the 6#7 of Sivan, the Day of the Giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. In the Pentateuch it is also called the “Feast of the end of the harvest” and the holiday of “ Bikkurim” (“firstfruits”) - when the Jews came to the Temple, they brought with them “the firstfruits of the harvest of their land.” On the holiday of Shavuot, it is customary to read Megillat Ruth (the book of Ruth) in the synagogue service. There is a custom of staying up all night of the holiday, preparing oneself with teachings and prayers for the giving of the Torah. Work is prohibited on this day, as on the first day of Passover.

Sukkot (Tabernacles) . Begins on the 15th of the month of Tishrei and lasts seven days. Of these, the first day is a full holiday, and the remaining six days are “weekday holidays.” The eighth (in the Diaspora the eighth and ninth) day from the beginning of the celebration of Sukkot, i.e. 22 (in the Diaspora and 23) Tishrei, is another, independent holiday - Shemini Atzeret .

In the Pentateuch, the holiday of Sukkot is also called “hag ha-asif” - the festival of the harvest. In the book. Leviticus (23:43) says: “...I made the children of Israel dwell in tents when I brought them out of the land of Egypt.” Tent in Hebrew " sukkah ", pl. h. - “ Sukkot ”, so the name of the holiday is translated as “huts” or, if with a Church Slavonic accent, “tabernacles”. The Torah prescribes the construction of temporary dwellings for this holiday, and their roof, made of plant materials, should allow rain to pass through and the stars should be visible through it. On all days of the holiday it is prohibited, if climatic conditions permit, to have meals and sleep outside the sukkah. In general, you should try to spend as much time there as possible, transferring all your affairs to the sukkah. Another commandment of this holiday is to pronounce blessings over the “araba minim” - “four types of [plants].” The commandment is that a branch of a date palm ("lulav"), three branches of myrtle ("hadassim") and two branches of a willow ("aravot") are tied together and held in the left hand, while the "etrog" - citron - is taken in the right , a fruit from the citrus family, put it all together and say the appropriate prayer.

Goshana Raba is the last day of the holiday of Sukkot, 21 Tishrei. During morning prayer on all days of Sukkot, Torah scrolls are placed on the dais on which they are usually read, and all those praying with “arba minim” in their hands walk around, shouting prayers for salvation, each of which begins with the words “Goshana!” - “Save!” Hence the whole ritual is called “goshanot”. On each subsequent day they make one more round, and on the last day - seven rounds. This day is called Goshana Raba, “great salvation.” All the “goshana” prayers that were said in the previous days are read, then they take several branches of the “aravot” willow, tie them together and forcefully whip them on the floor, shaking off the leaves. There is a custom to stay awake the night before Goshana Rabbah, devoting it to prayer and Torah study.

Goshana Raba ends the days of heavenly judgment. We can say that on Rosh Hashanah a sentence is pronounced in heaven, on Yom Kippur it is sealed, and on Goshana Rabbah it is handed over for execution.

Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Being a completely independent holiday from Sukkot with its own customs, Shemini Atzeret has in common with the days of Sukkot: in the prayers and blessings of this day it is called “zman simkhatenu” - “the time of our joy.” The same is said on all days of the holiday of Sukkot. The temple sacrifices on Sukkot and Shemini Atzeret represent a single cycle that ends on Shemini Atzeret. The sages of the Talmud decreed that on the day of Shemini Atzeret ends and the annual cycle of reading the Torah (the Pentateuch of Moses) begins again. Therefore, Shemini Atzeret is also called Simchat Torah - “the holiday [of completing the reading cycle] of the Torah.”

On holidays, after the completion of the public reading of the Torah, the memorial prayer “Yizkor” is said, in which children remember their deceased parents. In the communities of Ashkenazi (European) Jews, it is customary for those whose parents are alive to leave the synagogue at the moment of saying yizkor. It is read on Passover, Shavuot, Shemini Atzeret - on the last day of each holiday and on Yom Kippur.

The three weeks beginning on the 17th of Tammuz and ending on the 9th of Av are called Bein ha-metzarim (“between the narrows”) . These days it is customary to observe some signs of mourning, and the closer the 9th of Av, the stricter the mourning.

Tu-Bi Av - Fifteenth Av. The Talmud (Mishna, tractate Taanit) says: “There were no such joyful days for Israel as the Fifteenth of Av and Yom Kippur.” According to the Pentateuch, on the Fifteenth of Av the pestilence that destroyed the people from Egypt stopped. This disaster was the fulfillment of the death sentence passed by the Almighty on the entire generation that came out of Egypt, who committed two serious sins: creating the golden calf and not wanting to go to the Land of Israel. At the moment, the tradition of celebrating this day has been lost, and it is marked only by the fact that daily prayers of repentance are not read. On the Fifteenth of Av, spiritual preparation for the month of Elul and the “Terrible Days” begins.

The holidays of Hanukkah and Purim were established by the Sages of the Great Assembly after the destruction of the First Temple. Work is allowed on these days.

<Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days - from 25 Kislev to 2 Tevet. The holiday was established to commemorate the victory of the uprising against the Greek enslavers, who, on pain of death, banned circumcision, Torah study and other basic rituals of Judaism. In 167 BC, Matatyahu and his five sons, members of the Hashmonai priestly family (also called the Maccabees), rebelled and, after three years of stubborn fighting, liberated Jerusalem, defeating the army of the Ptolemaic kingdom. The word " Hanukkah " means " sanctification ". The immediate reason for the holiday was the miracle that occurred during the cleansing of the Temple desecrated by the Greeks. The most important part of the temple ritual is maintaining a fire in a special lamp - the “menorah”. But only ritually pure oil can burn in it. During the liberation of the Temple, only one jug, not desecrated by the Greeks, was found; it could only last for a day - but a miracle happened, and the menorah burned for eight days until new clean oil was delivered.

On each day of the holiday, a special lamp, “Hanukkiah,” with eight cups for oil or candles is lit in Jewish homes in memory of the miracle with a jug of oil. On the first day one candle is lit, on the second - two, adding one more each day, until the eighth day of the holiday. It is necessary to place the lamp so that the maximum number of people can see it - on the porch of the house, windowsill, etc.

Purim. Celebrated in memory of the salvation of the Jews from complete extermination during the time of King Ahasuerus, who ruled the Persian Empire after the destruction of the First Temple. The king's dignitary Haman planned to destroy all the Jews and cast lots (pur) to find out when the most suitable time for this would be. According to the word pur, the holiday is called Purim, and all the events associated with it are described in Megillat Esther (the book of Esther). In the countries of dispersion and in most cities of Israel, Purim is celebrated on the 14th of Adar (and in a leap year - on the 14th of the “second Adar”). However, in Jerusalem and in the most ancient cities of the Land of Israel, Purim is celebrated on the 15th of Adar, this day is called Shushan Purim. 13 Adar, the eve of Purim, is the Fast of Esther (Esther).

Purim commandments include: public reading of the Scroll of Esther (Book of Esther), a daytime feast, gifts to friends, and gifts to the poor. You need to listen to the reading of the Scroll of Esther twice: at the onset of the holiday, in the evening and in the morning, usually after morning prayer. You must read from the scroll written on parchment in compliance with all the rules. Purim is one of the most joyful holidays, “a day of feast and joy.”

Modern holidays associated with the state of Israel

Independence Day (Yom Ha'atzmaut), 5th Iyar. National holiday of the State of Israel. Established by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel in honor of the proclamation of the State of Israel on this day in 1948. (If the 5th of Iyar falls on Saturday it is transferred to 3 Iyar, if it falls on a Friday - to 4 Iyar). In Israel and many Diaspora communities it is celebrated with solemn official receptions and processions. On this day, it is customary for many people to go out into nature with the whole family.

Yom Zikaron - Day of Remembrance for those killed in Israel's wars. Celebrated before Independence Day, 4th Iyar. Funeral prayers are held in synagogues and cemeteries. At 11 a.m. on Yom Zikaron, all of Israel stops - a siren sounds, production stops, cars and pedestrians on the streets stop, and there are two minutes of silence.

Jerusalem Day , 28 Iyar, is the newest Jewish holiday, established by the Chief Rabbinate of Israel after the liberation of the holiest city for Jews from Arab control during the Six Day War of 1967. On this day it is customary to travel to the capital of Israel. The final religious form of its celebration, as well as Independence Day, is still being discussed. It is, like Independence Day, an official non-working day.