Jewish holidays

[Note 1] They include religious, cultural and national elements, derived from three sources: mitzvot ("biblical commandments"), rabbinic mandates, the history of Judaism, and the State of Israel.

Certain terminology is used in referring to different categories of holidays, depending on their source and their nature: Shabbat (Hebrew: שבת) (Ashkenazi pron.

Strictly speaking, melakha is defined in halakha (Jewish law) by 39 categories of labor that were used in constructing the Tabernacle while the Jews wandered in the desert.

Shabbat and holiday work restrictions are always put aside in cases of pikuach nefesh, which are actions to save a human life.

At the most fundamental level, if there is any possibility whatsoever that action must be taken to save a life, Shabbat restrictions are set aside immediately, and without reservation.

[Note 8] Where the danger to life is present but less immediate, there is some preference to minimize violation of Shabbat work restrictions where possible.

[28] According to the Torah, this is the first day of the seventh month of the calendar year,[28] and marks the beginning of a ten-day period leading up to Yom Kippur.

[29] Morning prayer services are lengthy on Rosh Hashanah, and focus on the themes described above: majesty and judgment, remembrance, the birth of the world, and the blowing of the shofar.

This repentance can take the form of additional supplications, confessing one's deeds before God, fasting, self-reflection, and an increase of involvement with, or donations to, tzedakah "charity".

It commemorates the assassination of the governor of Yehud province, Gedaliah, which ended any level of Jewish rule following the destruction of Solomon's Temple.

Along with dwelling in a sukkah, the principal ritual unique to this holiday is use of the Four Species: lulav (palm), hadass (myrtle), aravah (willow) and etrog (citron).

Hoshanah Rabbah is traditionally taken to be the day of the "delivery" of the final judgment of Yom Kippur, and offers a last opportunity for pleas of repentance before the holiday season closes.

Traditionally, throughout the entire month, Tahanun is omitted from the prayer service, many public mourning practices (such as delivering a eulogy at a funeral) are eliminated, and voluntary fasting is prohibited.

[55][56] No chametz (leavened food) is eaten, or even owned, during the week of Passover, in commemoration of the biblical narrative in which the Israelites left Egypt so quickly that their bread did not have enough time to rise.

This meal is known for its distinctive ritual foods—matzo (unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs), and four cups of wine—as well as its prayer text/handbook/study guide, the Haggadah.

[63] Symbolically, this period has come to represent the spiritual development of the Israelites from slaves in the polytheistic society of Ancient Egypt to free, monotheistic people worthy of the revelation of the Torah, traditionally said to have occurred on Shavuot.

[Note 24] In broad terms, the mourning practices observed include limiting actual celebrations (such as weddings), not listening to music, not wearing new clothing, and not shaving or taking a haircut.

Lag Ba'Omer is identified as the Yom Hillula (yahrzeit) of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, one of the leading Tannaim (teachers quoted in the Mishna) and ascribed author of the core text of Kabbalah, the Zohar.

The Seventeenth of Tamuz (שבעה עשר בתמוז, Shiva Asar B'Tamuz) traditionally marks the first breach in the walls of the Jerusalem during the Roman conquest in 70 CE, at the end of the Second Temple period.

The period between the fasts of 17 Tammuz and 9 Av, known as the "Three Weeks" (Hebrew: בין המצרים, "between the straits"[72]), features a steadily increasing level of mourning practices as Tisha B'Av approaches.

Ashkenazi Jews refrain from conducting weddings and other joyful events throughout the period unless the date is established by Jewish law (as for a bris or pidyon haben).

In that case, the restrictions of the Three Weeks and Nine Days end with the fast, except for the prohibition against eating meat and drinking wine, which extend until the morning of 10 Av.

In Israel, the most notable observances are the State memorial ceremony at Yad Vashem and the sirens marking off a two-minute silence at 10:00 am.

[84][85] The Orthodox world–even the segment that participates publicly in Yom HaShoah–has been reluctant to write a liturgy for the day, preferring to compose Kinnot (prayers of lamentation) for recitation on Tisha B'Av.

Its full name is now יום הזכרון לחללי מערכות ישראל ולנפגעי פעולות האיבה ("Day of Remembrance for the Fallen of the Battles of Israel and the Victims of Terror").

Observance of this day by Jews inside and outside Israel is widespread,[89] and varies in tone from secular (military parades and barbecues) to religious (recitation of Hallel and new liturgies).

Although Haredim do not participate in the liturgical changes, they are somewhat more likely to celebrate Yom Yerushalayim than the other modern Israeli holidays because of the importance of the liberation of the Western Wall and the Old City of Jerusalem.

[94] Yom Yerushalayim has not traditionally moved to avoid Shabbat desecration, although in 2012 the Chief Rabbinate began some efforts in that direction.

[98] The date chosen for Yom HaAliyah, 10 Nisan, has religious significance: it is the day on which Joshua and the Israelites crossed the Jordan River at Gilgal into the Promised Land.

[99] The alternative date observed in the school system, 7 Heshvan, falls during the week of the Torah portion in which God instructs Abraham to leave his home and his family and go up to the Land of Israel.