Topic: Holidays

52 results

Remembrance and Renewal: Entering a New Year with Grief

We, as a Jewish people, spend a lot of time marking important dates and holding on to them throughout time. We remember the day we received Torah at Mt. Sinai, and we make it the sacred festival day of Shavuot. We remember the day we left Egypt, and celebrate it as the festival of Pesach, telling the story to our children as though it happened to us. We celebrate new beginnings with songs, feasts, and stories, gathering family, friends, and guests to share our joy as widely as we can. On Rosh Hashanah, we celebrate the day the universe began. We say Hayom Harat Olam. Today, the world was born. 

What is Rosh Hashanah?

Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish calendar, which is entering the year 5784, and is celebrated as the Jewish New Year. The Jewish year begins in the fall with the month of Tishrei, and Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first and second days of the month of Tishrei. 

What is Tisha B’Av?

Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Jewish month of Av, is recognized as the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. It is a day of mourning for tragedies across Jewish history, most particularly the destruction and loss of the first and second Temple and Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago. 

What Are the Spring “Yamim”?

The Hebrew word yamim (ימים) is the plural form of the word yom or “day,” and can refer to a time, a specific age, or a season. In Israel and in the Jewish diaspora, when folks talk about “the spring yamim,” they are generally referring to three national holidays on the Israeli calendar: Yom HaShoah […]

Food and Resilience on Passover

On college campuses and around the world, the Jewish community is preparing for Pesach (Passover), during which we recall yetziat mitzrayim – leaving ancient Egypt, or sometimes interpreted as “a narrow space”. There’s a common refrain that comes to mind during Passover and other Jewish holidays: “They tried to kill us, we survived, let’s eat!” […]