Special Holiday Services
The Jewish calendar provides us with several opportunities to observe important holidays with special, celebratory services.
High Holy Days:
High Holy Day services (Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur) at Temple Or Hadash are open to everyone. No tickets or reservations are required.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah occurs on the first day of Tishrei. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means, literally, “head of the year” or “first of the year,” and is commonly known as the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashana services at Temple Or Hadash are held in the the evening (erev Rosh Hashanah) beginning at 7p.m., and in the morning beginning at 10 a.m., on the 1st of Tishrei. Morning services are followed by an oneg, then a Tashlich service held at Edora park, where we cast our sins, in the form of bread, upon the water to be carried away.
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast, and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishrei. Yom Kippur services at Temple Or Hadash are held in the the evening (Kol Nidrei) beginning at 7 p.m., and in the morning beginning at 10 a.m., of the 10th of Tishrei. Morning services continue all day with afternoon services, sometimes a discussion, Yiskor (memorial) service, and Ne’eilah (concluding) service, finishing about 6:30 p.m. (Jewish time). Some breaks are scattered between service segments, and you are welcome to come and go as needed. We traditionally hold a community Break The Fast following the Ne’eilah service.
Other Holidays & Festivals:
Sukkot
The word “Sukkot” means “booths,” and refers to the temporary dwellings that we are commanded to live in during this holiday in memory of the period of wandering. The Hebrew pronunciation of Sukkot is “Sue COAT,” but is often pronounced as in Yiddish, to rhyme with “BOOK us.” Sukkot begins on 15 Tishrei and lasts seven days, ending with Simchat Torah.
Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah means “Rejoicing in the Torah.” This holiday marks the completion of the annual cycle of weekly Torah readings. In services we publicly read a few chapters from the Torah, starting with Genesis, and continuing to Deuteronomy 34. On Simchat Torah, we read the last Torah portion, then proceed immediately to the first chapter of Genesis, reminding us that the Torah is a circle, and never ends. Simchat Torah falls on the 22nd of Tishrei.
Chanukah
Chanukah, the Jewish festival of rededication, also known as the festival of lights, is an eight-day festival beginning on the 25th day of the Jewish month of Kislev. Chanukah is probably one of the best known Jewish holidays, not because of any great religious significance, but because of its proximity to Christmas.
The story of Chanukah begins in the reign of Alexander the Great. Alexander conquered Syria, Egypt and Palestine, but allowed the lands under his control to continue observing their own religions and retain a certain degree of autonomy. Under this relatively benevolent rule, many Jews assimilated much of Hellenistic culture, adopting the language, the customs and the dress of the Greeks, in much the same way that Jews in America today blend into the secular American society.
More than a century later, a successor of Alexander, Antiochus IV, was in control of the region. He began to oppress the Jews severely, placing a Hellenistic priest in the Temple, massacring Jews, prohibiting the practice of the Jewish religion, and desecrating the Temple by requiring the sacrifice of pigs (a non-kosher animal) on the altar. Two groups opposed Antiochus: a basically nationalistic group led by Mattathias the Hasmonean and his son Judah Maccabee, and a religious traditionalist group known as the Chasidim, the forerunners of the Pharisees (no direct connection to the modern movement known as Chasidism). They joined forces in a revolt against both the assimilation of the Hellenistic Jews and oppression by the Seleucid Greek government. The revolution succeeded and the Temple was rededicated.
According to tradition as recorded in the Talmud, at the time of the rededication, there was very little oil left that had not been defiled by the Greeks. Oil was needed for the menorah (candelabrum) in the Temple, which was supposed to burn throughout the night every night. There was only enough oil to burn for one day, yet miraculously, it burned for eight days, the time needed to prepare a fresh supply of oil for the menorah. An eight-day festival was declared to commemorate this miracle. Note that the holiday commemorates the miracle of the oil, not the military victory, as Jews do not glorify war.
At Temple Or Hadash we celebrate Chanukah as a community with candle-lighting, a Chanukah party (fun for all ages), and a latke cooking contest!
Pesach
Pesach begins on the 15th day of the Jewish month of Nissan. It is the first of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Shavu’ot and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it represents the beginning of the harvest season in Israel, but little attention is paid to this aspect of the holiday. The primary observances of Pesach are related to the Exodus from Egypt after generations of slavery. This story is told in Exodus, Ch. 1-15. Many of the Pesach observances are instituted in Chapters 12-15.
Temple Or Hadash hosts a community seder on the second night of Pesach.
Shavu’ot
Shavu’ot, the Festival of Weeks, is the second of the three major festivals with both historical and agricultural significance (the other two are Passover and Sukkot). Agriculturally, it commemorates the time when the first fruits were harvested and brought to the Temple, and is known as Hag ha-Bikkurim (the Festival of the First Fruits). Historically, it celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, and is also known as Hag Matan Torateinu (the Festival of the Giving of Our Torah). We celebrate Shavu’ot with Torah study.
Purim
Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.
The story of Purim is told in the Biblical book of Esther. The heroes of the story are Esther, a beautiful young Jewish woman living in Persia, and her cousin Mordecai, who raised her as if she were his daughter. Esther was taken to the house of Ahasuerus, King of Persia, to become part of his harem. King Ahasuerus loved Esther more than his other women and made Esther queen, but the king did not know that Esther was a Jew, because Mordecai told her not to reveal her identity.
The villain of the story is Haman, an arrogant, egotistical advisor to the king. Haman hated Mordecai because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman, so Haman plotted to destroy the Jewish people. In a speech that is all too familiar to Jews, Haman told the king, “There is a certain people scattered abroad and dispersed among the peoples in all the provinces of your realm. Their laws are different from those of every other people’s, and they do not observe the king’s laws; therefore it is not befitting the king to tolerate them.” Esther 3:8. The king gave the fate of the Jewish people to Haman, to do as he pleased to them. Haman planned to exterminate all of the Jews.
Mordecai persuaded Esther to speak to the king on behalf of the Jewish people. This was a dangerous thing for Esther to do, because anyone who came into the king’s presence without being summoned could be put to death, and she had not been summoned. Esther fasted for three days to prepare herself, then went into the king. He welcomed her. Later, she told him of Haman’s plot against her people. The Jewish people were saved, and Haman and his 10 sons were hanged on the gallows that had been prepared for Mordecai.
The book of Esther is unusual in that it is the only book of the Bible that does not contain the name of God. In fact, it includes virtually no reference to God. Mordecai makes a vague reference to the fact that the Jews will be saved by someone else, if not by Esther, but that is the closest the book comes to mentioning God. Thus, one important message that can be gained from the story is that God often works in ways that are not apparent, in ways that appear to be chance, coincidence or ordinary good luck.