11 minute read
JEWISH HOLIDAYS
The Jewish High Holidays and Sukkot have come and gone and this year, unlike any other, posed new and significant challenges for all of us in different ways because of COVID-19. Yet it also offered new opportunities.
So, on the spiritual report card of life, how did we do?
In years past, we took for granted that we could celebrate holidays together – with family, friends and community members – at services, meals and communal gathewrings. We schlepped kugels, briskets and honey cakes across town and happily anticipated the joy of dining together under the night sky in our sukkahs.
Not so easy this year as we painfully accepted, some of us kicking and screaming, the reality of COVID-19 and the varied, dramatic changes it has required of us in how we live, work, socialize and pray.
In spite of that, we still created ways to come together as a Jewish community and nourish our spiritual health, at a time when gathering together was necessarily limited or prohibited in order to protect our physical health.
Online services were abundant, with many of us experiencing the delight and inspiration of “attending” congregations in other cities, even countries. In my own home, I created a special feeling by designing my own mikdash me’at, a sanctuary at home. I placed a white lace tablecloth, flowers, candlesticks and my siddur on my dining room table and tuned in to an early morning service in New York, followed by one in Tucson. The afternoon brought me to Los Angeles, and in the evening, I broke my fast on Zoom with my family.
In a spiritual context, COVID-19 provides an opportunity to enhance our holiday experience rather than limit it. True, this requires us to have a major attitude shift, but historically, Jews have been doing that for years – adapting to the challenges imposed by history, governments and hostile communities.
So perhaps we can see this new year of 5781 as a time when we accept that while we can’t go outward, we can go inward. Into our hearts, minds and souls – to truly reflect on what is important to us and find ways to better ourselves and others. Perhaps this is the year that we commit ourselves, from the privacy of our living rooms as we encounter the world on our computers, to make it a safer, healthier and more equitable place to live.
Maybe this will be the year that we use the time and energy that we will save, by not doing all of the things we have done in the past, to consciously and intentionally look for new ways to contribute our resources, counsel and support to those people and organizations that so desperately need our help. Because while we may not be physically together as we were in the past, we can still do something that will bring us closer to who we want to be and how we want to be as a member of the Jewish community in the future.
AMY HIRSHBERG LEDERMAN
Amy Hirshberg Lederman has written more than 300 columns and essays that have been published nationwide, amyhirshberglederman.com
Chai on Challah
Although the word challah simply means “loaf” in Hebrew, there is no food more associated with Jewish ritual and tradition than the challah. And based on Instagram photos, the baking craze that has swept the nation during the quarantine shows that home bakers are working on more than sourdough starter.
Whether sweet or savory, we have gathered these 18 recipes to celebrate the challah and its unique place on our table.
Sweet and Salty Mini Chocolate Chip Challah Buns
Fresh Peach Challah
Chocolate Orange Challah
Apple Honey Challah Pull-Apart Bread
Funfetti Challah
PB&J Challah
Red Velvet Cake Challah
Coffee Cake Challah
Nutella Challah
Scallion Pancake Challah
Cheesy Garlic Bread Stuffed Challah
Za’atar and Olive Challah
Chipotle Challah
Pesto Stuffed Challah
Tomato Stuffed Challah
Dill Pickle Challah
Braided Everything Challah
A year full of HOLIDAYS
(Note: Jewish holidays start at sunset the evening before the first day of the holiday)
Rosh Hashanah
Sept. 19-20, 2020 On Rosh Hashanah, the sound of the shofar announces the arrival of the High Holy Days, or 10 Days of Awe that stretch from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur. Rosh Hashanah celebrates the creation of the world, but it is also a solemn day of reflection. We review our deeds and repent, as we prepare for G-d’s judgment on Yom Kippur. The Rosh Hashanah festival meal includes a round, spiral challah symbolizing the cyclical nature of life, the seasons and the Jewish year. The traditional apple dipped in honey symbolizes hopes for a sweet New Year.
Yom Kippur
Sept. 28, 2020 Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, is a solemn fast day. We pray for forgiveness from G-d and repent sincerely for our sins during the past year. Many people wear white as a symbol of purity, and often a white mantle is used to dress the Torah scrolls. It is also customary to light 24-hour yahrzeit candles in memory of loved ones who have died, and Yizkor, or memorial prayers, are included in the morning service. Yahrzeit candles are lit before the holiday candles at the end of the pre-fast dinner eaten before sundown on the eve of this holy day. All adults in the household whose health permits abstain from food and drink for the next 25 hours. At nightfall the next night, a single, long blast of the shofar signals the end of the fast, and families and friends gather for a light break-the-fast meal.
Sukkot
Oct. 3-9, 2020 This seven-day festival (eight days in the Diaspora) celebrates the abundance of the fall harvest. It commemorates the 40 years the Jewish people wandered in the desert after the exodus from slavery. The sukkah, a temporary three-sided dwelling covered with leafy branches, gives the holiday its name. The sukkah is a reminder of the temporary dwellings our ancestors in ancient Israel used for shelter in the fields during the harvest, as well as the booths they lived in for 40 years in the desert. The festival has two additional main symbols: the lulav and etrog. The lulav consists of palm, myrtle and willow branches bound together. The etrog is a citron, a yellow citrus fruit that looks and smells like a bumpy lemon. It is traditional to bless the Four Species (the lulav and etrog held together) while waving them towards the four compass points, heaven and earth on each day of the holiday except Shabbat.
Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah
Oct. 10-11, 2020
The days immediately following the end of the Sukkot festival are the semi-independent holidays Shemini Atzeret (eighth day of Assembly) and Simchat Torah. Some liberal congregations celebrate both in one day as Atzeret-Simchat Torah. These two holidays formally end the season of the High Holy Days. The Torah is a
central symbol of Simchat Torah as we read the final verses of Deuteronomy, then immediately recommence the cycle by reading the opening verses of Genesis. The celebration of the annual cycle includes marching around the synagogue with Torah scrolls and flags.
Hanukkah
Dec. 11-18, 2020
The flames on the Hanukkiah brighten each of the eight nights of the festival of Hanukkah. The holiday celebrates the victory of the Maccabees, Jewish military leaders who rebelled against the GreekSyrian King Antiochus, who forbade the practice of Judaism and desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem. The word “Hanukkah” means “dedication.” The holiday commemorates the Temple’s rededication after the Maccabees’ victory. The Talmud tells us that when the Maccabees rededicated the Temple, they found only enough holy oil to light the eternal lamp for one day; miraculously, the oil lasted eight days, long enough for new oil to be consecrated. That miracle also inspires the popular Hanukkah game of dreidel, a spinning top with Hebrew letters on the four sides representing the phrase “A great miracle happened there (Israel).”
Tu B’Shevat
Jan. 28, 2021
Tu B’Shevat takes its name from its date on the Hebrew calendar, the 15th of Shevat. It is called the “Birthday of Trees,” and it celebrates the beginnings of spring. Tree-planting is a common activity on Tu B’Shevat, which is done before or after the holiday when it falls on Shabbat. A tradition of holding a Tu B’Shevat seder, celebrating different kinds of fruits that grow in Israel, has become popular.
Purim
Feb. 26, 2021
On Purim, people gather to hear “the Megillah,” also known as the Book of Esther, which tells how the Jews in ancient Persia were saved from the wicked Haman through the leadership of Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai. When Haman’s name is read, people stomp their feet, hiss, boo, or shake noisemakers called groggers to obliterate his name. Some congregations ask people to bring pots and pans to bang and then donate the kitchenware to people in need. Gifts of food – mishloach manot – are also common. The holiday takes on a carnival-like atmosphere with many dressing in costumes.
Passover
March 28-April 3, 2021
Passover, also known as Pesach, is the eight-day observance commemorating the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The seder plate with six symbolic foods takes center stage at the seder, a lavish ritual meal where we retell the story of Passover by reading the Haggadah. In addition to the items on the seder plate, each representing a piece of the Exodus story, matzah is featured at both the seder and throughout the festival to represent the unleavened bread the Israelites ate when fleeing Egypt.
Yom HaShoah
April 9, 2021
Israel’s Knesset proclaimed the 27th of Nissan “Holocaust and Ghetto Uprising Remembrance Day – a day of perpetual remembrance for the House of Israel.” The date was chosen to fall between the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 1943 and the observance of Israel Independence Day. In Israel, the wailing of sirens in the morning signals two minutes of silence. At Yom HaShoah commemorations around the world, six memorial candles are often lit to represent the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
Yom Hazikaron
April 16, 2021
Yom Hazikaron is Israel’s Memorial Day, a day of remembrance for the men and women, boys and girls who lost their lives to war or terrorism. It is commemorated on the 4th of Iyar. As the sun sets that evening, Israel turns from mourning to the celebration of Yom Ha’atzmaut. On both Yom Hazikaron and Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli flags and blue and white clothing are common.
Yom Ha’atzmaut
April 17, 2021
Yom Ha’atzmaut is the national independence day of Israel, commemorating the Jewish state’s declaration of independence. Celebrated annually on the 5th of Iyar, it centers around the declaration of the state of Israel by David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv on May 14, 1948 (5 Iyar, 5708) and the end of the British Mandate of Palestine.
Lag B’Omer
April 30, 2021
Lag B’Omer is celebrated on the 33rd day of the counting of the omer, the seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot. The counting is intended to remind us of the link between Passover, which commemorates the exodus, and Shavuot, which commemorates the giving of the Torah. It reminds us that the redemption from slavery was not complete until we received the Torah. Bonfires are a traditional part of Lag B’Omer, a day of joy during an otherwise solemn period.
Shavuot
May 17-18, 2021
Shavuot commemorates the anniversary of the day G-d gave the Torah to Moses and the Israelites at Mount Sinai. Traditions on Shavuot include all-night study of the Torah on the first night, reading the Book of Ruth and hearing the Ten Commandments in synagogue. It’s also traditional to eat dairy meals since the Jewish people had just received the laws of kashrut and had not yet had time to apply them to animal slaughter.
Tisha B’Av
July 18, 2021 Tisha B’Av is a fast day that commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. It has also become a day of general mourning for other disasters that befell the Jewish people, including the Edict of Expulsion from England in 1290, the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, and the mass deportation of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. These tragedies are commemorated by fasting and reading the Book of Lamentations.
