Jewish Holidays and Practices

Rosh Hashanah: the Jewish new year * Celebrate God creating the world * Shofar: ram’s horn * 10-day period of reflection * Celebrate with family and friends * Observed during the fall * Honey and apples are traditional foods (sweetness/goodness of God, world, and creation)
Yom Kippur: holiest day of Judaism, centers on atonement for sins and mistakes * Prayers of forgiveness * Fast from food and drink (including water) * No work * Repent from sins * Long services in synagogue
Passover: celebrates Israelites’ escape from Egypt * Told by God to celebrate in the Torah * Seder meal * Haggadah: text recited at Seder during passover

Birth and naming * Name is consecrated * Boys are circumcised on the 8th day following birth (as instructed in Torah)
Bar and Bat Mitzvahs * Coming of age ritual * Signifies children becoming adults in the community (age 13) * “Son” (Bar) or “Daughter” (Bat) of the Covenant
Marriage * Huppah: bridal canopy; sacred place * Representing Adam and Eve, return to the Garden of Eden * Say vows and blessings beneath the Huppah * Seven blessings over a cup of wine * Break the glass—symbolizes happiness and sorrow, support as a couple
Death and mourning * 5 stages * 1st day (day of death): rip part of clothing to express sorrow, acknowledge that God is Lord of all * Men don’t shave * Refrain from wearing leather (made from dead animals; no more death) * Body is prepared and placed in a wooden coffin * Public mourning * Recite Kaddish prayer * People visit family, bring food * Only supposed to say good things about the person who passed * 7 days following burial * Continued public mourning * 30 days after burial * Avoid public celebrations and social gatherings * The First Year * Full-year mourning for children of the deceased * Jewish gravestones are denoted with the star of David * Place stones rather than flowers (stones last longer, and you don’t have to kill something that is living to celebrate someone who has passed) * Kaddish: a prayer of mourning