Talk:Jewish holidays

Shabbat as a holiday

I do not have the resources to do a good job myself, but I think that the Sabbath should have an entry on this list. I realize that it gets short shrift perhaps because it comes every seventh day. But I think a case can be made simply on the basis of its being the celebration of Creation, which provides an important complement to the festivals of Revelation (Pesah, Sukkot, and Shavuot) and of Redemption (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippor). I also know that for a variety of reasons Yom Kippor and Hannukah are more popular in the United States, at least. But one can argue that in fact the Sabbath is really the holiest Jewish Holiday

1) it is the first holiday mentioned in the Bible, and God was the first one to observe it

2) the liturgy treats the Sabbath as a bride and queen

3) the Torah reading for the Sabbath has more parshiot than Yom Kippor -- the most of any Jewish holiday

4) there is a tradition that the Messiah will come if every Jew observes the Sabbath twice in a row

How can Yom Kippor beat all that? But with all due respect to the Day of Atonement, this is certainly enough reasons to give the Sabbath her due on this page. I hope that the people who have been taking the most interest in this page can add this little bit more to it -- SR

I think using the liturgical view of the Sabbath as evidence of its importance is circular. --Charles A. L. 21:55, Mar 12, 2004 (UTC)

Its not about evidence. One cannot "prove" whether a certain day should be a holiday or not. The Jewish people simply view it as a holiday, as attested to by the entire breadth of their literature, from the siddur, to the Talmud to the responsa, to the midrash. RK 21:02, Jul 27, 2004 (UTC)

I realize this discussion is pretty stale, but Leviticus, chapter 23 places the Sabbath at the top of the list of holidays. --agr 00:27, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

New Jewish holidays

*Yom Hazikaron - Iyar 4 - Day of remembrance. In honor of Israeli veterans of the War of Independence. --

• Yom Ha'atzma'ut - Iyar 5 -

Israel Independence Day.

Are these really Jewish holidays, or Israeli national holidays? The difference is not inconsiderable. user:Montrealais

They are accepted as new Jewish holidays by all Reform and Conservative Jews, and by the Union of Orthodox Congregations and the Rabbinical Council of America (Modern Orthodox.) I think that most Haredi Jews do not observe them. RK

Have these Orthodox organizations accepted Yom Hashoah too? Source? Dreyfus 00:05, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Sephardic holiday of Maimuna

Should we add the Sephardic-only holiday of Maimuna? This holiday follows the end of Passover, and is in honor of Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides. Maybe we should add it under Passover? RK 21:02, Jul 27, 2004 (UTC)

• Sephardic Passover Custims

Yes, of course Maimuna should be here! As it is celebrated on the evening of isru chag Pesach, it would be the most logical to put it right after Pesach in a subheader... JFW | T@lk 15:24, 28 Jul 2004 (UTC)

Birkat Ha'hamah: The Blessing of the Sun

The following copyrighted text is from the Encyclopedia Judaica. It is offered as a source for my recent edit:

Calendar

Tekufot: "Seasons" - As stated, the four seasons in the Jewish year are called tekufot. More accurately, it is the beginning of each of the four seasons—according to the common view, the mean beginning—that is named tekufah (literally "circuit," from Pvc related to Pcn, "to go round"), the tekufah of Nisan denoting the mean sun at the vernal equinoctial point, that of Tammuz denoting it at the summer solstitial point, that of Tishri, at the autumnal equinoctial point, and that of Tevet, at the winter solstitial point. The mean length of the seasons, each exactly one quarter of the year, was reckoned by Mar Samuel (c. 165–254, head of the academy at Nehardea in Babylon) at 91d. 7 1/2h. Hence, with his solar year of 365d. 6h., or 52 weeks and 1 1/4 days—identical in length with the Julian year—the tekufot move forward in the week, year after year, by 1 1/4 days.

Accordingly, after 28 years the tekufah of Nisan reverts to the same hour on the same day of the week (Tuesday 6 p.m.) as at the beginning: this 28-year cycle is named the great, or solar, cycle (mahazor gadol, or mahazor hammah). This length of the solar year is important in respect of two minor rituals only

(1) the date of She'elah, the commencement in the Diaspora of the petition for rain inserted in the benediction Birkat ha-Shanim in the Amidah, on December 5 or 6 in the present century;

(2) The Blessing of the Sun on the day of the tekufah of Nisan at the beginning of the 28-year cycle....

THE BLESSING OF THE SUN, a prayer service in which the sun is blessed in thanksgiving for its creation and its being set into motion in the firmament on the fourth day of the world (Gen. 1:16–19). The ceremony is held once every 28 years. It takes place after the morning prayer, when the sun is about 90° above the eastern horizon, on the first Wednesday of the month of Nisan. The date is based on calculations by the amora Abbaye, according to whom the vernal equinox cycle (called mahzor gadol) always begins then (Ber. 59b). Although Abbaye's method became obsolete after the adoption of R. Adda's calendar, the ceremony has not fallen into desuetude. The order of the recital is as follows: Psalms 84:12, 72:5; 75:2, Malachi 3:20, Psalms 97:6 and 148, the benediction: "Praised be the Maker of creation," which is followed by Psalms 19 and 121, the hymn El Adon (of the Shaharit prayer of the Sabbath), the baraita of Abbaye (Ber. 59b), and the quotation of an aggadah by R. Hananiah b. Akashya (Mak. 3:16). The rite ends with a short thanksgiving prayer in which the congregation expresses gratitude for having been sustained until this day, and the hope to live and reach the days of the Messiah and of the fulfillment of the prophesy of Isaiah "and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of the seven days" (Isa. 30:26). The dates for the ceremony in the second half of the 20th century are April 8, 1953 and March 18, 1981.

Birkat Ha-Hammah is not a holiday. It is a prayer that is said on a particular date--a short prayer at that. At most, it is the equivalent of Kiddush Levana, which is not a holiday. In fact, when it was last said, I was in a senior in high school. I remember it being very brief and very early. List it under Jewish blessings or prayers, not under holidays. I have therefore removed it to its own article,Danny 14:48, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

The correct link is Birkat HaHammah. Thanks Danny. JFW | T@lk 20:14, 1 Sep 2004 (UTC)

I don't think I'm going to win this one, but I would argue that Simchat Torah is also not a holiday -- it is a set of customs that are observed on the holiday of Shemini Atzeret (viz. the second day thereof, in places that observe two days). Thus the kiddush and amidah "on Simchat Torah" say "yom hashemini chag ha'atzeret hazeh". Dreyfus 00:07, 2 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Rosh Chodesh

I added Rosh Chodesh. I later noticed that the Rosh Chodesh article that says it is not a holiday. I'm not trying to start an argument, but this page seems to be as compendium of all special days on the Jewish Calendar and Rosh Chodesh has at least as good a claim as for being here as many of the other entries. I think it has a place on the template as well. --agr 19:09, 23 October 2005 (UTC)

Name of Article

Should it be "Jewish holidays"? Because, when I saw it, I thought it was about some specific holiday - not the different holidays. -Reuvenk_[T][C] 04:29, 22 March 2006 (UTC)

All this is interesting but shouldn't there be a page on Israeli (as opposed to Jewish) holidays too, i.e. one that discusses which days are declared official government holidays in Israel. Pages for other countries exist, example the Sweden page links to official Swedish holidays. While this page discusses some Israeli (as opposed to Jewish) holidays too like Jerusalem Day and Holocaust Rememberance Day, what is the status of other holidays, for instance Christmas in Israel? Also a lot of former British colonies still have holidays such as the Bank Holiday on their calendars. Are these non-working days in Israel?