Holidays
The Jewish calendar is nothing short of obsessed with the marking the passage of time. With major holidays punctuating the entire year: from the sacred autumn days of Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot, to Hanukkah’s bright lights in the midst of winter’s deep freeze, to Tu Bishvat’s promise of warmth, spring’s boistrous, drawn-out arrival during Purim, Passover and Shavuot, and summer’s sobering Tisha B’Av – there is hardly a moment of downtime. Instead, the year passes in one rhythmic cycle punctuated by celebration, spiritual reflection, community, and (of course) food.
Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach once said that each of the Jewish holidays arrives to remind us of something that we should be doing all year round. Rosh Hashanah reminds us to always take the time to look inward; Passover reminds us to always work to rid our lives of superfluity (chametz) and be grateful for our freedoms, and so on. But what each of the holidays does – sometimes explicitly, sometimes less so – is connect to the importance of being engaged in repairing the world.
- Spotlight On: Rosh Hashanah's Connections to Service
A deeper look at Rosh Hashanah's connections to service and reflection.
- Spotlight On: Tisha B’Av’s Connections to Service
The solemn holiday of Tisha B'Av contains within it many opportunities for reflection and service.
- Spotlight On: Shavuot's Connections to Service
Shavuot's agricultural and historical significances both encourage reflection and action.
- Spotlight On: Yom Ha'atzmaut's (Israel Independence Day): Connections to Service
Yom Ha'atzmaut is a holiday that lends it self to study, service and reflection - as well as celebration.
- Spotlight On: Passover's Connections to Service
Passover encourages seder-goers to consider the themes of liberation and freedom.
