Pilgrim festivals
A festival which celebrates the harvest and commemorates the period after the Exodus, when the Jews wandered in the wilderness., The Jewish festival (Passover) which remembers the redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. and A Jewish festival which gives thanks for the Torah, remembering when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. and are known as the three A person who performs a journey which has religious or spiritual significance, known as a pilgrimage. festivals in Judaism. This is because, traditionally, Jews used to travel to the The central place of Jewish worship in Jerusalem from biblical times until AD70. in The capital city of Israel when Jesus was alive. The city where he was crucified, buried and rose again. to celebrate them.
Sukkot
Sukkot occurs five days after Yom Kippur and is typically celebrated for eight or nine days. This festival is a reminder of the Jews who lived in the wilderness after they were freed from slavery in Egypt around the 7th century BC. Their time in the desert is commemorated with the building of tent-like structures called sukkah. During this festival, Jews eat and sometimes even sleep in their own sukkah as a reminder of their ancestors who lived this way in the wilderness.
The festival is also associated with the etrog and lulav. Many Jews will hold one in each hand and wave the lulav in celebration during the festival of Sukkot.
Pesach
Pesach is an important festival that remembers the events leading up to the enslaved being freed in Egypt. This festival usually occurs in the spring, around the same time that Christians celebrate Easter.
In the days leading up to Pesach, all A substance that enables bread to rise, eg yeast. foods (chamatz) are removed from the home. During Pesach, families worship at the Building for Jewish public prayer, study and assembly. and enjoy a special A Jewish ritual meal, held outside Israel on the first and second day of the Passover festival. In Israel it is held on the first day only. meal together. Each food on the Seder plate represents an element of the Exodus story. For example, a lamb shank represents the lambs sacrificed at Passover, and green parsley and lettuce represent new life and the freedom of the enslaved people.
Pesach is important to Jews because:
- it reminds Jews that God is powerful and good
- it celebrates the birth of the Jewish nation
- it celebrates the freedom of the Jewish people
Shavuot
The festival of A Jewish festival which gives thanks for the Torah, remembering when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses. happens seven weeks after The Jewish festival (Passover) which remembers the redemption of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.. This festival celebrates the giving of the Torah to Moses on A mountain in the Sinai desert, believed to be where Moses received the Ten Commandments.. To commemorate this, many Jews stay up all night to read the Torah. Jews also attend the synagogue to listen to the reading of the Ten Commandments. This is a very important festival for Jews as they believe that the giving of the Torah was the greatest moment of Jewish history.
During Shavuot, candles are lit to welcome the festival and Jews tend to eat a lot of dairy food during this time rather than meat. Jews often study and read from the book of Ruth during this time because it is believed that The second monarch of the Israelite tribes and the father of Solomon. A very important figure in Judaism and Christianity. died on Shavuot and because the story of Ruth takes place at harvest time.
