Pesach - Passover

Pesach, Passover, the first of the three Jewish Pilgrim’s festivals, is always celebrated on the 14th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan. This day marks the beginning of the Biblical New Year. The date also determined the length of a king’s reign. Passover commemorates the Exodus from Egypt when God delivered the Israelites from bondage.

Today, observant Jews spend the weeks before Passover in a flurry of thorough housecleaning to remove all morsels of chametz* from every part of the home. This ‘spring-cleaning’ ritual has been copied by many non-Jews as well.

Chametz (leavening) is made from one of five types of grains which combined with water are left to stand for more than eighteen minutes. During Passover, it is forbidden to eat, keep or own olive-sized or larger quantities of chametz.

Some people create a special chametz cupboard where they store their items until after the holiday. Supermarket shelves containing products that are not kosher lePesach (kosher for Passover) are covered with plastic sheets.

Most observant families have special sets of serving dishes, glassware and silverware (and in some cases, even separate dishwashers and sinks) which have never come into contact with chametz. These are only used during Passover. Certain utensils, like flatware and metal pots and pans can be made ‘kosher for Passover’ use through a process known as “kashering.” In religious neighborhoods the kashering service is offered for a small amount of money.

The search for remaining leaven takes place on the evening before Passover. After a special blessing, one or more members of the household go from room to room to check that no crumbs remain in any corner.

On the morning of the 14th of Nisan, all leavened products that were still in the house are burned. In order to ensure a safe burning of the chametz, municipalities place special incinerators on the street corners.

Pesach is also called Chag haMatsot, referring to the flat, unleavened “bread”. The Israelites had to leave in such a hurry that there was no time for the bread to rise. God told the Israelites to eat unleavened bread for seven days.

During the 40 years in the desert there was only manna. Upon entering the Promised Land, the Jewish people were able to bake matzot from the local wheat and barley in order to celebrate a true Pesach.

The Prophet Samuel revived the national religious festival and under King Solomon the Feast took new splendor with the building of the First Temple. After his death, idolatry and paganism caused the Pesach celebrations to decline. Godly kings like Hezekiah and Josiah reinstated the Festival. After the destruction of the First Temple the Korban Pesach could no longer be sacrificed and was replaced by prayers, eating matza and bitter herbs. When the Second Temple was built, the Korban Pesach again was reinstated, until the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D.

Worldwide, more than 80% of the Jewish people attend a Seder on the eve of the holiday. Seder means order and refers to the commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt by eating special types of food, reading the Biblical story and singing specific songs. Some of today’s practices were already followed before the destruction of the second Temple in the homes of Jews who couldn’t go on pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The Pesach Haggadah contains the text and order of the Seder meal, which can take many hours to complete.

Early on the Monday and Thursday morning of the intermediary days, the priestly blessing takes place at the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s Old City. Cohanim (whose names indicate they are of the priestly line of Aaron) give the Aharonic blessing from Numbers 6:24-26, while covered with their talllits (prayer shawls). The priestly blessing or priestly benediction, birkat cohanim, is also known as nesiat kapayim (raising of the hands), or dukhanen (from the Yiddish word dukhan - platform - because the blessing used to be given from a raised rostrum).

In Israel, the Pesach holiday is observed for seven days; in the Diaspora, for eight days. The first and last days are major holidays, on which working is prohibited (like a Shabbat). During Chol Hamo'ed (intermediate days), people are allowed to work.

The Samaritans living on Mount Gerazim, near Shechem (Nablus) and the Ethiopian Falashas are the only group of people still performing Paschal sacrifices during Pesach.

Pesach is a real family holiday that everyone enjoys. During this time, many cars begin to display a national flag.

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Excerpt from the book: Remember, Observe, Rejoice © Petra van der Zande.

Link to the book     

KEY SCRIPTURES TO PRAY OVER THE 2023 HAMAS ISRAEL WAR

1.    Pray against evil agendas, unwise counsel, or delays promoted by foreign presidents suddenly visiting Israel: Jeremiah 30:8: “In that day, declares the Lord Almighty, I will break the yoke off their necks and will tear off their bonds; no longer will foreigners enslave them.”

2.    Pray for the government and military of Israel to have the anointing of the sons of Issachar overruling their own thoughts: I Chronicles 12:32 “…from Issachar, men who understood the times and knew what Israel should do—200 chiefs, with all their relatives under their command”

3.    Pray for warning dreams from the LORD to leaders and members of Hamas: Job 33:15-18: “In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they slumber in their beds, he may speak in their ears, and terrify them with warnings, to turn them from wrongdoing, and keep them from pride, to preserve them from the pit, their lives from perishing by the sword.”

4.    Pray for the occult shields of protection to be removed from all Hamas leaders / terrorists who will not repent: Numbers 14:9: “And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.”

5.    Pray for Ziklag type miracles for the rescue of the Israelis held as hostages:  I Samuel 30: 11 They found an Egyptian in a field and brought him to David. 15 David asked him, “Can you lead me down to this raiding party?”16 He led David down, and there they were, scattered over the countryside, eating, drinking and reveling because of the great amount of plunder they had taken from the land of the Philistines and from Judah. 17 David fought them from dusk until the evening of the next day 18 David recovered everything the Amalekites had taken, including his two wives. 19 Nothing was missing: young or old, boy or girl, plunder or anything else they had taken. David brought everything back.”

6.    Pray for the people of Gaza and the people of Israel to be delivered from the tyranny of the demonic “kings” operating over Gaza and the surrounding cities in Israel: 

 

Amos 1:6-8

This is what the LORD says:

“For three sins of Gaza,

even for four, I will not relent.

Because she took captive whole communities

and sold them to Edom,

I will send fire on the walls of Gaza

that will consume her fortresses.

I will destroy the king of Ashdod

and the one who holds the scepter in Ashkelon.

I will turn my hand against Ekron,

till the last of the Philistines are dead,”

says the Sovereign LORD.”  

 

Zechariah 9:5-7

“Ashkelon will see it and fear;

Gaza will writhe in agony,

and Ekron too, for her hope will wither.

Gaza will lose her king…

and I will put an end to the pride of the Philistines.

I will take the blood from their mouths,

the forbidden food from between their teeth.

Those who are left will belong to our God

and become a clan in Judah,

and Ekron will be like the Jebusites.” 

 

7.    Pray for the protection of Jerusalem and the Lord’s “Holy Hill” the Temple Mount, as the stated goal of Hamas was not Gaza, but Jerusalem and the Temple Mount (the location of the al Aqsa Mosque” as the Hamas terrorist crusade was officially called “Al Aqsa Flood”.  Zechariah 9: 8: “But I will encamp at my temple [mount] to guard it against marauding forces. Never again will an oppressor overrun my people, for now I am keeping watch.”  Zechariah 2:4 “And I myself will be a wall of fire around it,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will be its glory within.”  

8.    As Iran (Persia) is obviously behind both Hamas and Hezbollah, it is important to pray this Scripture about Elam, which was the core area of Persia where the Palace in the story of Queen Esther was located: 

 

Jeremiah 49:35-39

This is what the LORD Almighty says:

“See, I will break the bow of Elam,

the mainstay of their might.

I will bring against Elam the four winds

from the four quarters of heaven;

I will scatter them to the four winds,

and there will not be a nation

where Elam’s exiles do not go.

I will shatter Elam before their foes,

before those who want to kill them;

I will bring disaster on them,

even my fierce anger,”

declares the LORD.

“I will pursue them with the sword

until I have made an end of them.

I will set my throne in Elam

and destroy her king and officials,”

declares the LORD.

“Yet I will restore the fortunes of Elam

in days to come,”

declares the LORD.

 

Compiled by Rick Ridings, Succat Hallel, Jerusalem 17 October, 2023

The Story of Chanukah - Light in the Darkness

Chapter from the book Remember, Observe, Rejoice 

@ Petra van der Zande

***************************************************

CHANUKAH - THE FEAST OF DEDICATION

Chanukah falls on the 25th of Kislev (December).  Because this eight day Festival often coincides with Christmas, it is jokingly called “Chanuchristmas”.

When in 175 BC, Antiochus Epiphanes became King of Syria, all citizens had to embrace the Greek religion and culture. In Judea, Sabbath observance was outlawed, kosher* laws and circumcision forbidden and those found practicing Judaism were killed.  By sacrificing pigs on the altar and erecting a statue of Zeus, the Jerusalem Temple was desecrated.

Some Jews complied with Antiochus’ decrees. Others became secret believers or chose to become martyrs.  In 167 BC, Mattathias, the village elder and priest of Modi’in, refused to kill the Greek’s sacrificial pig and eat its flesh. When someone offered to perform the rites instead, Mattathias became so enraged that he killed the man. In the ensuing riot, the Greek soldiers were killed by Mattathias, his five sons and some villagers. Together with a group of people who were faithful to the Lord, Mattathias hid in the hills of the Judean Desert. From this area they conducted guerrilla attacks against the Greeks. After the death of Mattathias, Judah became the military leader. His nickname “Maccabee” is probably derived from the acronym: “Mi kamocha ba’elim Adonai” – “Who is like you among the gods, oh LORD”.

Even though Jerusalem’s Temple was liberated by the Maccabees in 164 BC, it was only in 142 BC that Judean independence was achieved.As sole survivor of the family, Judah’s brother Simon became the High Priest and ruler. This was the beginning of the Hasmonean dynasty, which continued until the Roman occupation of Judea in 63 BC. Chanukah (dedication) refers to the rededication and cleansing of the Second Temple in 164 BC. There was only a one-day supply of pure (kosher*) olive oil to light the Temple’s Menorah (seven-branched candelabra). The Menorah was lit, and miraculously burned for eight days.

In Jesus’ time, Chanukah was called the “Feast of Dedication”. “Then came the “Feast of Dedication” at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.” John 10:22-23 (NIV)

The Temple in Jerusalem was the Jewish religious and national symbol. After its destruction, the religious focus moved to the synagogue. Rabbis switched to the “oil legend” (the miracle that kept the Temple’s Menorah burning for eight days). As a visual and hopeful reminder that miracles still happened, people began to light oil lamps in their houses. Not wanting to irk the Roman occupiers, the Jewish military aspect of the Festival diminished.

Only in the 19th century, with the emergence of the Zionist movement and Jewish nationalism, Chanukah’s military aspect re-surfaced. The Jewish people took courage in remembering the strength and courage of the Maccabees.

The festival is observed by kindling lights of a unique candelabrum, the nine-branched Menorah or Chanukiah. It has eight branches with an additional raised branch. The extra light is called a shamash (attendant or sexton) and used to kindle the other candles. Religious neighborhoods have outdoor chanukiot placed along the streets.

On the first night of the Festival public candle lightning ceremonies are held all over the world. On each night, an additional light is kindled, until all candles burn on the eighth and final night.

After the lighting of the candles it is tradition to sing the hymn Ma'or Tzur.  The song contains six stanzas. The first and last deal with general themes of divine salvation; the middle four deal with events of persecution in Jewish history, and praise God for survival despite these tragedies: The exodus from Egypt, the Babylonian captivity, the miracle of the holiday of Purim, and the Hasmonean victory over the Greeks.

A popular (non-literal translation) is called "Rock of Ages". Based on the German version by Leopold Stein (1810–1882), it was written by Talmudic linguist Marcus Jastrow and Gustav Gottheil.

Chanukah is the time to eat sufganiot (jam-filled donuts) and latkes (potato
pancakes). The holiday is celebrated by young and old, but a favourite of families with young children.

 

The Sevivon - Dreidel (Spinning Top)

A specific Chanukah toy is the sevivon - spinning top.It is believed that the game originated in India. During the Middle-Ages it was played on Christmas Eve by German Christians. The German Jews replaced the German letters with similar sounding Hebrew ones: Nun – Gimel – Heh - and Shin, which is acronym for: “Nes Gadol Haya Sham” – a great miracle happened there. In Israel, the “sham” (there), is replaced with “poh” (here).

CHANUKAH GELT (Money)

The tradition of Chanukah gelt (money giving to children during Chanukah) originates from a 17th century practice of Polish Jewry to give money to their small children for distribution to their teachers. Later, children were allowed to keep the money for themselves. In the 18th century, it became custom for poor yeshiva* students to visit homes of Jewish benefactors dispensing Chanukah money. It is also possible that the custom evolved from Jews in Eastern Europe giving coins to religious teachers as a token of gratitude. (Similar to the custom of tipping service people on Christmas.) In 1958, the Bank of Israel issued commemorative coins for use as Chanukah gelt. That year, the coin bore the image of the menorah that appeared on Maccabean coins 2,000 years earlier. Children often use chocolate gelt to play dreidel with. Parents, grandparents or other relatives give older children actual money. In Chassidic communities, the rabbis continue the practice of distributing small coins to those visiting them during Chanukah. Chassidic Jews consider this to be an auspicious blessing from the Rebbe, and a segulah for success.

 

MAOZ TZUR (1st. stanza)

My Refuge, my Rock of  salvation!

'Tis pleasant to sing to your praises.

Let our house of prayer be restored.

And there we will offer You our thanks.

When You will have utterly

silenced the loud-mouthed foe.

Then we will celebrate with song and psalm the altar's dedication.

 

ROCK OF AGES

Rock of Ages, let our song,

praise Thy saving power;

Thou, amidst the raging foes,

wast our sheltering tower.

Furious they assailed us,

but Thine arm availed us,

And Thy Word broke

their sword,

when our own strength failed us.

 

Kindling new the holy lamps,

priests, approved in

suffering,

Purified the nation's shrine,

brought to God their offering.

And His courts surrounding,

hear, in joy abounding,

Happy throngs, singing songs

with a mighty sounding.

 

Children of the martyr race,

whether free or fettered,

Wake the echoes of the songs

where ye may be scattered.

Yours the message cheering,

that the time is nearing

Which will see, all men free,

tyrants disappearing.

INTERESTED IN LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE JEWISH HOLIDAYS AND FEASTS AND HOW THEY ARE CELEBRATED IN ISRAEL? 

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SHEMINI ATZERET - SIMCHAT TORAH - REJOICING OF THE LAW

“I rejoice at Your word as one who finds great treasure.”  

Psalm 119:162 (NKJV)

Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law) is celebrated on the eighth day of Sukkot (Oct. 5,2015). In the Diaspora it is celebrated a day later. Simchat Torah marks the conclusion of the annual Torah reading cycle and the beginning of a new one.

During Temple times, 70 sacrifices were offered during the seven days of Sukkot - more than on any other holiday. Some believe it was to be an act of gratefulness for a successful harvest that was coupled with a prayer for abundance in the upcoming year. Talmudic scholars believe that the 70 sacrifices were to bring merit to the proverbial 70 nations of the world. Today, congregants pray for the gentile nations.

Rabbis have tried to answer why God commanded an eighth day, even though He stipulated that Sukkot was only seven days. According to them, God asked His people to remain with Him for one more day. The practice of the annual reading cycle was established between the sixth and eleventh century AD, and therefore is not mentioned in the Talmud. In the Middle Ages, some communities lit bonfires, using the dismantled and disposable parts of the sukkah.

On the evening of Simchat Torah, (Sunday evening) all the Torah scrolls are taken out of the Ark and carried around the bimah (reader’s platform). This is the only night of the year that this is done. During the seven-fold procession (hakkafot) a special chant is sung. Each procession is separated by an interlude of singing and dancing in which the people carrying the Torah scrolls are joined by others. 

The children carry Simchat Torah flags or miniature scrolls.

Some congregations read Deuteronomy 33:1-17; it is the only time the reading of the Law takes place in the evenings. During the morning service, another seven-fold procession takes place, followed by reading Deuteronomy 33 and 34. It is customary for all males to be called to the Reading of the Law. Some synagogues allow both men and women to come to the bimah.

During the Kol Hane’arim (Calling up the children) ceremony, the children stand together under a large woollen prayer shawl, while Jacob’s blessing is recited:

“May the God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day... may he bless these boys [and girls]. May they be called by my name and the names of my fathers Abraham and Isaac, and may they increase greatly upon the earth." Genesis 48: 15-16 (NIV)

The last section of the Pentateuch is reserved for the Chatan Torah (Bridegroom of the Law). After the honoured congregant finishes the reading, the congregation says in a loud voice, “Hazak, hazak, ve’nithazek! (Be strong, be strong and let us be strengthened!)”

Now a second scroll (Genesis) is taken and the new reading cycle begins.

The person honoured to read Genesis 1-2:3 is called the Chatan Bereshit  (Bridegroom of the beginning). A third person, the Maftir is called to read the prophetic reading from Joshua chapter 1. In the past, the two “grooms” had to provide a lavish feast for the whole congregation, but nowadays only wine and light food is served.

In Israel it is customary to hold another, outdoor, hakkafot on the night after Simchat Torah. In the synagogues, the Torah is read on Shabbat, most holidays and on the Monday and Thursday mornings. This custom goes back to ancient times when most Jews were farmers or shepherds. On these days they brought their fare to the market. After having sold their produce, the men gathered to read the Torah.

This article is taken from the book "Remember Observe, Rejoice, a Guide to the Jewish Feasts, holidays, Memorial Days and Events." © Petra van der Zande. 

ISBN 978-965-7542-61-3

SUKKOT - THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES

The week long holiday of Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles) usually falls the end of September, beginning of October. During this “season of our rejoicing”, the Jewish people eat their meals in a tabernacle or booth, covered with boughs but with the sky showing through in remembrance of the wanderings from Egypt to the Promised Land. Sukkot is one of the three Pilgrim festivals ordained by God. People had to go up to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast in the Temple.

"Three times you shall keep a feast to Me in the year: You shall keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread… at the time appointed in the month of Abib… and the Feast of Harvest, the first fruits of your labours which you have sown in the field; and the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year. Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.” Exodus 23:16 (NKJV)

Being an observant Jew, Jesus too celebrated

 Sukkot.

“Now the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles was at hand… Then the Jews sought him (Jesus) at the feast, and said, Where is he? … Now about the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught… On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” 

John 7: 2,11,14,37-38 (NIV)

The three pilgrim feasts - 

Pesach (Passover), Shavuot (Pentecost) and Sukkot (Tabernacles) have both historical and agricultural significance. Because Sukkot occurred in the fall harvest, it was also observed as an agricultural event. Prayers for rain were also recited during this holiday.  In Israel, the first and last days are celebrated as a full holidays (like a Shabbat); The “Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly” is celebrated as Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law). People are allowed to work during Chol Hamo'ed (intermediate days), but the festival framework is maintained. Schools are closed, and many families enjoy the holiday together by going on outings, visiting family or entertaining guests in their Sukkah.

Sukkot’s observance involves “dwelling” in the sukkah. The concept of thanksgiving for the harvest remains central, symbolized by the fruits (real or artificial) that decorate the sukkot (one sukkah, two sukkot). 

Some say the American Pilgrim fathers were influenced by the Jewish observance of Sukkot, from which Thanksgiving Day came.

An important symbolic item of the Festival is the Arba’ah Minim (Four Species). These are held together and waved at different points in the religious services. The four species consist of a lulav (palm branch), etrog (citron), hadasim ( three myrtle twigs) and the aravot (two willow branches). Combined, these are called the Lulav.

According to the Bible, in the millennial Kingdom gentile nations will have to come up to Jerusalem to celebrate Sukkot in order to be blessed with rain. Even though it is not commandment now, many Christians celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. 

"And it shall come to pass that everyone who is left of all the nations which came against Jerusalem shall go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to keep the Feast of Tabernacles. And it shall be that whichever of the families of the earth do not come up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, on them there will be no rain." Zechariah 14:16-19 (NKJV)

Awesome, isn't it?

If you'd like to learn more about the Jewish Feasts and special days as they are celebrated in Israel, this book is a great reference guide:

                                                         

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Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement

 “The LORD said to Moses, “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Do not work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the LORD your God.”

Leviticus 23:26-28 NIV.

G'mar chatima tova is the traditional Hebrew greeting said before (and on) Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year and the culmination of the High Holiday season. It translates as, “a good final sealing,” in the Book of Life, the Jews believe they are inscribed on Rosh Hashanah and sealed on Yom Kippur.

Yom Kippur falls on the 10^th of Tishrei, usually in September or the beginning of October. 

In the afternoon before the start of Yom Kippur, shops close early and public transportation also ends earlier than on a Friday afternoon. Airports and harbors are closed until Wednesday evening. 

Soon, the quiet streets are taken over by children on bikes and people walking to the synagogues. 

As a symbol of purity many Jews wear white clothing and either walk on plastic shoes or house slippers, as long as they are not from leather. They spend most of Yom Kippur in synagogue, where prayer services are followed by litanies and petitions of forgiveness.

Even non-religious Jews try to keep the 25 hour fast. During this holiest day of the Jewish Year, synagogue attendance usually triples. 

When the sun is setting, many flock to the synagogue for the Ne’ilah prayer, after which the “Shma Israel” is recited and the Shofar blown. This symbolizes the closure of God’s books, in which the names are written for those who shall live or die the next year.

When Yom Kippur ends, directly after a festive meal, many religious Jews begin to build their Succa.

Kapparot ritual 

In ancient times it was customary to herald the end of Yom Kippur by blowing the Shofar at the Western Wall. This custom was re-installed when in 1967 Jerusalem was re-unified.

Amongst the ultra-orthodox (Haredim) the custom of “Kapparot” continues till this day. A live fowl is swung around the read while texts relating to redemption are recited. The fowl is then given to the poor. Many rabbis reject this superstitious custom. (A circle is like a magic ring to ward off evil spirits.)

“Tzedekah” – charity, is a way of Jewish life, and an integral part of Yom Kippur. Especially around the holiday season people donate money to many charitable organizations.

You can find more information on this most holy day in the book "Remember, Observe, Rejoice" by Petra van der Zande. 

You can order the book here:

Lag BaOmer and Upsherin

Upsherin (Yiddish Upsherinish (lit. shear off) or chalaka) is a Jewish haircutting ceremony,

Kabbalistic in origin, held when a Jewish boy is three years old. The upsherin tradition is (for Judaism) relatively modern and has only been traced back as far as the 17th century.

R. Yehudah Leibush Horenstein, a Chassidic rabbi who emigrated to Ottoman Palestine in the middle of the 19th century writes that "this haircut, called chalaka, is done by the Sephardim in Jerusalem at the kever (grave) of Shimeon bar Yochai during the summer, but during the winter they take the boy to the synagogue or Bayit Midrash and perform the hair- cut with great celebration and parties, something unknown to the Jews in Europe."

Because there was no Hebrew or Yiddish name for the custom, it was called by the Yiddish word for cutting off the hair: "upsheren".

In the Chassidic community, the upsherin marks a male child's entry into the formal edu- cational system and the commencement of Torah study. From now on, it will wear a kippah (yarmulke ) and tzitit. The child will be taught to pray and read the Hebrew alphabet. So that Torah should be "sweet on the tongue," the Hebrew letters are covered with honey, and the child licks them as he reads.

Some communities weigh the hair that is cut off in the upsherin ceremony, and give the amount to charity. If the hair is long enough, it may be donated to a charity that makes wigs for cancer patients. Other customs include having guests snip off a lock of hair, and encourage the child to put a coin in a tzedakah box for each lock that is cut.

Cutting hair is not allowed during the time of the Counting of the Omer, but is permitted on Lag Ba’omer. This is why boys who turned three between Pesach and Lag Ba’omer cele- brate upsherin on this date.

Mt. Meron, Galilee, Israel

The biggest Lag Ba’omer celebrations are held at the tomb of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai in Meron, in the Galilee. Shimon bar Yochai was a famous 1st-century tannaic sage in ancient Israel, active after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE. He was one of the most eminent disciples of Rabbi Akiva, and is attributed with the authorship of the Zohar, the chief work of Kabbalah.

During the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534- 1572), parents used to distribute wine and sweets while their son had his first haircut. This custom is still popular today. Rabbi Isaac Luria. a Jewish mystic from Safed in the Galilee region of Ottoman Palestine is considered the father of contemporary Kabbalah.

Today, many orthodox Jews travel to Mount Meron to celebrate their son’s upsherin. Jerusalemites who cannot travel to Meron, hold celebrations at the grave of Shimon Hatzaddik.

The Bible sometimes compares human life to the growth of trees. Leviticus 19:23 states that one is not permitted to eat the fruit that grows on a tree for the first three years.

Some Jews apply this principle to cutting a child's hair, and therefore only at the age of three does the child get its first haircut.

Chassidic Jews hope that the child, like a tree that grows tall and eventually produces fruit, will grow in knowledge and good deeds, and someday have a family of his own.

Some communities call a boy before his first haircut an orlah - the same word used for a tree in its early years.

Excerpt taken from the book: “Remember Observe Rejoice” © by Petra van der Zande  

ISBN 978-965-7542-61-3

Order book by clicking on this link

Lag BaOmer

Lag Ba’omer (also known as Lag La'Omer amongst Sephardic Jews) is celebrated on the 33rd day of the Counting of the Omer, which occurs on the 18th day of the Hebrew month of Iyar. (Usually in May.)

According to the Talmud, 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva died from a divinely sent plague during the Counting of the Omer. In the years that followed, Jews began to celebrate the end of the plague on Lag Ba’omer.

Rabbi Akiva continued with only five students, amongst them Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, who became the greatest teacher of Torah in his generation.

Akiva decided his students should learn to fight the Roman conquerors. To avoid suspicion, they dressed up as hunters carrying bows and arrows, and went to the woods to practice. Eventually, the students joined the Bar Kochba rebels in their fight for freedom.

During the Roman Empire, the Romans believed it was unlucky to marry in May, before the harvest. They believed that the souls of the dead came back to earth at that time to haunt the living, and would only be appeased by fu-nerals, not weddings. This period lasted 32 days, and ended with a festival on the 33rd day. The Roman practice coincided with the Jewish practice of Counting of the Omer, which ended with Lag Ba’omer, on the 33rd day.

In the Middle Ages, Lag Ba’omer became a special holiday for rabbinical students. On this so-called "Scholar's Day," it was customary to practice outdoor sports.

In ancient times farmers used to worry (they actually still do) during the Counting of the Omer, whether the new grain crops would succeed or fail. Israeli spring weather is always unstable. Hot desert winds (sharav) can dry out the seedlings or burn the standing grain. Another danger is locusts, other insects or plant diseases. Until the farmer knows the out-come of his respective harvests, he is not in the mood for private or public celebrations.

While the Counting of the Omer is a semi-mourning period for observant Jews, all re-strictions of mourning are lifted on the 33rd day of the Omer. Amongst Ashkenazi Jews, weddings, parties, listening to music, and haircuts are commonly scheduled to coincide with this day. Sephardi Jews marry on Lad Ba’omer, the 34th day of the Omer.

On the eve of the holiday, huge bonfires are lit all over the country. Children often begin to collect wood after the Pesach holiday.

Some believe that the practice of having these bonfires goes back to the days of Bar Kochba, who lit fires in Jerusalem to sig-nal to other villages and towns that they had captured the capital. In turn, the villages kindled fires which could be seen even further away.

The following day, families enjoy picnics and outings into the woods. Children continue to play with bows and rubber-tipped arrows.

The Meron celebrations date from the time of Rabbi Isaac Luria (1534-1572). Since then it became customary to give three-year-old boys their first haircuts (upsherin) during Lag Ba’o-mer.

Mt. Meron, Israel

Zionist ideology connected Lag Ba’omer to the Bar Kochba revolt against the Roman Empire. The holiday became a symbol for the fighting Jewish spirit.

The Gadna program (youth brigades) of the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) was established on Lag Ba’omer in 1941. Their emblem bears a bow and arrow.

On Lag Ba’omer 1948, the Israeli government ordered the establishment of the Israel Defense Forces.

Excerpt taken from the book: “Remember Observe Rejoice” 

by Petra van der Zande  ©

ISBN 978-965-7542-61-3

Buy the book by clicking this link