Celebrate Shabbat and Yom Tov With Us
We gather together every Shabbat and on Jewish holidays — Chagim — to celebrate heartwarming services and for a delicious Kiddush luncheon or festive evening meals. When needed, such as during the pandemic, we also provide Shabbat and holiday provisions for people to celebrate safely at home.
We are gratified to offer several locations for our services. Some are exclusively for JCC members, where at other locations, it is our great pleasure to bring together members of our community with tourists, business travelers, and other visitors, to celebrate Shabbat and holidays. The eclectic mix of people makes the atmosphere even more interesting and welcoming.
Below is a brief guide to holidays throughout the Jewish calendar:
The Jewish New Year begins with the High Holy Days, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, which occur in late summer or early autumn and are considered a time for spiritual reckoning.
Rosh Hashanah, the “head of the year,” the first of the Jewish month of Tishrei, is observed for two days both inside and outside of Israel. Special high holiday liturgies are recited in synagogue, and the Shofar, a ram’s horn, is sounded during the service.
Yom Kippur, Day of Atonement, the 10th of Tishrei, the holiest Jewish day, is dedicated for prayer and fasting from before sundown until after sunset.
Sukkot (Festival of Tabernacles): Weeklong commemoration of God’s miraculous protection of the Israelites when they wandered in the desert after the Exodus. We partake of meals and spend time in the Sukkah, a foliage-covered hut or booth. Another mitzvah of the holiday is to bind together and shake the Four Species, referred to as the lulav and etrog, symbolizing unity among disparate types of people.
Simchat Torah (Rejoicing of the Torah): follows directly after Sukkot. The Torah scrolls are removed from the Holy Ark and carried in joyous circle dances, followed by the completion of the weekly Torah reading cycle and its resumption from the beginning of the cycle.
Hanukkah (Festival of Lights): celebrated for eight days beginning with the 25th of Kislev, commemorates the victory of the Jews over the oppression of the Syrian-Greeks in 164 CE. The main mitzvah of the holiday is to light the Chanukiah or Menorah, each night adding a light until all eight candles are lit.
Purim (Festival of Lots): 14th of Adar, commemorates the salvation of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian empire from the evil designs of Haman, who plotted to kill all the Jews. The festive day features the reading of the Scroll of Esther, giving charity, and sharing food gifts.
Pesach (Passover): Weeklong commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt and the birth of the Jewish nation, occuring in the spring, on the 15th of Nissan. All leavened grain items are removed from the home before the holiday, and matzot, unleavened bread, is eaten. The story of the Exodus is related, accompanied by special ritual foods, at the Passover Seder dinner.
Shavuot (Feast of Weeks): Commemorates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai, seven weeks after Passover.
Yom HaShoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day): 27th of Nissan, memorializes the victims of the Nazi Holocaust.
Fast Days
In addition to Yom Kippur, mentioned above, Jews fast five other days a year, as a reminder of the suffering of the Israelites.
Tisha B'Av, 9th of Hebrew month of Av, usually in late July/early August, marks the destruction of the First and Second Holy Temples in Jerusalem.
Fast of Gedalia, 3rd of Tishrei, usually in September, marks the death of Jerusalem’s ruler after the destruction of the Temple.
Seventeenth Day of Tammuz, 17th of Hebrew month of Tammuz, usually in July, marks the destruction of the walls of Jerusalem.
Tenth of Tevet, 10th of Hebrew month of Tevet, usually in December, is associated with the Babylonian captivity.
Fast of Esther, the day before Purim, 13th of Adar, usually in March, which commemorates the delivery from the Persian persecution.
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