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Tishrey Jewish
Holidays
Introducing the "Tishrey Jewish Holidays" eBook

In this book, you'll be introduced to holidays celebrated in Judaism around

the world and in the land of Israel in the month of Tishrey. You'll learn about
the customs of these holidays, their origin, and the story behind each one.
Gain a deeper insight into traditions and customs and understand where
they came from and how they changed along the years to be what we
know today.
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Tishrey Holidays - Rosh Hashana

Every year, in the beginning of the month of Tishrey, we celebrate the New
Jewish Year. In Hebrew "New Year" is - ‫ש נ ָה‬
ָּ ׁ ‫ה‬ ׁ ֹ ‫" ר‬Rosh Hashana", which literally
ַ ‫אש‬
translates to: "The head of the year". The Hebrew word "Rosh"- head, is used
figuratively as "beginning”. That is also the reason why a fish head is eaten on
the Rosh Hashanah Seder - the festive meal.

The word "shana" (year) comes from the root "‫ה‬/‫י‬-‫נ‬-‫"ש‬. The root appears in the
bible and means "to repeat something": ‫ הָע ֹל ָה‬-‫ו ַי ֹּא מֶר מִל ְאו ּ אַרְב ָּעָה כ ַד ִּים מַי ִם ו ְי ִצ ְקו ּ עַל‬
‫ש ל ֵ ּׁש ו‬
ַ ׁ ְ ‫ ו ַי‬,ּ ‫ש ל ֵ ּׁש ו‬
ַ ׁ ‫ש נו ּ ו ַי ֹּאמֶר‬
ְ ׁ ִּ ‫ ו ַי‬,ּ ‫ש נו‬
ְ ׁ ‫ ו ַי ֹּאמֶר‬.‫ע צ ִים‬ ָ -‫( – ו ְעַל‬Kings 18:34). The verb also appears
ֵ ‫ה‬
with the same meaning once more: ֹ‫ת ו‬ ָ ׁ ‫( – כ ְּכ ֶל ֶב‬Proverbs
ּ ְ ‫שב עַל קֵאו ֹ כ ְּסִיל ׁש ו ֹנ ֶה בְאִו ַּל‬
26:11). It is therefore believed that the word "shana" comes from the word that
means "to repeat", because the year repeats itself.

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Tishrey
Tishrey Holidays
Holidays -- Yom
Yom Kippur
Kippur
Yom Kippur and the Hebrew meaning of "Selicha"

As Yom Kippur approaches, people across Israel are getting together for the
"Selichot" (‫ – )סְּל ִיחות‬the ancient prayers for forgiveness. The word itself is the
plural form of "Selicha" which means forgiveness, and is used in Modern Hebrew
as "sorry" or "excuse me". During the entire month of Elul until Yom Kippur,
Sephardic Jews recite the Selichot before sunrise. Ashkenazi Jews begin the
Selichot on the Saturday night before Rosh Hashana. The Kotel (‫ כֹּתֶל‬- Western
Wall) is filled with people from around the country coming together to pray.
And once the fast begins, it feels as if the entire country is in silent prayer. The
roads are completely empty of cars. Instead, they are filled with many people
wearing white, and children riding bicycles and skateboards.

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Discover the meaning of Yom Kippur

This festival’s name, Yom Kippur, is comprised of two Hebrew words: yom (‫)יוֹם‬
which means day and kippur (‫ )כִּפּו ּר‬which means atonement. It is described in
the Bible as follows: "ָ�‫ת טְה‬
ִּ ‫ת כ ֶם מִכ לּ ֹל חַטֹּאתֵיכ ֶם לִפְנ ֵי י ְהו ָה‬
ְ ֶ‫ב ַי ּוֹם הַז ֶּה יְכַפֵּר עֲל ֵיכ ֶם ל ְטַ הֵר א‬-‫כ ִּי‬
ּ ‫“ – "רו‬On this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before
the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins”. (Leviticus 16:30).
In English the word “atonement” is a rather abstract concept, which refers to
making amends or reparations after having committed a sin. But the Hebrew
word kippur has a much more concrete meaning. In the Bible the root k-p-r
(‫ )כפר‬means to physically cover something up. For example, in Genesis 32:21
Jacob tries to pacify his estranged brother Esau by sending him gifts, thinking
to himself: “let me cover over (‫ )אֲכַפְּר ָה‬his face with a present”. What this means
is that the act of atonement in the Bible is an act of “covering up” our sins. But
of course this is a temporary measure. We can never hope to entirely banish
sin. It is constantly present in our lives. This is precisely the reason that Yom
Kippur comes once a year.

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Tishrey Holidays - Sukkot

The Purpose of the Sukkah in Jewish Tradition

‫שב ִי עִי‬
ְּ ׁ ‫ה‬
ַ ‫ִש ׂרָאֵל ב ַּסֻּכ ּוֹת בֶּחָג ב ַּח ֹד ֶׁש‬
ְ ‫י‬-‫ א ֲׁשֶר י ֵׁשְבו ּ ב ְנ ֵי‬,‫מ ֹ ׁשֶה‬-‫א ֲׁשֶר צ ִו ָּה י ְהו ָה ב ְּי ַד‬
"Which the LORD had commanded through Moses, that the Israelites were to live
in booths (Sukkot) during the feast of the seventh month" (Nehemiah 8, 14)

The sukkah is a temporary structure built according to defined Halachic rules.

It is a mitzvah (‫ )מִצ ְו ָה‬to live in the sukkah, to eat, drink, and even sleep in
it throughout the seven days of the holiday to remember that the people of
Israel did the same in the desert after leaving Egypt. Many have the custom of
inviting guests to the sukkah to commemorate the seven Ushpizin (‫ֻשפִּיז ִין‬
ְ ׁ ‫ )א‬in
the Bible: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph, and David.

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The Origin of the Word “Sukkah”

The word ‫סֻכ ָּה‬-sukkah comes from the root ‫כ‬-‫כ‬-‫ס‬, and it refers to a structure
that shelters the people within it, and also refers to the roof of the sukkah -‫סכך‬-
schach. The word "sukkah" appears a number of times in the Bible in different
contexts: as the name of a city in Egypt, the name of an old city in Jordan and
of course the name of the holiday.

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Tishrey Holidays - Simchat Torah

Every year in October Jewish people celebrate the festivity of “Simchat Tora”
(‫)ש ׂמְחַת תּוֹר ָה‬
ִ which means "rejoicing with the Torah". On this day, the Torah's
last weekly Parashah (‫ )פָּר ָׁשָה‬- VeZot Haberakha (‫הבְּרָכ ָה‬
ַ ‫ )ו ְז ֹאת‬is read in the
synagogues, and immediately afterwards, the reading cycle restarts with the
first word in Genesis 1:1 - Bereshit (‫ש ית‬
ִ ׁ ‫)בְּר ֵא‬.

The Meaning behind Genesis (Bereshit)

Unlike the English name of the book of Genesis, which simply means “creation”,
the Hebrew name Bereshit means “in the beginning”. The root of the word
Bereshit is the word rosh ‫( ראש‬head). This is a fitting name because we literally
begin the Biblical narrative “at the head” of the story. Another reason why
Bereshit is a fitting word to open the Torah is because it begins with the letter
bet (‫)ב‬, the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet rather than aleph (‫)א‬, the first
letter. Why is this significant? The Torah is reassuring us that as humans, we
are intrinsically limited. We cannot know everything from A-Z. Beginning at B
is okay, because we can never really master all knowledge. Also, the letter bet
is closed on three sides and open on the one side that points ahead. This is
meant to encourage us to face forward, to live our lives anticipating what is to
come rather than dwelling on the past.

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