[Teachldsseminary] Jewish Holidays

[debra storm]

To add to Sister Sperry's comment on celebrating the Jewish holidays during
this OT year, there is a small paperback book by Gale T. Boyd (she was
raised Jewish and later converted to the LDS faith) called "*Days of Awe;
Jewish Holy Days, Symbols, & Prophecies for Latter-day Saints*"  It expains
the Jewish holidays and their symbolism, but it also presents them in lesson
form, complete with a CD that has handouts, recipes, etc. I used this book
extensively when I taught OT the last time.
One last thought: I recruited the parents of my seminary kids to help with
the celebrations by preparing and bringing in the different foods and
helping in class that morning. Not only did the kids really love the
experience, but the parents often expressed appreciation as well.

Debra
Columbus, OH



On 7/1/07, Shannon Sperry <sperry at lasher.com> wrote:
>
> After 7 years of teaching early morning, I also am moving on, but I
> wanted to give this list my two best ideas that resulted from the last
> time I taught Old Testament.  I have thoroughly appreciated this list
> and Bro. Holder and his site and I will miss all of your great ideas.
> Before leaving the office each day, I would turn to Latter-Day Village
> and print all of your ideas.  My lessons were far more interesting and
> relevant to teenagers because of all of the work that has gone into the
> site.  I could not have done it for so long without Latter-Day Village.
>
>
> My two best ideas:
>
> 1.  The first is to buy a shofar.  You can get a pretty cheap one on
> many Jewish internet sites.  They blow the shofar all through the OT and
> I would rotate the blowing among my students whenever we came to such a
> place.  The kids would read ahead to see when we got to blow it next.
> It is hard, and in fact even my French horn player student struggled.
> The only really successful student was a tuba player.
>
> 2.  The second idea and something that will always be remembered by my
> students is that instead of celebrating US holidays (OK, we celebrated
> those also) we celebrated the Jewish holidays.  There are many and all
> are scripturally important.  I love the fact that the Jews remember
> their ancestors and attach so much importance to the faith of their
> ancestors (very similar to Mormons).  My students and I live on a small
> island with a large Jewish population.  Although their classmates would
> be absent from school for certain holidays (and you could watch most
> Jews walking to the Synagogue morning and night), most if not all of my
> students had no idea why.  They did not realize that the holidays were
> linked to the Old Testament, the very book we were studying.  We loved
> learning about and celebrating the Jewish holidays, with special
> emphasize on Passover where we put on our own Seder.
>
> Here are the holidays we celebrated:
>
>
> \
> JEWISH HOLIDAYS FOR THE YEAR 2007-2008
>
> Each holiday begins at sundown the previous day.
>
> ROSH HASHANAH   Sept. 13-14, 2007 (Begins High Holy Days)
>
> Rosh HaShanah (literally, "Head of the Year") refers to the celebration
> of the Jewish New Year.  The holiday is observed on the first day of the
> Hebrew month of Tishrei, which usually falls in Sept. or Oct., and marks
> the beginning of a ten-day period of prayer, self examination and
> repentance, which culminate on the fast day of Yom Kippur. These ten
> days are referred to as Yamim Noraim, the Days of Awe or the High Holy
> Days.
>
> While there are elements of joy and celebration, Rosh HaShanah is a
> deeply religious occasion. The customs and symbols of Rosh HaShanah
> reflect the holiday's dual emphasis, happiness and humility.  Special
> customs observed on Rosh HaShanah include; the sounding the shofar,
> using round challah, eating apples and honey (and other sweet foods) for
> a sweet new year.
>
> YOM KIPPUR   Sept. 22, 2007
>
> Yom Kippur is the "Day of Atonement" and refers to the annual Jewish
> observance of fasting, prayer and repentance.  This is considered to be
> the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.  In three separate passages in
> the Torah, the Jewish people are told, "the tenth day of the seventh
> month is the Day of Atonement.  It shall be a sacred occasion for you.
> You shall practice self-denial..." (Leviticus 23:27)  Fasting is seen as
> fulfilling this biblical commandment. The Yom Kippur fast also enables
> Jewish people to put aside their physical desires and to concentrate on
> their spiritual needs through prayer, repentance and self-improvement.
> It is customary in the days before Yom Kippur for Jews to seek out
> friends and family whom they have wronged and personally ask for their
> forgiveness.
>
> (It is traditional for most Jews to eat chicken and rice before the
> fast.  To break the fast, usually a milk meal is served with an apple
> dipped in honey, followed by other traditional foods.  The Sephardim
> serve eggs, the symbol of hope and life.  In America, Jews usually
> celebrate with bagels, lox and cream cheese)
>
>
> SUKKOT  Sept. 27-Oct. 2, 2007
>
> Sukkot, a Hebrew word meaning "booths" or "huts", refers to the Jewish
> festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest as well as the
> commemoration of the forty years of Jewish wandering in the desert after
> Sinai. Sukkot is celebrated five days after Yom Kippur on the 15th of
> Tishrei, and is marked by several distinct traditions.  One tradition,
> which takes the commandment to "dwell in booths" literally, is to build
> a sukkah, a booth or hut.  A sukkah is often erected by Jews during this
> festival, and it is common practice for some to eat and even live in
> these temporary dwellings during Sukkot.
>
> (Our seminary class made small sukkahs out of twigs and leaves.  Another
> class actually erected a sukkah outside and had their class out side for
> the week)
>
>
> SIMCHAT TORAH  Oct. 7, 2007
>
> Simchat Torah, Hebrew for "rejoicing in the Law" celebrates the
> completion of the annual reading of the Torah.  Simchat Torah is a
> joyous festival, in which they affirm their view of the Torah as a tree
> of life and demonstrate a living example of never-ending, lifelong
> study.  Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and carried or danced
> around the synagogue seven times.  During the Torah service, the
> concluding section of Deuteronomy is read, and immediately following,
> the opening section of Genesis, or B"reishit as it is calling Hebrew, is
> read.
>
> (In many congregations, the custom is that everyone reads aloud the
> verse that concludes each day of creation as well as the verses which
> talk about Shabbos.)
>
> CHANUKAH  Dec. 5-12
>
> Chanukah, meaning "dedication" in Hebrew refers to the joyous eight-day
> celebration during which Jews commemorate the victory of the Maccabeus
> over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and
> "rededication" of the Temple in Jerusalem. The modern home celebration
> of Chanukah centers around the lights of the chanukiah, a special
> menorah for Chanukah; unique foods, latkes and jelly doughnuts; and
> special songs and games, including the dradel game.
>
> TU BISH'VAT  Jan. 22, 2008
>
> Tu BiSh'vat or the "New Year of the Trees" is Jewish Arbor Day.  The
> holiday is observed on the fifteenth (tu) of Sh'vat.  Scholars believe
> that TuBiSh'vat was originally an agricultural festival, marking the
> emergence of spring.  After the destruction of the Temple in 70 A.C.E.
> this holiday was a way for Jews to symbolically bind themselves to their
> former homeland by eating foods that could be found in Israel.  In the
> sixteenth and seventeenth century Kabbalists created a ritual for Tu
> BiSh'vat similar to the Passover Seder. Today, Tu BiSh'vat has also
> become a tree planting festival in Israel, in which both Israelis and
> Jews around the world plant trees in honor or in memory of a loved one
> or friend.
> (Consider planting a tree somewhere on the church property that your
> students can watch grow)
>
> PURIM  March 21, 2008
>
> Purim is celebrated by the reading of the Scroll of Esther, known in
> Hebrew as the Megillat Esther, which relates the basic story of Purim.
> Under the rule of King Ahashuerus, Haman, the King's prime minister,
> plots to exterminate all of the Jews of Persia.  His plan is foiled by
> Queen Esther and her uncle Mordechai, who ultimately save the Jews of
> the land from destruction. The reading of the megillah is typically a
> rowdy affair, which is punctuated by booing and noisemaking when Haman's
> name is read aloud.
>
> Purim is an unusual holiday in many respects.  First, Esther is the only
> book of the Bible in which God is not mentioned.  Second, Purim, like
> Chanukah, is viewed by tradition as a minor festival. The elevation of
> Purim to a major holiday was a result of the Jewish historical
> experience.  Over the centuries, Haman became the embodiment of every
> anti-Semite in every land where Jews were oppressed. The significance in
> Purim lays not so much in how it began, but in what it has become - a
> thankful and joyous affirmation of Jewish survival against all odds.
>
> PESACH  April 20-27, 2008
>
> Pesach, Known as Passover in English, is a major Jewish spring festival,
> commemorating the Exodus from Egypt over 3,000 years ago. The ritual
> observance of this holiday centers around a special home service called
> the seder (meaning "order" and a festive meal; the prohibitions of
> leaven bread; and the eating of matzah unleavened bread).  On the eve of
> the fifteenth day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar, Jews read from a book
> called the hagaddah, meaning "telling" which contains the order of
> prayers, rituals, readings and songs for the Pesach seder.  The Pesach
> seder is the only ritual meal in the Jewish calendar year for which such
> an order is prescribed, hence its name.
>
> The seder has a number of scriptural bases.  Exodus 12:3-11 describes
> the meal of lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs which the
> Israelites ate just prior to the Exodus. In addition three separate
> passages in Exodus (12:26-7, 13:8, 13:14) and one in Deuteronomy
> (6:20-21) enunciate the duty of the parents to tell the story of the
> Exodus to their children.  The seder plate contains various symbolic
> foods referred to in the seder itself.
>
> (Consider putting on a seder. There are many helps on the Latter Day
> Village site or the internet.)
>
>
> SHAVUOT   June 9-10
>
> Shavuot is a Hebrew word meaning "weeks" and refers to the Jewish
> festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.  Shavuot, like
> so many other Jewish holidays began as an ancient agricultural festival,
> marking the end of the spring barley harvest and the beginning of the
> summer wheat harvest.  Shavuot was distinguished in ancient times by
> bringing crop offerings to the Temple in Jerusalem.
>
> Shavuot, also know as the Festival of the Giving of the Torah, dates
> from biblical times and helps to explain the holiday's name, "Weeks".
> The Torah tells that it took precisely forty-nine days to travel from
> Egypt to the foot of Mount Sinai (the same number of days as the
> Counting of the Omer) where the Israelites were to receive the Torah.
> Thus, Leviticus 23:21 commands: "And you shall proclaim that day (the
> fiftieth day) to be a holy convocation..."  The name Shavuot, "Weeks,"
> then symbolizes the completion of a seven-week journey.
>
> Special customs on Shavuot are the reading of the Book of Ruth, which
> reminds the Jews  that they  too can find a continual source of blessing
> in the tradition of their fathers.  Another tradition includes staying
> up all night to study Torah and Mishnah, a custom called Tikkun Leil
> Shavuot, which symbolizes the commitment to the Torah, and that we are
> always ready and awake to receive the Torah.  Traditionally, dairy
> dishes are served on this holiday to symbolize the sweetness of the
> Torah, as well as the "land of milk and honey".
>
> TISHAH B'AV  Aug. 10, 2008
>
> Tishah B'Av, which means the Ninth of Av, refers to a traditional day of
> mourning the destruction of both ancient Temples in Jerusalem.  In
> contrast to Orthodoxy, Reform Judaism has ever assigned a central
> religious role to the ancient Temple.  Therefore, mourning the
> destruction of the Temple in such an elaborate fashion did not seem
> meaningful.  More recently, in Reform Judaism Tishah B'Av has been
> transformed into a day to remember many Jewish tragedies that have
> occurred throughout history.
>
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