Page 130 - Bible Geography and Near East Studies

Exodus 13:7 Unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days; no leavened bread shall be seen with you,
and no leaven shall be seen with you in all your territory.

Pentecost
Pentecost (Hebrew: Shavuot) commemorates the time when God gave the Torah to the Children of
Israel in the Sinai desert. Shavuot eve is celebrated with the family, usually having a dairy dinner with
many cheese-related foods, including cheesecakes. This one-day holiday is also called the Festival of
Weeks or the Festival of Reaping.

Dates: early June, exactly seven weeks (49 days) after the start of Passover.
Season: late spring.

Tisha Be’av
Tisha Be’av is a fast that commemorates the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in
Jerusalem. It is held for one day only.
Date: mid-July to early August.

New Year
This is the Jewish New Year (Hebrew: Rosh Hashanah, which literally means “the head of the year”).
New Year's Eve (Hebrew: Erev Rosh Hashanah) is traditionally celebrated with a grand dinner, usually
with the extended family. To symbolize a sweet New Year, apples and honey are eaten on New Year’s
Eve. Pomegranates that have many seeds are eaten or used in cocking during this holiday. The common
greeting is “Shana Tova,” which literally means in Hebrew “good year”. The New Year lasts for two days.

Dates: anywhere between September 5th and October 5th, the exact Gregorian date changes every
year, like the rest of the Jewish holidays.

Day of Atonement
The Day of Atonement (Hebrew: yom kippur or yom hakkipurim) is the holiest day of them all, where a
lot of prayer services are held, and the religious ones fast for 25 hours. This one day also intermingles
with an unofficial memorial day to the war that broke out on Yom Kippur in October 1973. A common
tradition is asking one another for forgiveness for the sins of the previous year and wishing an easy fast
(about 60% of Israelis fast on that day, most of them are not religious). Non-religious kids are pedaling
bicycles on the streets.

During the Day of Atonement, all of Israel has a rest day; all public and private services and businesses
are closed, including radio and TV, and airports are closed. Public transport does not operate (trains,
buses, taxis), driving a private car is traditionally not allowed, so do NOT plan on driving anywhere with
your rental on that day (you may see scarce emergency vehicles). Visitors are asked to please respect
others and refrain from eating or talking on their cellphones in public places.

Date: late September to early October, exactly 10 days after the New Year.

Tabernacles
Tabernacles (Hebrew: Sukkot) is the time to remember how the Children of Israel walked for 40 years in
the desert after the Exodus from Egypt. A lot of Israelis, especially families with children, build a special
tent (Hebrew: sukka) where, throughout the holiday period, they eat meals, get together, and play
games with their family and friends. The day after Sukkot is called Simchat Torah or Shemini Atzeret,
when the reading of the Torah starts from the beginning (and is read entirely during one year).
It is also called The Feast of Ingathering. The holiday lasts for 7 days, followed by one day of Simchat
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