Shabbat — the weekly festival

Shabbat runs from sunset on Friday to nightfall on Saturday. It recalls both G-d's rest at creation and the liberation from slavery — a people who were slaves now stop work by command.

• Two Shabbat candles are lit; the Kiddush blessing is said over wine; challah bread is blessed.
• Shabbat ends with the Havdalah ('division') ceremony.

The shofar

Rosh Hashanah — the New Year

Rosh Hashanah ('head of the year') opens the Ten Days of Awe, also called the Days of Repentance. It celebrates G-d's creation of the world.

• The shofar (ram's horn) is blown in the synagogue — a call to wake up and repent.
• Jews speak of the Book of Life, in which G-d inscribes the coming year.
• Apples dipped in honey express hope for a sweet year.
• At Tashlikh ('casting away'), crumbs are cast into flowing water to symbolise casting away sins.

Yom Kippur

Yom Kippur — the Day of Atonement

Yom Kippur is the last of the Ten Days and the holiest day of the Jewish year.

• Adults fast for around 25 hours — no food or drink — and other prohibitions apply.
• Many wear white as a sign of purity.
• Much of the day is spent in synagogue; the evening service is known as Kol Nidre.
• The emphasis is reconciliation: putting right what has been done wrong, and making new resolutions.

Important nuance: Yom Kippur atones for wrongs against G-d. For wrongs against another person, Jewish teaching says you must first seek that person's forgiveness.

Which festival?

Tap a practice, then tap the festival it belongs to.

Pesach — Passover

Pesach celebrates G-d's deliverance of the Israelites from Egypt — the final plague, from which the Israelites were 'passed over', and the Exodus.

• The Seder ('order') is a ritual meal held at home.
• The Haggadah is the book that tells the story and sets the order of the evening.
• The youngest child asks the four questions, beginning 'Why is this night different from all other nights?'

The Seder plate

The Seder plate

Each food on the Seder plate carries meaning. The most examinable are:

• Matzah — unleavened bread: the Israelites left in such haste the bread had no time to rise.
• Maror — bitter herbs: the bitterness of slavery.
• Charoset — a sweet paste resembling the mortar used in forced labour.
• Salt water — the tears of the slaves.

Ritual as teaching: the Seder is designed so that each generation tastes the story, rather than merely hearing it. That is a strong point in an evaluation answer about why festivals endure.

Sukkot

Sukkot — Booths

Sukkot does two things at once: it celebrates the gathering in of the harvest and recalls G-d's protection of the Israelites during their wanderings in the wilderness.

• Families build a sukkah — a temporary shelter with a roof open enough to see the stars — and eat, and sometimes sleep, in it.
• The four species are waved: lulav (palm), etrog (citron), hadass (myrtle) and aravah (willow).

Living in a flimsy shelter is a deliberate lesson in dependence — security comes from G-d, not from bricks.

Key terms

Tap a term on the left, then its meaning on the right.

Religious reason, practice, social significance

The 0490 syllabus asks the same three questions about every festival. Train yourself to answer all three:

• Religious reason — its origin, purpose and symbolism.
• Practice — what is actually done, at home and in the synagogue.
• Social significance — family gathering, community identity, passing tradition to children, supporting those with no family to celebrate with.

Shabbat

Festivals in the modern world

The syllabus asks about changes to festivals and fasts, and how Jews with different beliefs feel about them.

• Travel and work patterns make full observance harder for some.
• Some communities hold shorter or more accessible services; some publish Haggadot with modern readings.
• Orthodox Jews are generally cautious about changing established practice; many Reform and Liberal Jews welcome adaptation that keeps the meaning alive.

Atonement

Are festivals the heart of Judaism?

Possible prompt: 'Festivals are the most important part of Jewish life.' Discuss.

• Agree — they transmit the covenant story to each generation, bind families and communities, and mark Jewish identity publicly.
• Disagree — the daily mitzvot, weekly Shabbat, study of Torah and ethical conduct arguably matter more than a handful of days a year.
• Nuance — for some Jews, festivals are the main point of contact with tradition; for others they are the visible tip of a whole way of life.

The big ideas to know

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