The Jewish people are blessed with holidays. For thousands of years, and all over the world, Jews have observed festivals that commemorate historical events, celebrate nature and the harvest, and inspire spiritual renewal. In Jewish households, the holidays represent the thread that binds together and unites all Jewish people.

The Jewish people are blessed with holidays. For thousands of years, and all over the world, Jews have observed festivals that commemorate historical events, celebrate nature and the harvest, and inspire spiritual renewal. In Jewish households, the holidays represent the thread that binds together and unites all Jewish people.

Rich with spiritual, cultural, and social commentary, The Jewish Year serves as a comprehensive guide to all these observances, both traditional celebrations-such as Rosh Hashanah, Chanukah, and Passover-as well as holidays that have been created in the twentieth century, such as Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Informative and inspirational, this book combines folk customs-what we eat, how we dress, what we sing-with traditional laws of observance. More than thirty-five literary excerpts, ranging from folktales retold by renowned storytellers such as Peninnah Schram and Howard Schwartz to modern writing by prominent authors such as I. B. Singer, Sholom Aleichem, Elie Wiesel, and Yehuda Amichai, expand the holiday experience. Beautiful color reproductions of exquisite ritual objects, illuminated manuscripts, paintings, folk art, and sculpture enhance the text. The Jewish Year is a treasured addition to the Jewish family library.

Whether you are relatively new to festival celebration or familiar with holiday observances, let this volume guide you as you journey through the Jewish year. Use it to enrich your celebrations or create them anew. Begin with one festival: dip in, taste a bit, and enjoy! Draw upon the multiple sources found in this book-religious laws, folk customs, historic events, the seasons of nature--to give your holiday a unique character and flavor. Let the art, literature, and observances presented here exhilarate you with the joy and beauty of the legacy that is the Jewish year.

INTRODUCTION,Barbara Rush

PART ONE

Throughout the Year

THE SABBATH:

A Day of Rest, a Day of Delight

THE Pious Cow, AncientMidrash

THE KERCHIEF, Samuel J. Agnon

THE TASTE OF THE SABBATH MEAL,Russian Folktale

A CLOSET IN THE WALL,American Immigration Tale

CHALLAHS IN THE ARK,Land of Israel Folktale

ROSH CHODESH:The Festival of the New Moon

CAPTURING THE MOON IN CHELM, Chelm Tale

ORIGINS OF RosH CHODESH,Penina V. Adelman

PART TWO

Beginning the Year: The Fall

PART THREE

From Winter to Spring

PART FOR

Completing the Circle of the Year:From Late Spring to Summer