Jewish Festivals
- LAST REVIEWED: 21 January 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 21 January 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0214
- LAST REVIEWED: 21 January 2016
- LAST MODIFIED: 21 January 2016
- DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780195393361-0214
Introduction
The topic of Jewish holidays covers diverse historical periods, from biblical times until the present, and also diverse methodological and topical interests. At the same time, these materials are largely united by a shared focus. Of concern throughout is the theological and social meanings that holiday observances have had within the evolving life of the Jewish people, as that life has been manifested in different historical and cultural circumstances. This focus on the holidays’ evolving theological and social meaning is represented in scholars’ concern for the holidays’ origins in pre-Israelite settings and for the ways in which originally pagan and agrarian celebrations were subsumed into Israel’s system of Yahweh-worship, including their integration within the historical matrix of the Exodus that became so central to Israelite self-understanding. This historical interest appears as well as scholars study the reframing of Scripture’s holiday system in Rabbinic and medieval Judaism and especially in modern times, when assimilation, on the one hand, and the search for modes of personal spirituality, on the other, have challenged and stretched inherited theologies and modes of holiday observance. Viewed collectively, these studies highlight that the holidays have never been static. They are instead products of the intertwining of tradition with ideologies and perspectives that in each age give the inherited practices contemporary meaning. The literature reviewed here further reveals that, for all of their evolutionary development, the holidays remain for Jews in modernity, as in antiquity, foundational statements of what Judaism teaches and of what it means to be a Jew. The works before us thus strive both to delineate the holidays’ historical meanings and to articulate the changes in thinking about and observing the holidays that allow even contemporary Jews to identify with and gain value from their reflections on Judaism’s meaning and purpose.
General Introductions
Beginning with Gaster 1968, the focus in general introductions to the annual holiday cycle has been twofold. An overall goal of setting out the holidays’ contemporary ideology and practices stands next to a presentation of each holiday’s historical evolution, from its original biblical formulation to the meanings the holiday has today, including discussion of the specific rituals that now support those meanings. The implication of these studies is that Judaism today—in both Orthodox and nontraditional formulations—is a product of evolutionary developments that, in each generation, have allowed Judaism and its observances to remain meaningful and fresh. Bloch 1978 and Harris 1992 develop this approach with their concern for the evolution of holiday practices. Raphael 1990 is important in adding to the picture contemporary celebrations, such as Israel Independence Day, even as Sperber 1999 analyzes arcane, regional practices not treated by the other authors. Greenberg 1993, probably the best introduction available today, sets out the holidays’ contemporary meanings and implications as well as the historical developments that brought them to this point.
Bloch, Abraham P. The Biblical and Historical Background of the Jewish Holy Days. New York: Ktav, 1978.
The book traces the origins and historical development of the holidays and their associated practices, understanding that “the perspective of time is frequently invaluable in the discovery of the rationales of various rituals. These inevitably reflect socio-religious conditions of the period when the customs came into existence” (p. ix). Along with the annual holiday cycle, Bloch treats the life-cycle rituals and daily practices.
Gaster, Theodor H. Festivals of the Jewish Year: A Modern Interpretation and Guide. 4th ed. New York: William Sloane Associates, 1968.
The festivals manifest the process through which Jews in each age express broad universal truths in terms appropriate to their own day. The focus here is not so much on what is done but on the ideas the holidays express. While this book is today surpassed by other general introductions, especially Greenberg’s The Jewish Way (Greenberg 1993), it represents a first critical assessment of the holidays’ origins and meaning. First edition 1953.
Greenberg, Irving. The Jewish Way: Living the Holidays. New York: Touchstone, 1993.
Presents the details of holiday observance within the context of the holidays’ significance in setting out how we are meant to live, to relate to others, and to understand our place and obligations in the world. Greenberg presents the holidays as “orienting events.” He establishes the role of ritual within individual and communal life and shows how the festival calendar has evolved to express the meaning and values of Judaism.
Harris, Monford. Exodus and Exile: The Structure of the Jewish Holidays. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992.
Interprets the ways in which the holidays shape Jewish existence, inculcating in Jews a unique sense of time and history and pushing them to reflect meaningfully on the issues people face in life. Rather than focusing on individual holiday practices, Harris interprets the overall philosophical and psychological impact of holiday observance.
Raphael, Chaim. The Festivals: A History of Jewish Celebration. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1990.
The annual cycle of holidays, including contemporary ones such as Israel Independence Day. Raphael explains the holidays’ origins, biblical roots, and later ritual and interpretative developments. While aimed at general readers, the study is important for its careful delineation of the evolutionary development of the festivals’ meanings and practices.
Sperber, Daniel. Why Jews Do What They Do: The History of Jewish Customs throughout the Cycle of the Jewish Year. Translated by Yaakov Elman. Hoboken, NJ: Ktav, 1999.
Sperber considers holiday customs connected to the Pilgrimage Festivals, High Holidays, the Counting of the Omer, the Three Weeks leading up to Tisha B’Av, Hanukkah, and special Sabbaths. The topics are arcane (the custom of reciting Psalm 92 twice during Kabbalat Shabbat; not eating nuts on Rosh Hashanah). But these essays insightfully reflect the real-world circumstances in which textual tradition and contemporary interpretation produce an evolving system of practices.
Steinberg, Paul. Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Fall Holidays; Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot. Edited by Janet Greenstein Potter. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2007.
This volume, Steinberg and Potter 2007, and Steinberg and Potter 2009 present the holidays as fundamental expressions of Jewish spirituality, invoking the intellectual, emotional, and physical. Holidays connect Jews to history, the earth, their people, and God. Steinberg covers each holiday’s origins, ideology, ritual practices, and interpretations. He then presents holiday texts, examined at literal, interpretive, and personal levels. Steinberg’s goal is to deepen appreciation for and practice of the holidays.
Steinberg, Paul, and Janet Greenstein Potter. Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Winter Holidays; Hanukkah, Tu B’shevat, Purim. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2007.
Steinberg evaluates the holidays of Hanukkah, Tu B’Shevat, and Purim, once minor festivals in the Jewish calendar but increasingly central in contemporary Jewish life. At stake is the historical significance of these days, as well as how modern Jews might deepen their observance and appreciation of them within their own lives. Thus the focus is on personal connections and home observance.
Steinberg, Paul, and Janet Greenstein Potter. Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Spring and Summer Holidays; Passover, Shavuot, The Omer, Tisha B’Av. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2009.
Here Steinberg reflects specifically on the origins, ideology, and practices of Passover and Shavuot, including the forty-nine-day period of the Counting of the Omer. Tisha B’Av, the fast day that mourns the destructions of the First and Second Temple, is also examined.
Users without a subscription are not able to see the full content on this page. Please subscribe or login.
How to Subscribe
Oxford Bibliographies Online is available by subscription and perpetual access to institutions. For more information or to contact an Oxford Sales Representative click here.
Article
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Nabataea and the Nabat...
- Aaron
- Acts of Peter
- Acts of the Apostles
- Adam and Eve
- Aelia Capitolina
- Afterlife and Immortality
- Agriculture
- Alexander the Great
- Alexandria
- Altered States of Consciousness in the Bible
- Amos
- Ancient Christianity, Churches in
- Ancient Israel, Schools in
- Ancient Medicine
- Ancient Mesopotamia, Schools in
- Ancient Near Eastern Law
- Angels
- Anti-Semitism and the New Testament
- Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
- Apocryphal Acts
- Apostolic Fathers
- Aram
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Ammon and the Ammonite...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Aram and the Arameans
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Judah and the Judeans ...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Moab and the Moabites
- Archaeology and Material Culture of Phoenicia and the Phoe...
- Archaeology and Material Culture of the Kingdom of Israel ...
- Archaeology, Greco-Roman
- Art, Early Christian
- Asceticism
- Astrology and Astronomy
- Athaliah
- Atonement
- Augustus
- Babylon
- Baptism
- Barnabas, Epistle of
- Benefaction/Patronage
- Bible and Film
- Bible and Visual Art
- Bible, Exile, and Migration, The
- Biblical Criticism
- Biblical Studies, Cognitive Science Approaches in
- Caesarea Maritima
- Canaanites
- Canon, Biblical
- Ceramics
- Cherubim
- Child Metaphors in the New Testament
- Children in the Hebrew Bible
- Children in the New Testament World
- Christian Apocrypha
- Christology
- Chronicles, First and Second
- Cities of Refuge
- Clement, First
- Clement of Alexandria
- Clement, Second
- Clothing
- Colossians
- Conversation Analysis
- Conversion
- Corinthians, Second
- Cosmology, Near East
- Covenant
- Covenant, Ark of the
- Crucifixion
- Cyrus
- Daniel
- Daniel, Additions to
- David
- Death and Burial
- Deborah
- Demons
- Deuteronomistic History
- Deuteronomy
- Diaspora in the New Testament
- Didache
- Digital Humanities and the Bible
- Divination and Omens
- Domestic Architecture, Ancient Israel
- Early Christianity
- Early Christianity and Slavery
- Ecclesiastes/Qohelet
- Economics and Biblical Studies
- Edom
- Education, Greco-Roman
- Education in the Hebrew Bible
- Egyptian Book of the Dead
- Election in the Bible
- Elijah
- Elisha
- Enoch
- Ephesians
- Epistles, Catholic
- Epistolography (Ancient Letters)
- Eschatology of the New Testament
- Esther and Additions to Esther
- Ethics
- Evil Eye
- Exodus, Book of
- Exorcism
- Ezekiel
- Ezra-Nehemiah
- Faith in the New Testament
- Feminist Scholarship on the Old Testament
- Flora and Fauna of the Hebrew Bible
- Food and Food Production
- Friendship, Kinship and Enmity
- Funerary Rites and Practices, Greco-Roman
- Galatians
- Galilee
- Genesis, Book of
- Gentiles
- Gilgamesh
- Gnosticism
- God, Ancient Israel
- God, Greco-Roman
- God, Son of
- Gospels
- Gospels, Apocryphal
- Great, Herod the
- Greco-Roman Meals
- Greco-Roman World, Associations in the
- Greek Language
- Hagar
- Heaven
- Hebrew Bible, Biblical Law in the
- Hebrew Language
- Hebrews
- Hell
- Hellenistic and Roman Egypt
- Hermas, Shepherd of
- Historiography, Greco-Roman
- History of Ancient Israelite Religion
- Hittites
- Holy Spirit
- Honor and Shame
- Hosea, Book of
- Idol/Idolatry (HB/OT)
- Idol/Idolatry (New Testament)
- Imperial Cult and Early Christianity
- Infancy Gospel of Thomas
- Interpretation and Hermeneutics
- Intertextuality in the New Testament
- Isaiah
- Israel, History of
- James
- Jeremiah
- Jeroboam
- Jerusalem
- Jesus of Nazareth
- Jewish Christianity
- Jewish Festivals
- Jezebel
- Job
- Joel, Book of
- John, Gospel of
- John the Baptist
- Joshua
- Jubilees, Book of
- Judaism, Hellenistic
- Judaism, Rabbinic
- Judaism, Second Temple
- Judas, Gospel of
- Jude, Epistle of
- Judges, Book of
- Judith, Book of
- Kings, First and Second
- Kingship
- Lamentations
- Latino/a/e and Latin American Biblical Interpretation
- Letters, Johannine
- Letters, Pauline
- Levi/Levittes
- Levirate Obligation in the Hebrew Bible
- Levitical Cities
- Leviticus
- LGBTIQ Hermeneutics
- Literacy, New Testament
- Literature, Apocalyptic
- Lord's Prayer
- Luke, Gospel of
- Maccabean Revolt
- Maccabees, First–Fourth
- Man, Son of
- Manasseh, King of Judah
- Manasseh, Tribe/Territory
- Mari
- Mark, Gospel of
- Martyrdom
- Mary
- Matthew, Gospel of
- Medieval Biblical Interpretation (Jewish)
- Mesopotamian Mythology and Genesis 1-11
- Messianism
- Metaphor in the New Testament
- Midian
- Midrash and Aggadah
- Minoritized Criticism of the New Testament
- Miracle Stories
- Modern Bible Translations
- Moses
- Music
- Mysticism in Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity
- Myth in the Hebrew Bible
- Nahum, Book of
- Names of God in the Hebrew Bible
- New Testament and Early Christianity, Women, Gender, and S...
- New Testament, Feminist Scholarship on the
- New Testament, Men and Masculinity in the
- New Testament, Rhetoric of the
- New Testament, Social Sciences and the
- New Testament Studies, Emerging Approaches in
- New Testament, Textual Criticism of the
- New Testament Views of Torah
- Numbers, Book of
- Nuzi (Nuzi Tablets)
- Old Testament, Biblical Theology in the
- Old Testament, Social Sciences and the
- Orality and Literacy
- Otherness in the Hebrew Bible
- Pain and Suffering in the Hebrew Bible
- Parables
- Paraenesis
- Passion Narratives
- Pastorals
- Paul
- Pauline Chronology
- Paul's Opponents
- Pentateuch
- Performance Criticism
- Period, The "Persian"
- Peter
- Philemon
- Philippians
- Philistines
- Philo of Alexandria
- Piety/Godliness in Early Christianity and the Roman World
- Poetry, Hebrew
- Pontius Pilate
- Priestly/Holiness Codes
- Priest/Priesthood
- Prophets
- Proverbs
- Psalms
- Pseudepigraphy, Early Christian
- Pseudo-Clementines
- Q
- Qumran/Dead Sea Scrolls
- Race, Ethnicity and the Gospels
- Revelation (Apocalypse)
- Romans
- Ruth
- Sacrifice
- Samaria/Samaritans
- Samuel, First and Second
- Satan
- Scriptures
- Second Baruch
- Sects, Jewish
- Septuagint
- Sermon on the Mount
- Sexual Violence and the Hebrew Bible
- Sin (Hebrew Bible/Old Testament)
- Sirach
- Slavery
- Sojourner
- Solomon
- Solomon, Wisdom of
- Song of Songs
- Succession Narrative
- Synagogue
- Synoptic Problem
- Tales, Court
- Talmud
- Targum
- Temples and Sanctuaries
- Temples, Near Eastern
- Ten Commandments
- The Bible and the American Civil War
- The Bible and the Qur’an
- The Bible in China
- The English Bible: History and Translations
- the Hebrew Bible, Ancient Egypt and
- The New Testament and Creation Care
- Thessalonians
- Thomas, Gospel of
- Tobit
- Trauma and the Bible, Hermeneutics of
- Twelve Prophets, Book of the
- Ugarit
- Virtues and Vices: New Testament Ethical Exhortation in I...
- War, New Testament
- Wisdom
- Wisdom—Greek and Latin
- Women, Gender, and Sexuality in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testa...
- Worship in the New Testament and Earliest Christianity
- Worship, Old Testament
- Zadok
- Zechariah
- Zoology (Animals in the New Testament)