Three Pilgrimage Festivals

The Three Pilgrimage Festivals or Shalosh Regalim (שלוש רגלים), are three major festivals in Judaism—two in spring, Pesach (Passover), 49 days later Shavuot (Weeks or Pentecost), and in autumn Sukkot (Tabernacles, Tents or Booths)—when all ancient Israelites who were able would make a to the Temple in Jerusalem, as commanded by the Torah. In Jerusalem, they would participate in festivities and ritual worship in conjunction with the services of the kohanim ("priests") at the Temple. All three coincide with important harvest times in the Land of Israel: Passover with the barley harvest, Shavuot with the harvesting of the wheat, and the eighth day of Sukkot marks the conclusion of the fruit harvest. After the destruction of the Second Temple and until the building of the Third Temple, the actual pilgrimages are no longer obligatory upon Jews, and no longer take place on a national scale. During synagogue services the related passages describing the holiday being observed are read aloud from a Torah scroll on the bimah (platform) used at the center of the synagogue services. During the Jewish holidays in modern-day Israel, many observant Jews living in or near Jerusalem make an effort to attend prayer services at the Western Wall emulating the ancient pilgrimages in some small fashion. Samaritans make pilgrimages to Mount Gerizim three times a year to this day. Book of Exodus (): "Offer a sacrifice to Me . Keep the festival of matzos [unleavened bread] ... the reaping festival [i.e., Shavuot] ... the harvest festival [i.e., Sukkot].... , every male among you must appear before God the Lord...." (Exodus 23:14–17) and "Keep the Festival of Matzahs [i.e., Passover].... Keep the Festival of Shavuot through the first fruits of your wheat harvest. Also keep the harvest festival [i.e., Sukkot] soon after the year changes. , all your males shall thus present themselves before God the Master, Lord of Israel.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (28)

Rosh Hashanah

Rosh HaShanah (רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, Rōʾš hašŠānā, literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה, Yōm Tərūʿā, lit. "day of shouting/blasting"). It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm, "Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins a ten-day period of penitence culminating in Yom Kippur, as well as beginning the cycle of autumnal religious festivals running through Sukkot and ending in Shemini Atzeret.

Three Pilgrimage Festivals

Third Temple

The "Third Temple" (, Bēṯ hamMīqdāš hašŠlīšī, ) refers to a hypothetical rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. It would succeed Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, the former having been destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in 587 BCE and the latter having been destroyed during the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 CE. Although it remains unbuilt, the notion of and desire for the Third Temple is sacred in Judaism, and particularly in Orthodox Judaism; it is anticipated as the most sacred place of worship for Jews.