Passover (in Hebrew, Pesach (ˈpɛsɑːx,_ˈpeɪ-); Ḥag haPesaḥ) is a major Jewish holiday, one of the , that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites' escape from slavery in Egypt. Pesach starts on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan which is considered the first month of the Hebrew year. The Hebrew calendar is adjusted to align with the solar calendar in such a way that 15 Nisan always coincides with Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, or Saturday. The Hebrew day starts and ends at sunset, so the holiday starts at sunset the day before.
Sukkot is a Torah-commanded holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the (שלוש רגלים, shalosh regalim) on which those Israelites who could were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. In addition to its harvest roots, the holiday also holds spiritual importance with regard to its abandonment of materialism to focus on nationhood, spirituality, and hospitality, this principle underlying the construction of a temporary, almost nomadic, structure of a sukkah.
Israel (ˈɪzri.əl,_-reɪ-; יִשְׂרָאֵל Yīsrāʾēl jisʁaˈʔel; إِسْرَائِيل ʾIsrāʾīl), officially the State of Israel (מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl mediˈnat jisʁaˈʔel; دَوْلَة إِسْرَائِيل Dawlat Isrāʾīl), is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Lebanon to the north, by Syria to the northeast, by Jordan to the east, by the Red Sea to the south, by Egypt to the southwest, by the Mediterranean Sea to the west, and by the Palestinian territories - the West Bank along the east and the Gaza Strip along the southwest.
The Torah (ˈtɔːrə,_ˈtoʊrə; , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is known as the Pentateuch (ˈpɛntətjuːk) or the Five Books of Moses by Christians. It is also known as the Written Torah (תּוֹרָה שֶׁבִּכְתָב, ) in Jewish tradition. If meant for liturgic purposes, it takes the form of a Torah scroll (Sefer Torah). If in bound book form, it is called Chumash, and is usually printed with the rabbinic commentaries ().
Jews (יְהוּדִים, Yehudim, jehuˈdim) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group, nation or ethnos native to the Levant, originating from the ancient Israelites and Hebrews of historical Israel and Judah. Jewish ethnicity, nationhood, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the ethnic religion of the Jewish people, although its observance varies from strict to none. Jews take their origins from a Southern Levantine national and religious group that arose towards the end of the second millennium BCE.
A siddur (סִדּוּר siˈduʁ, 'sɪdəʁ; plural siddurim סִדּוּרִים siduˈʁim) is a Jewish prayer book containing a set order of daily prayers. The word comes from the Hebrew root , meaning 'order.' Other terms for prayer books are tefillot (תְּפִלּוֹת) among Sephardi Jews, tefillah among German Jews, and tiklāl (תכלאל) among Yemenite Jews. The earliest parts of Jewish prayer books are the Shema Yisrael ("Hear O Israel") (Deuteronomy 6:4 et seq) and the Priestly Blessing (Numbers 6:24-26), which are in the Torah.
Marriage in Judaism is the documentation of a contract between a Jewish man and a Jewish woman in which God is involved. In Judaism, a marriage can end either because of a divorce document given by the man to his wife, or by the death of either party. Certain details, primarily as protections for the wife, were added in Talmudic times. Non-Orthodox developments have brought changes in who may marry whom. Intermarriage is often discouraged, though opinions vary.
Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or Yamim Tovim (, or singular יום טוב Yom Tov, in transliterated Hebrew [ˈjɔːm_ˈtɔːv,_joʊm_ˈtoʊv]), are holidays observed in Judaism and by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar. They include religious, cultural and national elements, derived from three sources: biblical mitzvot ("commandments"), rabbinic mandates, and the history of Judaism and the State of Israel. Jewish holidays occur on the same dates every year in the Hebrew calendar, but the dates vary in the Gregorian.
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.
In its primary meaning, the Hebrew word (ˈmɪtsvə; מִצְוָה, mīṣvā mit͡sˈva, plural מִצְווֹת mīṣvōt mit͡sˈvot; "commandment") refers to a commandment commanded by God to be performed as a religious duty. Jewish law () in large part consists of discussion of these commandments. According to religious tradition, there are 613 such commandments. In its secondary meaning, the word mitzvah refers to a deed performed in order to fulfill such a commandment. As such, the term mitzvah has also come to express an individual act of human kindness in keeping with the law.
