SukkotSukkot 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.
SamaritansSamaritans (səˈmærɪtənz; ; שומרונים; السامريون) are an ethnoreligious group who originate from the ancient Israelites. They are native to the Levant and adhere to Samaritanism, an Abrahamic and ethnic religion similar to Judaism, but differing in several important aspects. Samaritan tradition claims the group descends from the northern Israelite tribes who were not deported by the Neo-Assyrian Empire after the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel.
PurimPurim (ˈpʊərɪm; פּוּרִים , lots; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jewish people from annihilation at the hands of an official of the Achaemenid Empire named Haman, as it is recounted in the Book of Esther (usually dated to the 5th century BCE). Haman was the royal vizier to the Persian king Ahasuerus (Xerxes I or Artaxerxes I; Khshayarsha and Artakhsher in Old Persian, respectively).
Temple MountThe Temple Mount (הַר הַבַּיִת) is a hill in the Old City of Jerusalem that has been venerated as a holy site in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam for thousands of years. As the site of a large mosque compound, it is also known as Al-Aqsa or al-Aqsa mosque compound (المسجد الأقصى, al-Masjid al-Aqṣā, lit. 'The Furthest Mosque'), known honorifically as al-Ḥaram al-Sharīf (Arabic: الحرم الشريف, lit. 'The Noble Sanctuary'), and sometimes as Jerusalem's sacred (or holy) esplanade.
YavneYavne (יַבְנֶה) or Yavneh is a city in the Central District of Israel. In many English translations of the Bible, it is known as Jabneh ˈdʒæbnə. Yavne holds a special place in Jewish history because of its contribution to Judaism's recovery and reconstitution under sages ben Zakkai and Gamaliel II following the destruction of the Second Temple. This period, sometimes known as the "Yavne period", became a crucial mark in the development of Rabbinic Judaism.
ZionismZionism (צִיּוֹנוּת Tsiyyonut tsijoˈnut after Zion) is a nationalist movement that emerged in the 19th century to espouse support for the establishment of a homeland for the Jewish people in Palestine, a region roughly corresponding to the Land of Israel in Jewish tradition. Following the establishment of Israel, Zionism became an ideology that supports "the development and protection of the State of Israel".
ShofarA shofar (ʃoʊˈfɑr ; from שׁוֹפָר, ʃoˈfaʁ) is an ancient musical horn typically made of a ram's horn, used for Jewish religious purposes. Like the modern bugle, the shofar lacks pitch-altering devices, with all pitch control done by varying the player's embouchure. The shofar is blown in synagogue services on Rosh Hashanah and at the end of Yom Kippur; it is also blown every weekday morning in the month of Elul running up to Rosh Hashanah. Shofars come in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the choice of animal and level of finish.
LeviteLevites (ˈliːvaɪt ; Lǝvīyyīm) or Levi are Jewish males who claim patrilineal descent from the Tribe of Levi. The Tribe of Levi descended from Levi, the third son of Jacob and Leah. The surname Halevi, which consists of the Hebrew definite article "" Ha- ("the") plus Levi (Levite) is not conclusive regarding being a Levite; a titular use of HaLevi indicates being a Levite. The daughter of a Levite is a "Bat Levi" (Bat being Hebrew for "daughter").
BeershebaBeersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva (Bəʾēr Ševaʿ, ˈbe(ʔ)eʁ ˈʃeva(ʕ); Biʾr as-Sabʿ), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most populous Israeli city with a population of , and the second-largest city in the area (after Jerusalem), with a total area of 117,500 dunams (45 mi2 / 117.5 km2).
Dreyfus affairThe Dreyfus affair (l'affaire Dreyfus, afɛːʁ dʁɛfys) was a political scandal that divided the Third French Republic from 1894 until its resolution in 1906. L'Affaire Dreyfus has come to symbolise modern injustice in the Francophone world; it remains one of the most notable examples of a complex miscarriage of justice and antisemitism. The role played by the press and public opinion proved influential in the conflict. The scandal began in December 1894 when Captain Alfred Dreyfus was convicted of treason.
