Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?
Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of Graph Search.
Concept
High Holy Days
Summary
In Judaism, the High Holy Days, also known as High Holidays or Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim, יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm) consist of:
strictly, the holidays of Rosh HaShanah ("Jewish New Year") and Yom Kippur ("Day of Atonement");
by extension, the period of ten days including those holidays, known also as the Ten Days of Repentance (Aseret Yemei Teshuvah); or,
by a further extension, the entire 40-day penitential period in the Jewish year from Rosh Chodesh Elul to Yom Kippur, traditionally taken to represent the forty days Moses spent on Mount Sinai before coming down with the second ("replacement") set of the Tablets of Stone.
The services for Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur take on a solemn tone as befits these days. Traditional solemn tunes are used in the prayers.
The term High Holy Days most probably derives from the popular English phrase, “high days and holydays”. The Hebrew equivalent, "Yamim Noraim" (ימים נוראים), is neither Biblical nor Talmudic. Professor Ismar Elbogen avers that it was a medieval usage, reflecting a change in the mood of Rosh Hashanah from a predominantly joyous celebration to a more subdued day that was a response to a period of persecution.
Reform Judaism typically prefers the term High Holy Days over High Holidays because the former emphasizes the personal, reflective, introspective aspects of this period. By contrast, Holidays suggests a time of communal celebrations of events in the history of the Jewish people.
Elul
The Hebrew month preceding Rosh Hashanah, Elul, is designated as a month of introspection and repentance. In preparation for the Jewish New Year, special prayers are recited. In many communities, is added at the end of morning and evening prayers. The shofar (ram's horn) is blown at the end of morning services on weekdays, and in some communities in the afternoon service as well (it is omitted on the eve of Rosh Hashanah in order to differentiate between the customary blasts of the month of Elul and the obligatory blasts of Rosh Hashanah, and in some communities it is omitted for the 3 days proceeding Rosh Hashanah).
Official source
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.