The most famous Jewish customs. Traditions and customs of Jews

Judaism as a way of life needs ritual. For Jews, any ritual reminds them of the place God occupies in their lives. Religious practice is seen as a discipline that helps to improve the character of everyone, as a form of instruction. It gives the Jew the opportunity to relive the experience of his people and thereby strengthens his devotion; this is a way for a people to survive and preserve faith.

Prayer. A Jew is required to pray daily, three times a day. His prayers are supposed to be moral and not hostile to the interests of others. Prayer should be done in deep concentration, self-absorption. It is preferable to pray in a synagogue, since public prayer is more effective.

Food prohibitions are considered part of a special code of holiness that applies only to the Jewish people. They are not considered desirable or obligatory for all humanity.

Holidays. Among the main holidays and holy days are Shabbat (Saturday), a weekly day of rest in memory of the creation of the world and the exodus from Egypt; Rosh Hashanah (New Year), the anniversary of the creation of the world and a day of spiritual and moral renewal; Yom Kippur (Judgment Day), a day of repentance and return to God through spiritual renewal and good deeds; Sukkot (Tabernacles), nine days (in Israel and the Reformists have eight), dedicated to the autumn harvest and reminiscent of wanderings in the desert, the last day of the holiday is Simchat Torah (Joy of the Torah); Pesach (Easter), which marks the onset of spring and liberation from Egyptian slavery; Shavuot (Pentecost), partly an agricultural holiday, but primarily a remembrance of the day when Moses received the Torah on Mount Sinai; Chanukah (Feast of Dedication, or Lights), celebrated in honor of the victory of the Maccabees over the armies of Antiochus Epiphanes, as a result of which the Jews achieved freedom professing one's religion; Purim (the festival of the Lots, or Esther), to commemorate the defeat of Haman, who plotted to destroy the Jews; Tisha B'Av (Ninth of Av), a day of mourning in memory of the destruction of the First and Second Temples.

Rituals of birth and coming of age. When a male child is born, his foreskin is cut off so that the union-contract with God is marked with a mark on the body. Boys are named at circumcision. Girls are given a name in the synagogue. The ransom ceremony for first-born boys is carried out on the thirtieth day after birth. In connection with the beginning of children's education, initiation ceremonies are performed. Upon reaching the age of 13, boys (and in Conservative and some Reform communities also girls) participate in a bar mitzvah ceremony (for girls, a bat mitzvah), allowing them to enter the community of Israel as full members, responsible for their actions. In the 19th century In conservative and reformist communities, a confirmation ceremony was introduced for boys and girls, usually performed on the day of Shavuot.

Marriage ceremony. First there is a solemn betrothal (engagement). Then on the Saturday preceding the wedding, the groom is invited to read the Torah in the synagogue (not usually practiced in Reform communities). During the wedding ceremony, the bride and groom stand under a chuppah - a canopy (this does not always happen among reformists). Standing under the chuppah, the bride and groom drink wine from the same glass. The groom places the ring on the bride's index finger and recites the ancient formula declaring that a man takes a woman to be his wife. Seven blessings are pronounced to the glory of God (the Reformists have one). In memory of the destruction of the Temple, the groom breaks the glass from which he and his bride drank wine (this is not done in Reform communities). The final blessing is accepted among the reformists. In Orthodox communities, the marriage contract (ketubbah) is also read at the ceremony.

Funeral ritual. Before dying, the dying person confesses. Relatives of the deceased tear their clothes (this custom is common among Orthodox Christians). A candle is lit in memory of the deceased. The body of the deceased is dressed in a white shroud (among the Orthodox). During the burial, the Kaddish is recited, a prayer praising God and expressing readiness to accept his will. Deep mourning lasts a week, during which the mourners do not leave the house (for reformists this period is shorter). Mourners recite Kaddish in synagogue for eleven months. After a year, a tombstone is placed on the grave. The anniversary of death (“Yorzeit”) is celebrated by lighting a memorial candle and reciting the Kaddish. On the holidays of Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Passover and Shavuot, a memorial service is performed, during which the memorial prayer “Yizkor” is read.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Brit Mila

Circumcision is not a custom or a tribute to the whims of the older generation, but the most important commandment established by the Torah, which the sons of the people of Israel have been fulfilling for thousands of years. Brit Milah (the covenant of circumcision) is still done today, not because it is beneficial from a medical point of view, but because it is a symbol of the eternal union of the Most High with the people of Israel.
Every father is obliged to give Brit milah to his son on the eighth day.
Brit Milah is considered a great and joyful event, so there is a custom to celebrate this event with a festive feast.
If there is even the slightest suspicion that the child is unwell, the circumcision is postponed.

Redemption of the firstborn

Initially, G‑d designated the firstborn for the Temple Service, of whom the class of priests was to consist. “For all the firstborn of the children of Israel are Mine... On that day, when I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I dedicated them to Myself,” says the Torah.
But the firstborn did not live up to the hopes and trust of the Creator by taking part in the sin of idolatry of the golden calf. Only the tribe of Levi did not take part in this, for which they were awarded the honor of becoming a tribe of priests.
The release of the first-born from lifelong service to the Almighty is carried out through a ransom, which is transferred to the “Cohens,” the descendants of Aharon, the high priest from the tribe of Levi.
The commandment of every Jew who is neither a “Cohen” nor a “Levite” is to ransom his son if he is the firstborn of his mother. This ritual is called “Pidyon ha-ben” - the ransom of a son.

The ceremony is performed 30 days after the birth of a son.
If the firstborn was born as a result of a caesarean section, then “Pidyon ha-ben” is not done.
The ritual is not performed on Saturday, holiday or fast. If the thirty-first day falls on one of these days, it is transferred to the next day after the end of the Sabbath, holiday or fast.
To perform the redemption ceremony for the first-born, the presence of Cohen is necessary.
The responsibility for fulfilling the commandment lies with the child's father.
To perform the ritual, you must have 5 silver coins with a total weight of at least 102 grams.

Bar/Bat Mitzvah

According to Jewish Law, adulthood occurs for boys at 13 years old, for girls at 12. It is believed that it is at this age that a person is already able to determine what is good and what is bad, is able to evaluate his actions from the point of view of the morality of Judaism and bear responsibility for them .
For religious Jews, Bar Mitzvah is a great day. From this day on, the boy has the right to enter the “Minyan” (ten adult men, only with whose presence can one read certain prayers and perform certain rituals). Bar Mitzvah is associated with the fulfillment of such important commandments as the daily application of Tefillin and ascent to the Torah on Shabbat and holidays.
2 months before the Bar Mitzvah, it is customary to begin learning to lay on Tefillin and prepare to fulfill other “adult” mitzvot.
On the day they come of age, a boy and a girl must think about their behavior in previous childhood years and make a decision and correct their shortcomings.

Chuppah

"Chuppah" is the Hebrew name for the wedding ceremony. For Jews, a wedding day is considered the most important day in life. To determine the exact wedding day, you must consult a rabbi. Two weddings are not arranged for two brothers or two sisters on the same day. It is forbidden to celebrate a wedding on Shabbat, the holidays of Chol Hamoed, during public fasts and during periods of mourning.
Before the wedding ceremony begins, the Ketubah, the marriage contract, is written. The text of the Ketubah was compiled in the second century BC and is a document that lists the duties of the groom and the rights of his future wife.
The marriage is considered concluded when the groom puts the wedding ring on the index finger of the bride’s right hand and at the same time says: “Behold, you are dedicated to me as a wife with this ring according to the law of Moses and Israel.”
Immediately after the wedding ceremony, the groom breaks a glass in memory of the destroyed Temple.
The wedding ceremony ends with a festive meal, during which everyone is obliged to cheer the bride and groom. Music, dancing and songs traditionally accompany all Jewish weddings.

Chevra Kadisha

Chevra Kadisha - funeral service. Jewish tradition considers seeing off the deceased as one of the most important commandments, so members of the Chevra Kadisha have always enjoyed great honor and respect.
According to Jewish law, it is strictly forbidden to cremate a person.

Yorzeit

"Yorzeit" is the anniversary of death. The anniversary of death is celebrated only according to the Jewish calendar. The night before, a special daily candle is lit and Kaddish is read (or ordered in advance from the synagogue). They make donations in memory of the deceased and visit the grave. It is considered very important that a monument be erected before the first anniversary of death. It is believed that without a monument the soul cannot find refuge and peace.

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Choosing a name is a very important matter: a person and his name form one inextricable whole. Suffice it to say that the Almighty brought the Jews out of Egypt also because they retained their Jewish names. In the darkness and filth of Egyptian slavery, the Jews lost many spiritual values, but they were not ashamed of their Jewish names - and were saved.

In the Jewish tradition there are a number of rules regarding names. We list the main ones:

• There is an ancient custom of naming children after their closest relatives: father, mother, grandmother, etc. Among Ashkenazi Jews, it is not customary to give a child the name of a person who is alive.
• It is a widespread custom to give children the names of the forefathers of the Jewish people, great tzaddikim, and famous rabbis. It is believed that the merits and righteousness of a great person help those who bear his name to follow the right path in life.
• Often a father gives his son the name of the person from whom he studied Torah.
• In recent centuries, the custom of giving a child a double name has spread. There are a number of established “couples”: Yehuda-Leib, Moshe-Chaim, Zvi-Hirsh, Menachem-Mendl, etc. Often one of the components of a double name is a Hebrew name, the second is a Yiddish one; they are related either by meaning (for example, Tsvi-Girsh: tsvi - “deer” in Hebrew, girsh - in Yiddish, Aryeh-Leib: arye - “lion” in Hebrew, leib - in Yiddish), or by sound similarity (for example, Ephraim-Fischl, Menachem-Mendl, Yehoshua-Geshl). In ancient times, double names were not given, unless a second name was added to a seriously ill person. Since the Middle Ages, this name is usually Chaim or Chai (among Sephardim and Eastern Jews), i.e. “life”, “alive”.

A boy is given a name during the circumcision ceremony, a girl is given a name in the synagogue, usually on the first Saturday after birth, when the father is called to the Torah and a prayer is read for the sending of health to the mother and newborn.

The name that is included in the marriage contract, under which a person is called to the Torah, etc., must be full. It consists of one's own name and the name of the father. For example: Isaac ben (son) Avraim or Dina bat (daughter) Yaakov. If the father comes from Koganim or Leviim, Gakogen or Halevi are added to the son's name, respectively.

Naming a child is not some kind of mystical ritual through which he is introduced to Judaism. In other words, a Jewish name in itself does not make a person a Jew. Conversely, the absence of such a name does not mean that a person is not a Jew. Belonging to our people is determined by completely different factors.

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The Jewish people have existed for more than three thousand years. His way of life and philosophy, moral standards and calendar, teaching children and view of history - all this and much more is united by the concept of “Jewish tradition.” When they talk about Jewish tradition, they mean something significantly different from what is called the national tradition of other peoples - ancient and young. Why?

There is no doubt that there is, say, a French, Hungarian or Korean national tradition. But it is impossible to clearly answer the questions: “What is the source of the French (Hungarian, Korean) tradition and from what moment can the beginning of this tradition be counted?”

The basis of tradition
The Jewish tradition, unlike others, has its own specific source - the Torah. Both religious and non-religious Jews agree that the Torah is the basis of the Jewish tradition, although not everyone follows this tradition equally zealously in everyday life.

The Jewish tradition is called in Hebrew (which we will talk about in more detail in the next paragraph) “Masoret Israel”; The word "masoret" comes from the verb masar, meaning "to pass on," since tradition is something that is passed down from generation to generation. But the term “moreshet Israel” is also often used; the word "moreshet" comes from the verb yarash, meaning "to inherit." This expression could therefore be more accurately translated as “Jewish heritage.”

Thus, these two names express two qualities of the Jewish tradition: it is both the foundation of the life of the people, and what unites it in all generations.

What is the Torah?
Torah means “teaching, instruction” in Hebrew. The Torah is usually called the entire body of “Jewish teaching” given by the Almighty himself to Moses (Moshe) on Mount Sinai. The following parts of the Torah are distinguished:

The written Torah (in Hebrew “Torah shebikhtav” - in a narrow sense, a book (in Russian-language literature usually called the Pentateuch, and in Hebrew - Chumash), which the Jewish people received from the Almighty on Mount Sinai more than three thousand years ago; in a broad sense this is what Tanakh is called. The word Tanakh is an abbreviation of the words “Torah”, “Neviim”, “Ketuvim”, meaning “Teaching”, “Prophets”, “Scriptures” (we will talk about this in more detail in the chapter “The Main Books of the Jewish Tradition”). In European languages, the Tanakh is called the Bible.

The Oral Torah (“Torah shebealpeh” is the rest of the Jewish teaching; it is called “Oral” because, unlike the Written Torah, it was transmitted orally from one generation to another and only after the conquest of ancient Israel by Rome, when there was a danger of losing tradition, most important parts of it were written down. The most famous book of the oral tradition is called "Talmud", which literally means "study". We will also talk more about the Talmud, Mishnah and other books containing the written part of the oral tradition in the chapter "The main books of the Jewish tradition .

When they say “Torah,” they mean both the Written and Oral Torah. Jewish tradition views them as something single and integral; she treats the Oral Torah with the same respect as the Written Torah. The Oral Torah interprets and explains the Written Torah. The Written Torah is the main Book of Jewry, but without the Oral Torah it would remain only a book and not the basis of life. We will return to this topic in future lessons, but for now we will present an episode from the life of the outstanding Jewish sage Rabbi Hillel (the word rabbi means “teacher”), who lived approximately two thousand years ago.

An illiterate man came to him and said: “I want to learn Torah from you. But only the Written Torah, because I do not accept the Oral Torah.” “Okay,” Rabbi Hillel answered him, “let’s start with the alphabet in which the Written Torah is written. This is the letter aleph...” The next day, Rabbi Hillel showed him the same letter and said: “This is the letter bet...” “How can this be,” the student was indignant, “after all, yesterday you explained to me that this is the letter aleph?! » “That’s right,” Rabbi Hillel answered him. - This is the letter aleph; but how do we know this? From what you and I taught, that is, from oral tradition. Just as the Oral Torah conveyed to us the names of the letters of the Written Torah, it conveyed to us all the instructions on how to correctly read and understand it.”

When a text from the Torah is read during prayer in the synagogue, a Torah scroll (“Sefer Torah”) is used. Such scrolls are found in every synagogue; they are handwritten according to certain rules on parchment with special ink and contain the text of the Written Torah in the form in which it was received by the Jewish people from the Almighty. We will talk more about this in the chapter “Synagogue and Prayer.”

Giving of the Torah
According to Jewish tradition, the Torah was given to the Jewish people after their exodus from Egypt. This happened more than 3,300 years ago on Mount Sinai, on the Sinai Peninsula. This is written in the Torah itself.

The giving of the Torah is the central event of all Jewish history; it occupies a special place in tradition. We will talk about it in more detail in the chapter “The Giving of the Torah. Commandments."
Jewish law

Jewish law
In the Jewish tradition, there is the concept of halakha, which can be translated as “rule of conduct.” Halacha is the law binding on every Jew.

As already mentioned, the Torah is the basis of the tradition of the entire Jewish people. However, over the millennia, different Jewish communities developed their own special customs (mingag in Hebrew). All these customs, if they do not contradict halakhah, form part of the Jewish tradition, and there is no point in finding out which of them is “more correct.”

Differences in the traditions of different communities
Tradition has the utmost respect for the customs of each Jewish community: after all, these customs determined the life of the community for a long period and allowed it to survive as part of the Jewish people. Moreover, there is a rule that if a Jew joins a Jewish community, he must respect its customs.

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PUBLIC LIFE

In Crimea, Jews were engaged in various crafts. They were watchmakers, shoemakers, furriers, and tailors. A special place was occupied by jeweler-artists, whose works were examples of art. Unfortunately, the Keter Torah, a crown worn on a Torah scroll, made in Crimea, the Besamim, a traditional vessel for incense, which was made of silver with gilding and filigree, have not survived; traditional wedding rings, gold casting, enamel.

For a long time, art historians did not consider or write about Jewish folk art, while there were centers in Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, southern Russia and Crimea. Extremely interesting for their artistic merit were works made of bronze, silver, gold, decorative art and calligraphy. These highly artistic products of Jewish masters have practically not survived in Crimea. You can see them only at exhibitions in Western Europe, the Baltic states, Kyiv, Lvov.

A small number of Jews were engaged in agriculture in Crimea, since for a long time they were forbidden to engage in arable farming. Those who acquired land plots with great difficulty successfully grew wheat, garlic, beans, melons, and kept livestock on them.

Trade was considered a traditional occupation. Not everyone knows that the Jewish population was subject to double taxes. They paid taxes, like all people in Russia, but also for the fact that they were Jews! Only trade, with its rapid turnover and profits, allowed the Jews to pay the second tax. In Crimea, Jewish merchants, together with merchants of other nationalities, united in guilds. In 1877, Sevastopol became a trading port and agricultural products went abroad through it. The trading houses of Dreyfus, Yurovsky, and Glazer became known. There were similar trading houses in Kerch, Feodosia, and other cities of Crimea.

The urban Jewish population in Crimea was second only to the Germans in literacy. Among the Jews there were many famous doctors, lawyers, and pharmacists. Many became prominent scientists in Russia, the West, and America. At the beginning of the 20th century, Jewish musicians were famous for their virtuoso performances at international competitions.

TRADITIONS AND CUSTOMS

In the middle of the 19th century. Jewish traditions and rituals in Crimea and other provinces of Russia began to disappear. The reason for this was the movement of the idea of ​​Jewish enlightenment. Young people began to be introduced to secular knowledge along with religious ones. The doors of gymnasiums, colleges, institutes and universities opened for the most talented. At the same time, the percentage system for admitting Jewish children was preserved.

However, the Jewish community tried to preserve customs and rituals, such as “circumcision,” the ritual requirement for food (“kosher” and “tref”), and the coming of age ritual “bar mitzvah.” The Jewish community managed to preserve the traditions of the people, national rituals and holidays for many millennia, thanks to which the Jewish people survived.

Jewish family life was determined by Torah laws and traditions dating back to ancient times. The biblical blessing "be fruitful and multiply" was a mandatory religious commandment for the Jews. They got married early, boys - at 18 years old, girls - at 14 - 15 years old.

For a young man about to get married, there were 10 commandments. Marrying for the sake of wealth was not approved; it was recommended to marry a girl from a good home. “Be careful when choosing a wife”; “Sell the last thing you have and marry the daughter of a learned man”; “Do not take a wife from a richer house than yours”; “I do not desire a boot that is too big for my foot,” “The joy of the heart is a wife,” “The heritage of God is sons.” This is how Jewish boys were prepared in advance for family life.

The girl knew only one thing - that she needed to learn to be a kind and zealous housewife and, even if her father had wooed her in childhood, she would be given the right to make her own choice. The law considered it desirable that parents should not rush into betrothal until the daughter decides whether she likes the groom.

Immediately after the engagement, the parents of the bride and groom entered into a written agreement. This is a legal document that indicated the amount of the dowry and the time of the wedding. An indispensable condition was that the parents of the bride and groom after the wedding should offer the newlyweds both shelter and board for two years. The contract stipulated that if one of the parties violated it without a good reason, then those who violated it would pay a fine. The contract could be terminated, but if the groom sent gifts and they were accepted, then the contract became law. "Ktubah" - a marriage contract - determined the duties of the groom and the size of the dowry on each side.

As a rule, weddings took place in the fall. On the appointed day, when relatives and friends accompanied the bride and groom, a Jewish orchestra played: violin, lute, cymbal and tambourines. The guests were in the synagogue or in the square near it. The bride and groom stood under the wedding canopy. The groom put the ring on the bride and said the traditional words: “With this ring you are dedicated to me according to the faith and law of Moses and Israel.” The rabbi read the Ketubah and then he or the cantor chanted the seven wedding blessings. The groom was given a glass in his hands, and he broke it in memory of the destroyed Jerusalem Temple. Thus ended the religious part of the wedding ceremony.

Further, the wedding was of a secular nature. They sang about the groom, about the bride, about mothers. The bride performed a dance with a scarf; only men danced with her. On the second and third days, the newlyweds were invited to visit. And then everyday life went on. A feature of family life was its isolation, which determined its purity and strength. Violation of marital life immediately attracted severe condemnation from the community.

Jews did not differ in clothing from the local population. In different historical periods they wore Greek, Byzantine, and Genoese clothes. By the middle of the 19th century. by clothing it was possible to determine from which places in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and Germany the refugees arrived. Sometimes there were people dressed in a lapserdak with tzitzis, a skullcap, a hat with a fur trim, wide-brimmed hats, and wide, long-brimmed Turkish caftans, similar in cut to cassocks. These were very religious community members. Such clothing practically disappeared in the second half of the 19th century, because... Those who wore it were subject to heavy fines.

The Jewish month is determined by the moon, i.e. the length of the month is equal to the time the moon revolves around the earth - between 29 and 30 days. The day when a new moon is born is a new moon, Rosh Chodesh. The entire time she “lives” lasts the same month. The very meaning of the word hodesh (month) indicates this: it is the same root as the word hadash (new), i.e. the month begins with the new moon. On the last Saturday before the start of the new month, they pray and perform the “Blessing of the Month” ceremony. Some communities also host a festive meal.

Passover (Easter)

The great holiday of the historical Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and the rebirth of nature confirms this philosophical idea. The holiday is called Pesach 14 Nisan (Passover, March-April). Passover in Hebrew means “to pass by, to pass by.” According to biblical legend, death passed over the Jews on the night when the firstborn of Egypt died.

Passover is a holiday on which Jews celebrate one of the most significant events in their history - liberation from Egyptian slavery. For more than three thousand years, every spring, Jews all over the world seem to walk the path from slavery to freedom anew, making every step of this journey a part of their own lives.

According to the commandment, on Passover it is forbidden to eat leavened bread and products made from cereals: wheat, barley, oats and millet. One of the most famous Passover customs is eating matzah for seven days. Matzo is made from flour and water, without salt (unleavened bread). Matzo is a symbol of freedom and at the same time a reminder that the Jews were slaves.

They prepared for the holiday in 10-15 days. In more prosperous houses, Easter (kashir) dishes were kept separately and used only on Easter. Poor families “cooked” their usual dishes for the holiday: washed, cleaned, boiled.

The main event of this unique celebration is a family meal called the Seder. It is held on the first two evenings of the holiday. The carefully designed ritual consists of 15 stages. It culminates in answers to four questions (essentially one question: “How is this night different from other nights?”).

1. Why on all nights can we eat both chametz (“leavened”, “leavened” - any flour dish, including bread, during the preparation of which a fermentation process occurred in the dough), and matzo, but on this night only matzo?

2. Why do we eat different greens on all nights, but on this night we eat bitter greens?

3. Why don’t we dip our food on all nights, but on this night we dip it twice?

Why is it that on all other nights we can eat sitting, upright and with our elbows, but on this night we all drink with our elbows?

Purim

Historical events of distant antiquity became the basis of the spring holiday “Purim”. This holiday is about two and a half thousand years old. It originated when the Jewish people were in exile and is dedicated to the miracle of the survival of the Jewish people. The history of this holiday is the story of a meeting with burning hatred of Jews, with an unbridled desire to destroy the entire Jewish people.

Two important mitzvot that Jews observe on Purim are mishloach manot (literally, “sending food”) and “giving gifts to the poor.” On Purim, you can see adults and children on the streets carrying plates and trays with pies, sweets, and bottles of wine. This commandment was given to strengthen friendship and brotherhood among the Jews.

The deep meaning of the commandment “gifts to the poor” is that it is on this day of general joy and fun that one must remember the needy brothers and try to ensure that they also take part in the fun and do not lack anything. It is customary to entrust the fulfillment of this commandment to children in order to accustom them to it.

Another ancient custom that gives Purim its special cheerful mood is masks and masquerade costumes. There is one explanation for this custom: one of the most important commandments that is fulfilled on Purim is the commandment of “gifts to the poor,” i.e. tzedakah, charity. And the best way to fulfill this commandment is to give money to those in need so that the poor person does not know who exactly gave him the money. That’s why they dress up in masquerade costumes on Purim, so that the poor do not recognize their benefactors and are not embarrassed.

Ordinary pies and cookies are baked in the shape of crocodiles, turtles, hares and other funny toys. The most famous dish of Purim is triangular pies with poppy seeds - homentashen (homentashi).

Sukkot Tabernacles

On the 15th day of the month of Tishrei, the holiday of Sukot begins - the most joyful of the main holidays. In the Torah, the holiday is designated as a “time of joy” and a time of harvesting fruits. At the same time, the holiday is also associated with the memory of the 40-year wandering of the Jews in the desert. When the Jewish people left Egypt and moved through the desert to come to the Land of Israel, the Almighty surrounded them on all sides with wonderful clouds. During the day they protected people from the scorching sun, at night - from the cold. Jews also lived in huts made of green branches (tabernacles) or tents during the harvest.

In memory of this, Sukot Tabernacles is celebrated for 7 days. When a person leaves his home, his fortress, and goes with his family to live in a hut, he thereby expresses his belief that there is no other shelter in this world except the Almighty.

Shavuot

The Jew enjoys living with the times. This means that a Jew must look into the Torah every day, and his actions, his behavior must correspond to the chapter that relates to today, week, season. In other words, every week reading different chapters of the Torah in the synagogue (and each of them, in turn, is divided into 7 parts), we must learn certain lessons for ourselves. Therefore, on Sunday we should take a lesson from the first part, on Monday from the second, etc. The very word “Torah” means teaching because it teaches us Jews how to conduct ourselves in life from day to day, from one year to the next, from holiday to holiday.

Funeral

The number of different kinds of beliefs reflected in the funeral and memorial rites of Judaism is truly countless.

After a complex procedure for ascertaining death, the furniture was completely removed from the deceased’s house. His neighbors poured out all their water supplies - it was believed that the angel of death washed his sword in it. Mourning for the deceased was accompanied by wailing, relatives and friends tore their clothes.

The Talmud prescribes very complex funeral regulations: “The following actions are prohibited to the mourner on the first day by law, but on the last six days by the scribes: shaving the head, washing... anointing the head, performing marital duties, putting on boots, working, reading the law, preparing a luxurious bed, bare your head and welcome others.” The modern funeral rite among adherents of Judaism is very different from the Orthodox (Orthodox - unswervingly adhering to the foundations of some teaching or worldview), and the vast majority of believers today do not comply with the grueling regulations. The religious ritual of a funeral is most often limited to the reading of prayers over the deceased, as a rule, by specially hired readers, and the memorial cycle is limited to orders for the reading of the corresponding prayers in the synagogue. The custom of tearing one's clothes left a cut on the lapel, which is made by the relatives of the deceased.

Jewish wedding: laws and customs

The Jews call the marriage ceremony kiddushin, “dedication.” During this ceremony, the bride is dedicated to her groom and they are united in an unbreakable bond of holiness. The ceremony is usually held outdoors. A special canopy is deployed over the bride and groom, which is called Chuppah. This symbolizes that the bride enters the home of her groom and they become one family under the roof of their home.

Under chuppah the betrothal ceremony is performed - Kidushin,- which is led by a rabbi. The groom puts a gold ring on the bride’s finger and says: “Behold, you are dedicated to me as a wife with this ring according to the law of Moses and Israel!” From this moment on, the bride is “separated” from all other men and belongs only to her husband, “dedicated” to him. This is the moment of marriage.

Then read out publicly Ketuba- an agreement on the obligations of the groom towards the bride. IN Ketube the obligations that the groom undertakes for the duration of married life are outlined, and the amount of material “insurance” in the event of the death of the husband or divorce is also established. The ketubah must be drawn up before the wedding ceremony.

Continue reading Sheva Berachot- seven wedding blessings, and at the end of the ceremony the groom breaks the glass, because even in the most joyful moments of life we ​​must remember the destruction of the Temple and centuries of exile. After Hoops the bride and groom retire for a while in a special room - Heder Ihud.

This is followed by a festive feast.

After the completion of kiddushin, a festive meal is held. The wedding feast lasts seven days, which are called “seven days of feasting,” with the invitation of “new guests” who were not present at the wedding. Every evening during the festive meal, the “Seven Blessings” are said, in which they express gratitude to the Almighty for creating man and woman and uniting them in marriage.

According to custom, the bride and groom should not see each other in the last week before the wedding.

Hanukkah

During the time of the Second Temple, in the 2nd century. BC, the country of Israel was captured by the Greeks. They forced the Jews to renounce their faith, stop observing the Sabbath and studying the Torah, etc. The Greeks desecrated the Temple, humiliating the people to the extreme. The hour came when the family of temple clergy rebelled, joined by everyone who did not want to come to terms with the destruction of Jewish traditions. The small army of the rebels was led by the warrior Yehuda Makabi. It defeated a powerful enemy. When the soldiers liberated the Temple and wanted to relight the golden Menorah lamp that stood in it, it turned out that all the oil for the Menorah had been desecrated by the Greeks. They found a single jug of pure oil, which could only last for one night. However, the Almighty performed a miracle, and this oil burned for eight whole days.

In memory of the victory over the Greeks and the miracle that occurred in the Jerusalem Temple after the victory of the Jews in 164 BC, Hanukkah is celebrated for eight days - starting on the 25th day of the month of Kislev (November-December).

As soon as evening falls, candles are lit in a lamp at the entrance to the house or on the windowsill to announce to the whole world about the miracle performed by the Almighty. Every day one light is added until on the eighth evening all eight are lit. A traditional hymn is sung.
During the holiday, it is customary to eat donuts and hash browns, which are fried in oil - this is reminiscent of the miracle of a jug of oil. Children have a fun holiday on Hanukkah.

Shabbat

The most important holiday is Saturday (“Shabbat”) - peace. This holiday is universal. It recalls the creation of the world and the emergence of the people of Israel. Already in the morning there is a festive mood in the house, the table is set in a special way: candles are burning, there is wine in a silver glass, two challahs (bread) covered with an embroidered napkin. The whole family gathers at the table in festive clothes. There is a lot of food on the table: stuffed and jellied fish, meat prepared according to different recipes, depending on where you live, all kinds of delicacies. Before meals they sing “Shalom Aleichem”. Then the food is blessed. At the table they talk cheerfully about different things. After lunch, another prayer: “Lord, give strength to your people! Lord, bless your people by granting them peace!” The festive mood lasts all day, and in the evening there is farewell to Saturday (“Gavdala”). During Gavdala, a special wicker candle is lit, over which a blessing is pronounced - “the creative light of lights.” After evening prayer, they wish each other a Good Week (“Shavus Tovi”), and everyone sings songs together.

Tu Bishvat

Tu Bishvat is known as the holiday of tree planting (New Year of the Trees). It is called by the name of the month and day on which it is celebrated: the month is Shevat, and the fifteenth day (in Hebrew - Tu). So, Tu Bishvat is the fifteenth of Shevat, the middle of the Jewish month.

We first encounter this date in the Mishnah (the main set of laws of Halakha - ancient Jewish legislation). According to the Mishnah, it is forbidden to eat the fruit of a tree until it reaches three years of age, since, according to Jewish tradition, the first fruits are dedicated to God. The fruits of the first three years are considered “uncut,” that is, non-kosher and not permitted for consumption. The fruits of the fourth year should, according to tradition, be brought to the Temple, and in the fifth year the farmer himself can eat the fruits from his garden.

According to ancient custom, special meals are held on Tu Bishvat - a “fruit table”. The whole family gathers around a table decorated with flowers and decorations made by the children. In the center of the festive table it is customary to place a dish with 15 types of fruits for which the Promised Land is famous: wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, dates, etc. Preparing such a table requires work and money, but it’s worth the effort, to make a holiday for your family.

On this day, it is customary to travel outside the city to plant new trees.

Rosh Hashanah (Rosh Hashanah)

According to Jewish custom, the New Year (“Rosh Hashanah”) is celebrated in September. They celebrate it for two days. The harvest has already been harvested, you can relax and take stock of what you have done during the year, forgive those who offended you, and ask for forgiveness from those you offended. A devout Jew believed that on this day God opens a book in which the deeds of each person are recorded, and everyone is sentenced

On this holiday they eat a lot and deliciously. On the festive table there should be grape wine, challah with honey, a fish head, apples with honey. You should definitely eat a pomegranate: “May your merits become numerous, like the seeds in a pomegranate.” They eat the head of a fish, “so that we are the head and not the tail.” And when they dip a piece of apple in honey, they say: “May the New Year be kind and sweet.”

On this day, the SHOFAR (ram's horn) is blown a hundred times in the synagogue, and this solemn sound proclaims the power of God, the gift of the Torah and the coming Messiah.

There is a very ancient custom: on the first day of Rosh Hashanah, in the afternoon, go to the bank of a river or lake to perform the rite of TASHLICH - “throwing” or “shaking out”. Nowadays, there is a custom of throwing bread crumbs into the water - a symbol of our sins and mistakes. After that, everyone goes to visit and gives each other gifts.

Each nation has its own unique characteristics and customs that distinguish it from others. Jews are one of the most distinctive peoples on Earth, having an ancient and tragic history and at the same time a national character full of love of life and strength. These features are reflected in the mentality and traditions that no one else has.

Celebrating Saturday

Only Jews, as well as related Karaites and Samaritans, celebrate Shabbat - in Russian - “Saturday”. This is due to the fact that according to the Bible, God gave the Sabbath to all creation as a time of rest at the end of the sixth day of Creation, after man was created. Shabbat is a sign between the Creator and the people of Israel. The Sabbath prayers say: “And You did not give the Sabbath to the nations of the world, nor did You give it to the idolaters, but only to Israel, Your people whom You chose.” Orthodox Jews celebrate Shabbat on Friday evenings with the lighting of special Shabbat candles and blessings. Shabbat ends on Saturday evening. All this time the Jews remain at peace, without doing any work. You can't even light a fire!

They have a habit of answering a question with a question.

In reality, of course, not all Jews always do this. However, the idea that Jews answer questions with questions is based on the traditional Jewish educational system. Jewish children and teenagers in a cheder (traditional theological school) are taught not only to read sacred texts in Hebrew and Aramaic, but also to analyze the text and pose questions to it. The ability to pose questions, and therefore find answers to them, is one of the reasons why we consider Jews very smart.

Selflessly care for their family

Of course, all people in the world care about their family to one degree or another - Jews are not alone here - but it is among Jews that fathers care for their children as touchingly and selflessly as mothers. Husbands dissolve in their wives, and the image of the “Jewish mother” has practically become a symbol of all-consuming care. For many reasons, primarily because the Jewish people lived for centuries without a homeland, surrounded by other, seemingly hostile nations, the Jews developed the habit of living in close-knit family clans, caring for each other and supporting each other. Because who else will take care of the poor Jews if not themselves?

Do not drink milk after eating meat

Jews have one of the most complex systems of food prohibitions. Everyone knows that they, like Muslims, are forbidden to eat pork. But that's where the similarities end. Kosher (permitted) meat for Jews is only the meat of cow, goat and sheep, as well as elk, gazelle and mountain goat. The only birds you can eat are domestic ones, such as chickens, geese, ducks, quails, and turkeys. You can only eat an animal that has been slaughtered by a religious carver who has a special permit for the slaughter of animals. The animal must die instantly, all blood from the carcass must be released in accordance with the rules. Only kosher wine is allowed, that is, made by a religious winemaker. And finally, mixing milk and meat is strictly prohibited, not only in the process of preparing food, but also in the human stomach. Drinking milk is allowed only 6 hours after eating meat.

Stones are brought instead of flowers

It is not customary for Jews to bring flowers to graves. Instead, they place a pebble on the gravestone. This is due to the fact that according to Jewish tradition, the stone symbolizes eternity. Therefore, at all Holocaust memorials, we will almost never see flowers, but we will find a scattering of stones.

Spinning a rooster over your head as a sign of repentance

On the eve of Yom Kippur, Orthodox Jews perform a strange, in our opinion, ritual: they spin a rooster over their heads (for women, a chicken). This custom is called “kapparot” - purification, atonement. In this way, Jews remind themselves that punishment awaits them for their sins and that they need to repent. Holding the bird in his right hand, the Jew reads the sacred text, then spins the chicken or rooster around his head, and says: “This is my replacement, this is in my place, this is my ransom! This rooster (chicken) will go to the sacrifice.” Some people take fish (necessarily kosher) or just money instead of chicken. Chicken or fish, or money - everything should be given to the poor after the ceremony.

They give alms - wearing masks

During the celebration of Purim (one of the most joyful Jewish holidays associated with the memory of the deliverance of the Jewish people from danger in the 4th century BC), it is customary to distribute sweets and other treats, as well as alms to those in need. Usually, this is entrusted to children, but sometimes adults also take on this important responsibility. At the same time, such gifts must be brought in masks. This is due to the fact that carnivals and costumed processions are generally very common on Purim, as well as the fact that according to Jewish custom, the one who was given alms does not know who exactly did it. That's why benefactors hide behind disguises.