Those who are being referred to can't read this right now, according to Jewish Law." They're still in the midst of their third "three day yonitff" marathon of holiday restrictions and eating in a row. For three consecutive weeks they have a two day Jewish Holiday immediately followed by Shabbat.
In Israel, we only had one, Rosh HaShannah. Rosh HaShannah is our only two-day Holiday. It's also the only Jewish Holiday to fall on the beginning of a Jewish Month. Most other holidays are in the middle of the Jewish month, at the time of the full moon.
The Jewish Calendar is lunar with periodic adjustments, when an extra month is added late winter, so spring and Passover will be ontime according to the sun. Jewish Holidays are also connected to agriculture and nature.
In Biblical times, we only started the month after the new moon was spotted rising in the sky. It took a couple of days for the news to get out to the entire Jewish world. Remember that there were no telephones, internet or even telegraphs at the time. So, even in the tiny Land of Israel, not everyone knew that Rosh Hashannah, the New Year was beginning on day one.
Even today with our fixed calendar, all Jews are required to celebrate two days of Rosh Hashannah. That's why we had a three day holiday marathon two weeks ago. But this week and last, between Succot/Simchat Torah and Shabbat, we have a "day off."
That's why you'll see me, Bat Aliyah, Carl, Ya'aqov, my husband and the other jbloggers based in Israel blogging and fbing away without any problems, while Hadassa, Leora, Frum Satire and many others are still in HolyDay restriction mode.
Talk in our shul mentioned how glad people here are to have this "day off" and how Jews in chutz la'Aretz have a tough time with three three day Holiday-Shabbat weekends.
"They Deserve It! Magui'ah lahem! מגיעה להם" everyone said. "They should move to Israel, make aliyah!
True, it's wonderful not to have all those 3-day chagim, but that's really not a reason to make aliyah. Sorry to say that Israel is not the right place for every Jew.
ReplyDeletea, for sure, it's just one of those little "extras."
ReplyDeleteBut I have no doubt that there's some place here in the HolyLand that would suit every single Jew. The more Jews who live here, the easier it would be to find that place, or places. And you may have noted that I refer to this Land as the "HolyLand," or Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel to stress that the offically annexed State of Israel doesn't include the entire Land.
You sound like you're calling yom tov a punishment. ("They live in chutz laaretz? They'll have to have more yom tov! And serves them right, too!")
ReplyDeleteand you dont mean transliterated. you probably mean translated, or translated literally.
ReplyDeletea, translation is writing a language how it sounds with different letters. In the title I put the Hebrew and the translation in English. Then I figured that I ought to let the non-Hebrew knowledgable hear how it sounds, so I wrote it in English letters.
ReplyDeleteAnDat, I linked a post or two complaining about all those three day holidays from the point of view of Jewish housewives. Did you read them? Many Torah observant Jews complain that they use up most of their paid vacation days just on the Jewish Holidays.
Israel may not be as "perfect" as some of us would like when it comes to Judaism, but living a Jewish Life is much easier here than in most parts of the world.
I was in the supermarket explaining to a non-Jewish friend about how we have 2 day holidays and those in Israel only have one. She said, oh, it's tradition, and I said, it's a tradition we can do without.
ReplyDeleteWe survived nicely, with lots of friends and family around. Shavua tov.
Leora, yes, they are festive holidays, not extra fast days. Glad you're "back."
ReplyDelete