Religion

Religion

1) Regardless of denomination or sect, practicing Jews celebrate several religious holidays/holy days. Tell me about any four of them, describing activities connected with the time and its theological/religious significance. Why do you think anti-Semitism still exists in our world? 

In Judaism, there are many special days in where a Jew takes time out of their everyday life to stop working and focus on God and his Mitzvot (commandment). These include the Sabbath services and many holidays. Not only do these holidays and festivals hold a religious outcome, it also serves as social ones. It helps to keep the Jewish tradition alive, contribute to a sense of community and belonging, and to make sure there is regular reflection and celebration.

I chose the following four:

* Rosh Hashanah/Yom Kippur: it marks the beginning of the Days of Awe; a 10-day period of introspection and repentance that culminates in the Yom Kippur holiday, also known as the Day of Atonement. Both Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are the two High Holy Days in the Jewish religion.

* Passover: it is an eight-day festival that is celebrated in the early spring. It commemorates the emancipation (independence) of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. By following the rituals of Passover, we have the ability to relive and experience the true freedom that their ancestors lived.

* Sukkot: this festival begins on the fifth day after Yom Kippur. It is named after the booths and huts (Sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell during this week-long celebration. This tradition represents the huts in which the Israelites lived during their 40 years of wandering in the desert after escaping from slavery in Egypt.

* Shavuot: is the Feast of Weeks. It is celebrated seven weeks after Passover, or Pesach. It begins on the second evening of Passover, exactly 50 days after the first Seder (ritual involving a retelling of the story of the...