JUDAISM

The Shavuot Holiday, the anniversary of the time our Torah was given at Mount Sinai and the festival of weeks, will start at sundown on Saturday, June 4th this year.

This year we are starting to celebrate the Passover (Pesach) Festival, the anniversary of the miracle of Exodus from Egyptian slavery, which is always at the center of Jewish life, on the eve of Friday, April 15th.

The 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar is known as Tu BiShvat, the day that marks the beginning of a ´new year´ for trees. This year we are celebrating Tu BiShvat Holiday on Monday, January 17th, starting from the evening of Sunday, January 16th.

Hanukkah festival, where we light eight candles for eight nights, increasing by one candle each night, together with our family and loved ones, is starting on the eve of Sunday, November 28th.

Sukkot, like no other Jewish festival, celebrates the dual nature of the Jewish faith; the universality of God and the particularity of Jewish existence. The Sukkot Festival, which lasts seven days and seven nights, is starting at sundown on Monday, September 20th.

Yom Kippur, the day of forgiveness, and purification, and atonement, is regarded as the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

Rosh Hashanah holiday, when we celebrate the beginning of a new year, is the day Adam and Eve were created and the creation of the universe was completed.

Shavuot, the anniversary of the giving of our Torah at Mount Sinai and the festival of weeks, will start at sundown on Sunday, May 16th, this year.

The Passover Festival, when we celebrate the freeing of Jews from their 210-year-long slavery in the Egyptian lands and achieving their independence, is starting on the evening of Saturday, March 27th.

Purim, the happiest festival in the Jewish calendar, will be celebrated on Friday, February 26th this year.

´Tu BiShvat´ which means 15th of the month of Shevat (on the Jewish calendar), is also known as The New Year for Trees, Festival of Trees (Chag Ha´Ilanot), and Festival of Fruits (Chag Ha´Perot).

This evening, on December 10th, together with our families, we will be lighting the first of the Hanukkah candles that will increase each night by one for eight nights.

Sukkot (plural of sukkah, meaning covered huts) is celebrated to commemorate our ancestors´ living under the huts they had made of sticks and leaves they could find in the desert while traveling from Egypt to the promised land.

Yom Kippur which is the day of atonement, forgiveness, and purification, is regarded as the holiest day of the year in Judaism.

Rosh Hashanah, the anniversary of the birth of the universe, is the day God created Adam and Eve.

Tu B´Av on which many happy incidents had happened throughout history and that is accepted as a very fortunate day for weddings, is celebrated as a ´Day of Love´ in our day. This year Tu B´Av will be celebrated starting on the eve of Tuesday, August 4th, and on Wednesday, August 5th.

Tisha B´Av is the beginning point of the Teshuvah period when we get closer to God and ourselves and which we hope to complete on Yom Kippur.

Judea was named after Patriarch Abraham’s great-grandson Yehuda who inherited the territory from Abraham’s grandson Jacob (Israel). In 930 BCE when Solomon’s kingdom split into two after his death, the southern part was named Yehuda = Judah. The subjects of that kingdom and their descendants are still known as Jews.

This year Shavuot Holiday will be celebrated on Friday, May 29th, and Saturday, May 30th.

By M. Bahadırhan DinçaslanI am intrigued by an observation lately: Whenever I read some book or article on nationalism, be it praise or blame, ...