# The Jewish Experience ## expand\_more [### Keeping Shabbat ](/keeping-shabbat) In the Jewish calendar, Shabbat (also called the Sabbath) begins at sunset on Fridays and ends at sunset on Saturdays. Jews traditionally “keep” the Sabbath by resting and refraining from labor. They instead share meals and rituals with family, study, and... ![Keeping Shabbat](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/keeping_shabbat_copy.jpg?itok=pASZbs1X) [### Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur ](/rosh-hashanah-and-yom-kippur) Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, together referred to as “The High Holy Days,” are the two most important holidays of the Jewish year, the former celebrating the coming of the New Year and the creation of the world, the latter (ten days later) beginning the... ![Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/rosh_hashana_and_yom_kippur.jpg?itok=ccMit8Qs) [### Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah ](/sukkot-shemini-atzeret-and-simchat-torah) The eight day harvest festival of Sukkot commemorates the Jews’ forty years of wandering in the desert after their exodus from Egypt, as described in the Torah. Jews build sukkahs , temporary structures made of organic materials like bamboo and leaves in... ![Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/sukkot.jpg?itok=ysu0-sym) [### Hanukkah ](/hanukkah) Hanukkah, the “Festival of Lights,” is a minor Jewish holiday that is particularly popular in the United States due to its proximity to Christmas. It is an eight day holiday that celebrates the military victory of the Jewish Maccabeans over the... ![Hanukkah](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/hanukkah.jpg?itok=VKyqtn6i) [### Purim ](/purim) The Festival of Purim celebrates the heroism in the biblical Book of Esther, in which Esther, through insight and wit, saved the Jews of Persia from genocide at the hands of Haman, the King’s adviser. Purim is celebrated with a raucous and playful... ![Purim](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/purim_copy.jpg?itok=p2PJAGTC) [### Passover ](/passover) Passover, or Pesach, is an eight day festival celebrating the exodus of the people of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. During this period, Jews abstain from leavened bread and eat only matzah (unleavened bread) to remember the hastiness preparing to depart... ![Passover](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/passover.jpg?itok=9M5GiZIZ) [### Brit Milah ](/brit-milah) Brit milah is a rite of passage taking place eight days after the birth of Jewish males that symbolizes their entrance into a covenant with God through circumcision, or the removal of the foreskin of the penis. This is generally an occasion for a small... ![Brit Milah](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/brit_milah.jpg?itok=Mfdtr1ZL) [### Bar and Bat Mitzvah ](/bar-and-bat-mitzvah) The major rite of passage for Jewish boys and girls is the bar mitzvah (son of the commandment) and bat mitzvah (daughter of the commandment) service. The term refers both to the person and the ritual, in which Jewish children, at ages twelve or thirteen... ![Bar and Bat Mitzvah](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/bar_and_bat_mitzvah.jpg?itok=-eBBL7sg) [### Under the Huppah: The Jewish Wedding ](/under-the-huppah-the-jewish-wedding) Jewish weddings are traditionally joyous occasions; and while the specificities of Jewish weddings vary, most will include the signing of a ketubah , or marriage contract, the recitation of seven prayers, the smashing of a glass to represent the... ![Under the Chuppah](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/under_the_chuppah.jpg?itok=k2h9B6mG) [### Funeral and Mourning ](/funeral-and-mourning) Jewish funerary rituals are simple, requiring the deceased be buried in consecrated ground within 48 hours of death. But the period of mourning after the burial, called sitting shiva (literally “seven”), involves the immediate family remaining at home... ![Funeral and Mourning](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/funeral_and_mounring.jpg?itok=XVvmq0Q8) [### A Hasidic Tish ](/a-hasidic-tish) The ultra-Orthodox Hasidic communities in America often live in close proximity, retaining a strong sense of identity distinct from secular American culture. A tish is an Orthodox Hasidic practice in which a ritual meal is shared between men in a Hasidic... ![A Hasidic Tish](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/a_hasidic_tish.jpg?itok=yM9UxnVl) [### The Synagogue ](/the-synagogue) The synagogue was first an institution meant to temporarily replace the temple of Jerusalem during the Jewish Diaspora, or exile from Israel. In its early forms, the synagogue represented a community in its entirety. In the 19th century, the growth of... ![The Synagogue](/sites/g/files/omnuum10836/files/styles/hwp_16_9__480x270/public/pluralism/files/the_synagogue.jpg?itok=wCt5xhh8)