Jewish Rituals and Festivals

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the Jewish religion, like most major religions, has its own set of rituals and festivals, which offers its followers a sense of belonging and helps them attain a greater sense of commitment to their religious beliefs. The author points out that the weekly ritual of Sabbath, which takes place on Friday and ends on Saturday, during which Jewish people refrain from working, is based on the belief that God created the world in 6 days and rested on the 7th day. The paper relates that Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, which falls on the 10th day of the month of Tishri, during which Jews are urged to fast except old or sick people or children under the age of 13.

From the Paper:

"Rosh Hashanah is also an important day for ridding one's self of sins. It is believed that if the first day of Rosh Hashanah doesn't fall on Sabbath, then people should go to the seashore and cleanse themselves of their sins of the past one year. The casting away of sins has given rise to the ceremony of Tashlich which is based on the words of the prophet Micah, "Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea." In this ceremony, sins are cast away in the sea. But as popular and important as this ceremony may have become, it doesn't appear in the Talmud, and the Gaonim have never mentioned it in any of their writings."

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