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    A Novice’S Guide Through the Jewish Holidays
    A Novice’S Guide Through the Jewish Holidays
    A Novice’S Guide Through the Jewish Holidays
    Ebook144 pages1 hour

    A Novice’S Guide Through the Jewish Holidays

    By Rabbi Helene Weintraub Ainbinder

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    About this ebook

    A Novice's Guide Through the Jewish Holidays explores the traditions, historical events along with Hebrew blessings in transliteration of the holidays for all people of diverse faiths and learning skills. The book engages and encourages the reader to become comfortable practicing the observances of the holidays. This guide will inspire and enlighten multi-generational and interfaith families to learn together. There are recipes and decorations to enhance the richness and beauty of each holiday. The special gift of this book is to bring a better understanding of the Jewish people's rich heritage. May your thirst for knowledge never be quenched!
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAuthorHouse
    Release dateApr 10, 2014
    ISBN9781496903778
    A Novice’S Guide Through the Jewish Holidays
    Author

    Rabbi Helene Weintraub Ainbinder

    Rabbi Helene Weintraub Ainbinder received her ordination from the Esoteric Theological Seminary. She has a BA in Judaic studies from Hofstra University. She has been licensed as a Jewish family educator by Touro College and has over twenty-five years of teaching experience in the diverse Jewish movements. She is affiliated with the Beit Haverim Synagogue in St. George, Utah, serves as a chaplain at the regional hospital there, and is active with the Interfaith Council of St. George. All artwork is designed by Rabbi Helene.

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      Book preview

      A Novice’S Guide Through the Jewish Holidays - Rabbi Helene Weintraub Ainbinder

      © 2014 Rabbi Helene Weintraub Ainbinder. All rights reserved.

      No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

      Published by AuthorHouse   04/09/2014

      ISBN: 978-1-4969-0375-4 (sc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4969-0376-1 (hc)

      ISBN: 978-1-4969-0377-8 (e)

      Library of Congress Control Number: 2014906705

      Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models,

      and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

      Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

      Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

      CONTENTS

      Acknowledgments

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: Shabbat

      Chapter 2: Rosh Hashanah And Yom Kippur

      Chapter 3: Sukkot

      Chapter 4: Shemini Atzeret And Simhat Torah

      Chapter 5: Hanukkah

      Chapter 6: Tu B’shvat

      Chapter 7: Purim

      Chapter 8: Passover—Pesach

      Chapter 9: Shavuot

      Chapter 10: Yom Hashoah

      Chapter 11: Yom Hazikaron And Yom Ha’atzma’ut

      Art Projects And Decorations

      Suggestions For Further Reading

      Glossary

      To my children, Ian David and Andrea Lauren, and their spouses, Donna and David.

      To my grandchildren, Daniel Evan, Benjamin Charles, and Jackson Cruz.

      To my nieces, Lauren, Samantha, and Isabel.

      To my nephews, Charles, Matthew, and David.

      May all my family, friends, extended congregational families, and students continue learning about our rich Jewish heritage. May your ruach (spirit) be filled with wonder, and may your thirst for Judaic knowledge never be quenched.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai received (the Torah) from Hillel and Shammai. He would say, ‘If you have learned too much Torah, do not puff yourself up on that account, for it was for that purpose that you were created’ (Pirke Avot 2:8).

      Just as creation renews itself daily, so does the process of learning. Education is never stagnant. Rather, it is an active, fluid journey that is awakened at birth and concludes only with death. I truly believe that I stand on the shoulders of those people in my family, past and present, who have left a special place in my neshamah (soul): the scholars and rabbis that I had the honor and privilege to know, learn, and study from over many years of studying Judaism. The myriad of discussions and questions from principals, colleagues, teachers, and students have enhanced my insight into an approach and method of educating others.

      I also had the honor and privilege to be a participant in grant programs with Jerusalem’s Israeli schools and synagogues called Ki Va Moed (the time is now), working on the restoration of the Holocaust Torah of Kolin, Czechoslovakia. The grant bodies include Teva, the Department of the Environment in Israel, and the Department of Education in Israel. I have also been a member and a participant in the vast courses and lecture series of Judaic education sponsored by the Women’s League for Conservative Judaism.

      The following people are but a few I would like to give a todah rabah (thank you very much):

      My wonderful, knowledgeable, and loving grandparents, Harry and Jenny and Irving and Peggy, and parents, Carl Kalman and Irene, all of blessed memory, who taught me to love being Jewish and to enjoy celebrating the Jewish holidays with a full heart.

      All my family members and friends who came to our home or invited our family to theirs. The added joy of celebrating the Jewish holidays together are blessings to behold. Our immediate family has grown over the years from just my husband, Michael, and myself to our son, Ian David, and daughter, Andrea Lauren. Our children married loving and caring spouses. Ian and his wife, Donna, have a new son Jackson Cruz; and Andrea and her husband, David, have sons, Daniel Evan and Benjamin Charles. They have taught me how to modify the seder services and other holidays celebrations to make them comfortable, fun, and informative for the children and the entire family to enjoy!

      Todah rabah to the many scholars and colleagues who enriched my Judaic knowledge throughout the years: Professor Dr. Henry Toledano of Hofstra University; Chancellor Rabbi Dr. Ismar Schorsch of the Jewish Theological Seminary (emeritus); Dr. Lynn Heller; Reverend Dr. Katia Romanoff of the Esoteric Interfaith Seminary; Rabbi Harry Cohenson z"l; Rabbi Moshe Portnoy of Young Israel, Plainview, NY; Dr. Kenneth W. Stein of Emory University; Director of Morasha Diane E. Berg; Rifka Tadmor; Rachel Seigel; Rabbi David Ross Senter of Manetto Hill Jewish Center, Plainview, NY; Rabbi Ian Silverman of East Northport Jewish Center, NY; Rabbi Neil Kurshan of Huntington Jewish Center, NY; Shelley Dickstein and Suri Jacknis of SAJES (now the Jewish Education Project); and Ada Brodsky and Roberta Bell-Kligler of Israel’s Oren the Department for World Jewry of Shdemot Center for Community Leadership and Oranim Academic College of Education.

      Todah rabah to all the parents, families, and congregations who have given me the privilege and honor of teaching your children and leading junior congregations. You always asked questions and engaged in the discussions, and you in turn enhanced the services with thoughts on the Torah or the holidays. My kehillah, Beit Chaverim, of St. George, Ivins, and Washington, Utah, you welcomed my husband Michael and I into your Jewish community. I encourage and challenge everyone to create sacred time in their lives to continue to engage and enjoy celebrating Shabbat with Havdalah, and learn about your rich Jewish heritage and holidays.

      A special todah rabah to Ben Berkley, Esq., for his guidance with my book; to Arlene Steinberg for reading through and editing some of the chapters; and to my dear husband Michael for giving me all your support and guidance, time to research and write, and even the title of this book!

      INTRODUCTION

      During the last twenty-eight years, I have worked as a morah (certified religious school teacher) and led junior congregation and family Shabbat services. I became an educational director of a religious school, grades K–7, and taught art and Judaic studies in SHMA (the regional Conservative high school) and Solomon Schectner—schools on Long Island, New York. I worked on the Ki Va Moed educational and environment programs on a grant from SAJE (now known as JEP, the Jewish Educational Project) with Israel’s Jerusalem’ schools. I recently became a rabbi.

      Having taught many Judaic studies courses, I have used a variety of holiday books. Each book contained most of the necessary materials but lacked key information for my students to learn. Some books needed Hebrew with transliteration to make the learning process an enjoyable experience, while other books were remiss in adding historical background. Most schools where I taught or led Shabbat services did not take into account that the entire family was also interested in learning.

      When writing this book about Jewish holidays, I kept a few thoughts in the back of my mind. One was to address diverse learners’ needs, and another was to answer many of the questions posed to me by both students and adults. Also, Jewish communities now have large multigenerational and interfaith families that may desire to learn privately rather than asking their rabbis, hazans, or moraim for answers.

      This book was written to be entertaining and to include art projects and recipes that many people asked to have in their collections of Judaic materials.

      People are always curious about the Jewish holidays. Some Jewish people need to know the halacha (Jewish laws), while some need to understand the minhagim (Jewish customs). Other people just like to do hiddur mitzvah, which is a way to enhance celebration of the holidays with special foods and art creations. Even when most Jewish people are not observant, do not keep kosher, and do not celebrate the Sabbath each week, they will celebrate the holidays.

      This book will help educate and make the holidays become more meaningful for everyone. Hopefully every person and family will want to increase their joy in celebrating more Judaic observances as a part of their daily lives.

      Some art projects and decorations for the holidays will be on separate pages. This book will also highlight some Torah, historical stories and midrashim (stories based on the Torah), Jewish values, and an English/Hebrew tefillot (prayers) for each holiday. There is also a suggested list of books to enjoy for various age groups for each holiday. I have provided recipes that are associated with certain holidays and have become traditional foods for families to serve.

      This book will start with an overview of the Jewish calendar. Beginning with Shabbat, it follows the holidays starting with the first month of the year, Tishri. Each chapter lists ritual items needed for the holiday and some suggestions for extra items to enhance the celebrations. Some chapters cite verses from the Torah or Talmud. These verses will be followed by the name of the chapter and the number or numbers of the

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