Jewish Holy Day Calendar, 2014-2015

Dear colleagues,

Here's a guide to scheduling around the Jewish holy days that I thought you might find useful.   I didn't write it, only edited it slightly and updated it each year, but I vouch for its accuracy.

Category I.     MOST JEWS PARTICIPATE.  Please do not schedule meetings around
these dates.

ROSH HASHANAH (Jewish New Year) begins at sunset Wednesday, September 24, 2014 and continues through Friday, September 26.

YOM KIPPUR (Day of Repentance) begins at sunset on Friday, October 3 and
continues through Saturday, October 4.  While Yom Kippur is a fasting day, meals
are prepared in advance for the breaking of the fast at the end of 27 hours.

Typically, even some of the least religiously observant members of the
Jewish community do not work on Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah.   Please keep
in mind that even though the holy day may begin at sunset, these are
home ritual centered holy days, so a great deal of advance preparation is
required.  In other words, please don't schedule a meeting for the afternoon
preceding Rosh Hashanah because I will be cooking!

PASSOVER (Celebration of Freedom from Slavery in Egypt) begins at sunset
on Friday, April 3, 2015; continues through nightfall on Saturday, April 11.   THE FIRST TWO DAYS (through Sunday evening, April 5) require refraining from work.    LOTS of cooking and preparation before this holy day.

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Category II.   Many observant Jews refrain from work.  I count myself as
observant.

SUKKOT (Festival of Booths, or Tabernacles) begins at sunset Wednesday, October 8, and lasts through Wednesday, October 15.  THE FIRST TWO DAYS traditionally require abstaining from work.

SHMINI ATZERET (Eighth Day Assembly, ending Sukkot) begins at sunset on Wednesday, October 15, and lasts through Thursday, October 16.

SIMCHAT TORAH (Rejoicing with the Torah) begins at sunset on Thursday, October 16, and lasts through Friday, October 17.

The LAST TWO DAYS of PASSOVER begin at sunset Thursday, April 9, 2015 and last through Saturday, April 11.

SHAVUOT (Festival of Weeks, or Pentecost) begins at sunset on Saturday, May 23, 2015; continues through Monday, May 25.

TISHA B’AV (fast day marking the destruction of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem) begins at sunset on Saturday night, July 25, and continues through Sunday, July 26.

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Category III. Observance doesn't require refraining from work.

HANUKKAH (Festival of Lights) begins at sunset on Tuesday, December 16 and
continues through nightfall Wednesday, December 24.  Every night, candles on the
Hanukkiah (eight-armed candelabra, sometimes called "menorah") are lit.

PURIM - Begins at sunset on Wednesday, March 4, 2015; continues through Thursday, March 5.

And a few other seasonal and historical holy days that I won't mention, because enough already!  If you want to know more about the meaning of these holidays, you might consult www.jewfaq.org or the book Seasons of Our Joy, by Arthur Waskow.

Typically, if you ask a Jewish man if the afternoon preceding a holy day is an acceptable time to have a meeting, he will say yes, because what most Jewish men do is show up at the dining table, fork in hand.  For women, the two days preceding each holiday are incredibly intense because of the cleaning, preparation and food preparation that takes place.  We look forward to the day when these tasks will be more equitably
distributed.

A final note which I thought worth adding from my own experience: Even if someone (who might even be Jewish) tells you "It's no big deal" to schedule meetings and
conferences on these days, doesn't mean that that's true for all Jews.   People maintain different levels of observance, and a more secular Jew may work on a day when I would not.   When in doubt, please ask!   I can't speak for other Jewish consultants, staff, board members, and interns, but I know I always prefer to be asked.

Thank you!

Keep the Flame Alive

This evening, Jews around the world will read the story of the Exodus from Egypt. On the Sabbath before Passover, the passage we read from the Torah was much less pyrotechnical. Parshat Tzav contains a list of instructions for priests (who no longer exist in Judaism) on how to offer sacrifices (which we have replaced with prayers) in the traveling sanctuary that was first replaced by the Temple in Jerusalem and then abandoned altogether. Yet I find four important lessons in this reading for modern Jews--and perhaps for all of us.

The portion begins with the olah, the burnt offering. Any member of the community can bring this offering. We are told explicitly in the previous week's readings that if a household cannot afford to sacrifice a larger animal, a bird or even a measure of fine flour will do. Lesson #1: make your communities inclusive and participatory. Set dues that everyone can pay. Adopt rituals that give everyone a role.

Each day, the priest must go into the sanctuary and sweep up the ashes from the offering that was burnt the day before. Then he must take off his priestly robes and put on regular clothing to go dispose of the ashes. Lesson #2: Leaders must be a part of the community and serve it humbly.

The ashes are not dumped unceremoniously. The priest takes them to a designated spot, day after day, and that place becomes holy. Lesson #3: The sacrifices of the past must not be forgotten. They must be treated with respect.

All that being said, someone has to sweep away the old to make way for the new. If left to accumulate, ashes choke the atmosphere in which we are trying to worship.  Lesson #4: Each day requires its own course of action, and perhaps new sacrifices from us.

The portion also tells us to keep an eternal light burning in the sanctuary and never let it go out. A rabbinical commentary reminds us that each of us is a sanctuary. Within ourselves, we need to keep alive the flame of desire for a better world, free from slavery and open to the creative participation of all people. As we approach the Exodus story tonight at the Passover Seder, let's keep in mind the image of the roughly-garbed priest taking the ashes out. And remember to honor the people--usually women--who cleaned the house for the holiday! Next year in a more equal and inclusive world.