Jews have been on this Earth for a very long time. Although it can be hard to feel it living in the busy cities of 5778, all the the Sarahs and Rachels and Adams of two thousand years ago knew that Jews’ connection to the land was essential to their continued existence. The Hebrew calendar and Jewish practices are synced to the Earth’s patterns — the seasons, the sun rotations, and the agricultural cycles. 

Judaism celebrates three harvest festivals throughout the year. These three festivals are afforded as much reverence as the High Holidays (Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah). As a trio, they tell the important story of the Jewish people. Here they are in the spotlight:

Sukkot 

This holiday is celebrated in the Fall for a whole week. Sukkot honors the story of the Israelites wandering in the desert after gaining freedom from slavery. During that week, Jews live and sleep under the stars, practice ritual rain dances, party, and generally celebrate in joy.

Passover  

One of the oldest rituals of the Western world, Jews celebrate Passover for one week in the early spring, telling the story of Exodus from Egypt, marking the moment when the bonds of slavery came undone and the Israelites began a huge shift towards freedom.

Shavuot 

This is the holiday when the Israelites become the Jewish people and receive the Torah. Celebrated in the late spring, Shavuot is a cause for love and joy, a celebration of Jewish heritage and a time to renew a covenant with the Divine. Being the People of the Book, Jews stay up all night studying Torah to honor Shavuot.

Hang On — What’s Torah?

Not an easy question, and one with no simple answer. The briefest is that the Torah is a collection of stories, laws, guiding principles, instructions, and lessons on how to live a righteous life. Now, here’s a stab at a more philosophical answer. 

Every Hebrew word has something called a shoresh, or “root.” In Hebrew, not only does each word have its own definition, but each word’s shoresh has its own definition too. That means Hebrew words with the same shoresh are connected, intertwined, and often deeply connected to each other. 

Take the shoresh of Torah — yareh (הרי), which means “mark” or “target.” We understand this shoresh more broadly, to mean “hitting the mark” or “having direction.” Other words with the same shoresh as Torah are morah (הרומ - “teacher”) and horeh (הרוה‭ ‬- “parent”). (Psst, you can read more about that here.) Deep understanding of what Torah “is” can be found right there in its shoresh. Just think, how do parents, teachers, books, and wisdom help us find our direction? 

Torah is the heart and soul of the Jewish people. But the Torah goes beyond collective wisdom. The Torah came before everything and continues to serve as a blueprint for the cosmos (Talmud Shabbat 88, Zohar, Rashi Genesis 1:31). It’s an expression of love, commitment, dedication, and intimacy. In studying Torah, the goal isn’t simply to gain more knowledge or wisdom, but rather to better understand how we as humans relate to Oneness, the energy of the Universe, and to each other.

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