Jewish Association

Upcoming Holidays

The Three Weeks

We mourn the destruction of the Holy Temple
July 12 – August 3, 2025

17th of Tammuz (Fast Day – dawn to nightfall)
Five tragic events:
** Moses broke the tablets
** Babylonian siege of Jerusalem
** Apostamos burned the holy Torah
** An idol was placed in the Holy temple
** The Walls of Jerusalem were breached by the Romans in 69 CE

The Nine Days – First nine days of Av
Do not eat meat or drink wine

9th of Av- Tisha b’Av (Fast day – sunset the previous day to nightfall)
** Read the book of Lamentations
** Restrictions like Yom Kippur
** During morning hours, sit on the floor or on low stools

PAST HOLIDAYS

Sukkot

Sundown Oct. 16 – Nightfall Oct. 23, 2024 (Tishrei 15 – 21, 5785)

Chol Hamoed Sukkah Restaurant List 2024

Pizza World, 365 S. Fairfax Ave., L.A.
Tierra Sur (Herzog Winery), 3201 Camino de Sol, Oxnard
The Milky Way (Sunday Brunch), Los Angeles
Fish Grill
Beverly Location, 7229 Beverly Bl., L.A.
Pico Location, 9618 W. Pico Blvd., L.A.

Plus many synagogues are offering a catered dinner in their Sukkah.
If you know of another Kosher restaurant with a Sukkah, please let us know!

Hanukkah

Wed. Dec. 25, 2024 – Thurs. Jan. 2, 2025 (25 Kislev – 2 Tevet, 5785)

Tu BiShevat

Thursday, Feb. 13th (15 Shevat) 2025
New Year of Trees

* Remember the importance of caring for the environment
* Plant a tree
* Tu Bi’Shvat Seder: eat fruits, nuts and spices that are grown in Israel
[TuBishvat Seder Program]
* Participate in crafts and activities relating to nature

Purim

Thurs. March 13th (eve) – Fri. March 14th (14 Adar 5785)

Feast of Lots
* Hear the Megillah, by night and by day
* Give tzedakah
* Exchange gift baskets
* Enjoy a feast
* Wear extravagant costumes

Purim Megillah Limericks (by Rina Wolfson z”l)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1agqQkuUjTe3v6dEEu71uEtX9IzQSW2sf5LhUS5zhcF4/edit?usp=sharing

Passover

Sunday, April 12 (eve) (15 Nisan)
through
Sunday, April 20 (22 Nisan)
Celebrates the freedom of the Israelites
from slavery in Egypt.

Observances

* Ridding home of chametz (spring cleaning)
* Seder meals that include 4 cups of wine
* Eat unleavened bread (matzah)
* Retelling the Passover Story

Remembering the Martyrs and Heroes

26-27 Nisan 5785 April 24, 2025

“If we wish to live and to bequeath life to our offspring, if we believe that we are to pave the way to the future, then we must first of all not forget.”
Prof. Ben Zion Dinur, Yad Vashem, 1956

The Counting of the Omer

Begin Omer Count on Sunday night, April 13,
end counting at nightfall on Sunday, June 1.

“And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the Shabbat, from the day on which you bring the Omer offering, seven complete weeks they shall be; until the morrow of the seventh week, you shall count fifty days…” (Leviticus 23:15)

The 49-day “Counting of the Omer” retraces our ancestors’ seven-week spiritual journey from the Exodus to Mt. Sinai. Each evening we recite a special blessing and count the days and weeks that have passed since the Omer. The 50th day is Shavuot, the festival celebrating the
Giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.

Check out the Homer Omer Calendar!!
https://homercalendar.net/Welcome.html

Lag B’Omer (33rd Day of the Omer)

According to the Talmud, a plague killed thousands of Rabbi Akiva’s students because they did not treat one another respectfully. Thus, the Omer period is a time of semi-mourning, when weddings and other celebrations are forbitten, and as a sign of grief, observant Jews do not cut their hair.
Lag B’Omer celebrates the end of the plague, interrupting the sadness of the Omer period for 24 hours. This is a day for picnics, children playing outdoors with bows and arrows, in Israel the planting of trees, and weddings. It is customary to light bonfires to symbolize the light Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai brought into the world (author of the Zohar, containing mystic interpretations of the Torah, and chief source of the Kabbalah)

A Fire Teaching for Lag B’Omer

Shavuot (Feast of Weeks)

Monday, June 2, 2025 (6 Sivan)
The Torah reading for the 1st day of Shavuot is from Exodus 19-20, which recounts the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai and includes the “Ten Commandments” proclaimed at Sinai that encapsulate the entire Torah. This holiday also commemorates the harvest festival, particularly of wheat.
* Reading the 10 Commandments and the Book of Ruth
* It is customary to engage in all-night Torah study
* Dairy foods, particularly cheesecake, blintzes and ice cream
* Decorating with flowers
* This day is a chag (yom tov) and work is prohibited