The Encyclopedia of World Religions

jihad S 241

through its roof. Jewish families hang fruit and other natural objects as decorations within the sukkah. They often eat their meals there. Some even sleep there. Immediately after Sukkot, on the 23rd of Tishri, is a minor festival called Simhat Torah (“Joy of the Torah”). During the synagogue service on this day, the last verses of Torah (the first five books of the B IBLE ) are read from the book of Deuteronomy. They are immediately followed by the first verses in the Bible, the creation account in Genesis. Thus, in the course of a year, all of the Torah—or at least repre sentative portions from every part of the Torah—is read aloud in Sabbath services. The two remaining pilgrimage festivals take place during the spring. Like Sukkot, they were originally agricultural, but they also celebrate important events in Israel’s prehistory. Pesach (Passover), from the 15th to the 22nd or 23rd of Nisan, recalls the freeing of the Israelites enslaved in Egypt. Fifty days (a week of weeks) later, on the sixth and, outside Israel, the seventh of Sivan, Sha vuot (weeks) celebrates the giving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. These festivals occur from late March to early June. Other Jewish festivals are more minor but certainly not unimportant. They include PURIM , Yom ha-Shoah (H OLOCAUST Day), Yom ha-Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day), Tishah Be’Av (Ninth of Av, which recalls the destruction of both S OLO MON ’s and Herod’s Temples in Jerusalem), and a festival especially popular with Jewish children in North America, H ANUKKAH . jihad Islamic notion of the struggle against SIN and EVIL . Jihad is often translated as “holy war,” but its meaning is actually broader. For Muslims the goal of life is to submit one self to the will of G OD . But forces opposed to God tempt human beings to abandon God and pursue other goals. In every arena of life, then, people should struggle to resist temptations and evil. This struggle is called jihad. Jihad includes a personal, internal struggle against temptation (jihad of the heart). It also

ancient times people observed them by making pil grimage to the Temple in J ERUSALEM . Rosh ha-Shanah occurs on the first and, for traditional Jews, the second day of the Jewish month of Tishri. Yom Kippur occurs on the tenth of Tishri. In the Gregorian calendar, these dates fall in September or October. Rosh ha-Shanah services emphasize that G OD is the supreme ruler of the universe. They also emphasize God’s activities in revealing himself and redeeming his people. At morning services the reading and discussion of passages from the T ORAH , such as A BRAHAM ’s expulsion of Hagar and bind ing of I SAAC , provide central dimensions of moral ity and faith. During the course of the services a shofar, an ancient musical instrument made from a ram’s horn, is blown. At home, Jews often eat apples dipped in honey in the hope that the new year will be sweet. Repentance is an important theme of Rosh ha Shanah. It culminates in Yom Kippur. On Yom Kip pur Jews are supposed to fast from before dusk to an hour after dark the next day, a period of roughly 25 to 26 hours. During this period they do not eat, drink, or wash. Yom Kippur services include a PRAYER known as the “Al Chet.” This prayer lists, in order, SINS whose names begin in turn with every letter of the Hebrew alphabet. A public and collec tive confession, this prayer symbolically confesses every possible sin. Yom Kippur restores one’s rela tionship to God, but not one’s relationship to other human beings. If one has sinned against another human being, one should ask that person’s for giveness before the start of the festival. A few days later, on the 15th of Tishri, the atmosphere changes from solemn to celebratory. This is the beginning of the festival of Sukkot. Originally Sukkot was a harvest festival. It also recalls the 40 years that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, and it served as a model for the American celebration of Thanksgiving. Suk kot gets its name from sukkah, a makeshift tem porary dwelling built for the festival. A sukkah must have three sides and an entrance way, it must be made entirely of natural materials, and one must be able to see at least three stars