WEBLINKS
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FACTS
| Judaism is:
· 3500 years old
· The parent faith of Christianity
· Based on the worship of only one God
· Worshiped in Synagogues
· Led by spiritual leaders called Rabbis
· Followed by 12 million people, mostly in Israel and the USA
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 |  | The jewish community in Coventry and Warwickshire is entering a very sepcial time as there are three major Jewish events in September and October.
The period between Rosh Hashanah on 28 September and Yom Kippur on 6 October is called The High Holy Days. The days between these dates are called the Days of Awe or Repentance.
After these, The Feast of Tabernacles (or Sukkot) runs between 11-19 October.
Each celebration starts as the sun goes down on the night before, so events officially start the date before those listed above and continue for 24 hours.
Ìý| Ìý |  | Jewish men in traditional dress
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Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival celebrating the creation of the world. The two day festival is also a judgement day, when God balances the year's good and bad deeds. Based on this judgement, God decides what the next year will be like for each Jew.
God records the judgement in the Book of Life, where he sets out who is going to live, who is going to die, who will have joy or sorrow during the next year. The book and the judgement are finally sealed on Yom Kippur.
Celebrations
Rosh Hashanah is celebrated in special services in synagogues and at a special meal at home. One of the synagogue rituals for Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar, a ram's horn trumpet.
The Rosh Hashanah meal usually contains very sweet foods, such as honey-dipped apples and sweet carrot stew. The meal is also served with round bread to symbolise the circle of life. There is often a pomegranate in the meal, too, because pomegranates are believed to have 613 seeds, one for each of the commandments that a Jew is obliged to keep.
Ìý| Ìý |  | Jewish men praying at the Wailing Wall
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Yom Kippur is the most sacred of the Jewish holidays. It is the Jewish day of atonement.
On Yom Kippur the Book of Life is closed and sealed, so it is a solemn time to fast, reflect and offer prayers.
The day before Yom Kippur, Jews ask for forgiveness from God and their acquaintances.
People attend a Yom Kippur service at the synagogue to make a confession (called a Vidui).
Those that have repented their sins are granted a happy new year.
Rules
Five things are prohibited for Yom Kippur. These are:
1. Eating and drinking
2. Using perfumes or lotions
3. Having marital relations
4. Washing
5. Wearing leather shoes
ÌýThe Feast of Tabernacles - Sukkot
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| Ìý |  | Jewish men at a picnic
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At the end of The Jewish High Holy Days the solemnness of Yom Kippur is replaced with the celebration of the festival of The Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot).
The Feast of Tabernacles marks the years that the Jews spent in the desert on their way to the Promised Land.
Usually lasting about nine days, it celebrates the way God took care of them in the difficult conditions.
Simchat Torah
Tabernacles ends with the festival of Simchat Torah. Throughout the year Jews read sections of the holy book, the Torah. On the festival of Simchat Torah the final part is read and the book is completed. The new year's cycle of reading then starts again.
ÌýJewish worship in Coventry
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Coventry's synagogue is on Barras Lane in Coventry.
For more information you can contact the Coventry Jewish Reform on: 024 7667 2027.
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