There are three Jewish festivals that are called the ‘Pilgrim Festivals’. They are connected to things that come from the land of Israel. The Hebrew name for them is ‘Shalosh HaRegalim’. The festivals are Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot.
Pesach
The name ‘Pesach’ means ‘to pass over’ and it helps us remember the time the Jewish people were slaves in the land of Egypt, and managed to escape. Pesach lasts for eight days (seven in Israel).
Different Names for Pesach
Pesach
This name means ‘to pass over’. The name ‘Pesach’ also reminds us of the pascal lamb which was sacrificed by the Israelites when they left Egypt.
Chag Hamatzot
This name means ‘the festival of matzot’ (unleavened bread). During Pesach it is a mitzvah (commandment) to eat matzah.
Zman Cheiruteinu
This name means ‘time of our freedom’.
Chag Ha’aviv
This name means ‘festival of spring’. In the land of Israel Pesach falls in springtime. It is spring harvest time, which is a lovely time following the difficult winter.
Shavuot
The second of the three Pilgrim Festivals is celebrated for 2 days outside Israel (and in Israel for 1 day). The name Shavuot means ‘weeks’ because it comes 7 weeks after the 2nd day of Pesach. The Torah was given to the Jewish people on Shavuot.
This festival is about the harvest of the wheat crop, the last grain harvest of the season, and the beginning of the fruit harvest. An important part of the celebration was the ceremony of bringing the 'first fruits', or Bikkurim, of the harvest to the temple as an offering of thanks.
The Bikkurim were carried in beautifully decorated baskets. Families would gather together to walk to Jerusalem and they would sing, dance and have music playing as they walked. When they arrived at the Temple, they gave the bread and fruit to the priests who would bless them. Today, synagogues are decorated with greenery and flowers at Shavuot.
Different Names for Shavuot
Zman Matan Torateinu - ‘Festival of Giving of the Torah’
Chag HaBikkurim - ‘Festival of the First Fruits’
Chag HaKatzir – ‘Harvest Festival’
Chag Matan Torah – ‘Festival of the giving of the Torah’
The word ‘sukkot’ means ‘huts’. We use it to remind us that when the Jewish people left Egypt, on the way they had to sleep in huts in the desert. Sukkot is also a harvest festival.
Other Names for Sukkot
Chag HaAsif – ‘The Festival of Gathering’
After our ancestors had gathered in the land of Canaan, they realised that Sukkot was celebrated in Autumn, a time when they gathered the crops. The crops from the fields and the fruits of the orchards had been gathered. These events were celebrated with great excitement.
The 4 Species
There are four kinds of plants known in Hebrew as the Arbah Minim. These are called the Four Species and are said to stand for the unity of Israel (amongst other things). They are:
Aravot - willows that have neither fruit nor smell
Lulav - palm branch that has no smell, but has fruit which can be eaten
Etrog - citron, similar to a lemon, that has a sweet smell and can be eaten
Haddasim – myrtles, that have a pleasant smell but cannot be eaten
The three myrtle twigs and the two willows are tied together to the palm branch and together make the lulav. The four species represent the final harvest and the richness of the land.
