50 Fun Facts About Jewish Holidays

The shofar, blown about 100 times a day on Rosh Hashanah, is typically made from which animal's horn?

Ram is the preferred choice, although the horn of almost any animal in the cattle family is allowed, with one pointed exception: the cow.

On Rosh Hashanah, apple slices are dipped in which food to wish for a sweet new year?

Honey and apples only joined the Rosh Hashanah table in medieval times, making the custom far younger than the holiday itself.

Which Hanukkah toy, marked with four Hebrew letters, do players spin in a traditional betting game?

The letters on a dreidel are popularly read as the initials of a Hebrew phrase about a great miracle, though they began as Yiddish instructions for the game.

Which flat, cracker-like bread do Jewish families eat during Passover in place of ordinary loaves?

Matzah recalls the Israelites leaving Egypt in such a hurry that their dough had no time to rise; by rabbinic rule, dough starts to leaven 18 minutes after it gets wet.

Which queen, who hid her Jewish identity from King Ahasuerus, is the heroine of the Purim story?

Esther became queen after Vashti was banished for refusing a royal summons, then revealed her own identity to stop a plot to kill the kingdom's Jews.

Which Dodgers pitcher sat out Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur?

Sandy Koufax came back later in the series, started the deciding Game 7 on two days' rest and finished as the World Series MVP.

Which comedian first performed the novelty hit "The Chanukah Song" on Saturday Night Live in 1994?

Adam Sandler built it around a roll call of Jewish celebrities, as comfort for Jewish kids who feel left out at Christmas, and later updated it with new versions.

During Sukkot, Jewish families eat their meals inside which kind of structure for a week?

A temporary hut recalls the shelters the Israelites lived in while wandering the wilderness after leaving Egypt, and many people sleep in theirs as well as eat there.

At a Passover Seder, who traditionally asks the Four Questions about why the night is different?

The youngest child able to manage it sings the questions near the start of the meal, and the answers unfold over the rest of the evening.

Whose name do congregants drown out with noisemakers each time it is read aloud on Purim?

Haman is named 54 times in the Purim reading, and some worshippers once wrote the name on their soles so they could stamp it out.

Which practice do observant Jewish adults keep for a full day on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement?

Fasting on this day is paired with other hardships, and tradition likens worshippers to angels, who have no need of bodily comforts.

The Hanukkah story tells of a one-day supply of which substance lasting eight days in the Temple?

Oil is why Hanukkah tables are loaded with fried foods, although the miracle story first appears in the Talmud, written down about 600 years after the revolt.

Latkes, the pancakes served at Hanukkah, are most commonly made from which grated vegetable?

Potatoes only took over in the 19th century, when the crop reached Eastern Europe; before that, the typical Ashkenazi latke was a different recipe entirely.

Which band of Jewish rebels, led by Judah, recaptured the Temple in the story behind Hanukkah?

The Maccabees took their name from Judah's nickname, often explained as an Aramaic word for hammer, a nod to his ferocity in battle.

Shabbat, the weekly Jewish day of rest, begins on the evening of which day of the week?

Friday evening is the start because the Jewish calendar counts each day from one sunset to the next; candles are lit and blessings said over wine and bread.

Which braided bread is traditionally served as a pair of loaves at Shabbat and Jewish holiday meals?

Challah comes in pairs to recall the double portion of manna that fell before each Sabbath in the desert, so nobody had to gather on the day of rest.

Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah to the Israelites at which mountain?

Mount Sinai gets no mention in the Bible's own account of Shavuot, which describes a wheat-harvest festival; the link to the Torah comes from later rabbinic tradition.

For Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot, ancient Israelites made pilgrimages to which city?

Jerusalem held the Temple, where pilgrims joined the priests' festival worship; the three holidays are still known together as the pilgrimage festivals.

The seventh day of Passover recalls the Israelites' miraculous crossing of which body of water?

The Red Sea is said to have split on that day, letting the Israelites through before the waters closed over the Egyptian chariots chasing them.

Which treat, known as gelt, is traditionally handed out to youngsters during Hanukkah?

Chocolate coins wrapped in gold or silver foil only appeared in the 20th century, as a sweet stand-in for the real money once given as a Hanukkah present.

For which prophet do families pour an extra cup of wine and open the door at a Passover Seder?

Elijah's cup grew out of a rabbinic dispute over whether the meal needs four cups of wine or five; the question was left for the prophet himself to settle one day.

Which hidden item do children hunt for, or hold to ransom, near the end of a Passover Seder?

The afikoman is said to take its name from a Greek word for dessert: it is the last thing eaten at the meal, so children who find it can demand a reward for handing it back.

Which sharp-tasting root is often grated to serve as the bitter herb at a Passover Seder?

Horseradish, freshly grated, is a popular choice, although the oldest rabbinic list of bitter herbs for the night begins with lettuce.

At an Ashkenazi Passover Seder, a green vegetable such as parsley is dipped into which liquid?

Salt water is said to recall the tears shed by enslaved ancestors, while the act of dipping is itself counted as a sign of royalty and freedom.

Which sweet fruit-and-nut paste on the Seder plate stands for the mortar used by Israelite slaves?

Charoset changes from kitchen to kitchen: Ashkenazi cooks make it from apples, walnuts, wine and cinnamon, while some other communities build theirs on dates.

Which text is read aloud at a Passover Seder to retell the story of the Exodus?

The Haggadah takes its name from the Hebrew word for telling, and printers have loved it: 1,269 separate editions appeared in the nineteenth century alone.

Which animals swarmed Egypt in the second of the ten plagues recalled at Passover?

Frogs followed the plague of blood, and in a later Seder custom each person removes a drop of wine from their cup as every plague is named.

Sufganiyot, promoted as Israel's signature Hanukkah food, are which kind of sweet treat?

Jelly doughnuts owe their status partly to Israel's national labour union, which promoted them over homemade latkes in order to create more work for its members.

Which dessert is a classic Ashkenazi treat for Shavuot, a holiday linked with eating dairy foods?

Cheesecake fits a custom with a practical legend behind it: newly given the kosher laws, the Israelites could not yet prepare meat, so they ate dairy instead.

Children celebrate Purim by wearing what to synagogue services and street parades?

Costumes probably came to Purim through Italian Jews at the end of the 15th century, and the holiday's public parades are known as Adloyada.

Which prophet's book, about fleeing a mission to Nineveh, is read on Yom Kippur afternoon?

Jonah is read in full because its theme is God's willingness to forgive those who repent, the very hope that runs through the Day of Atonement.

Which biblical book, set during a barley harvest in Bethlehem, is read in synagogue on Shavuot?

Ruth tells of a Moabite widow gleaning in the fields to feed her mother-in-law; she remarries and becomes the great-grandmother of King David.

In the Temple's Yom Kippur rite, which animal was sent into the wilderness bearing the people's sins?

A goat was led away with a crimson cord tied around its horns, and the ritual is the origin of the English word scapegoat.

Which colour of clothing do many Jews wear to synagogue on Yom Kippur as a symbol of purity?

White echoes the garments the High Priest put on for the day's Temple service, and tradition says worshippers resemble the angels, who are said to wear it too.

Which everyday item do many observant Jews avoid wearing for the whole of Yom Kippur?

Leather shoes are one of several comforts set aside for the day, on the idea that an uncomfortable body humbles the soul.

Which seed-packed fruit is eaten at Rosh Hashanah as a symbol of being fruitful in the coming year?

Pomegranate can share a platter with dates, leeks, beets and a whole fish with its head intact, each blessed with a wish that often puns on the food's name.

On Rosh Hashanah, tradition says God opens which volume to inscribe each person's fate for the year?

The Book of Life is said to leave most people in suspense: only the entirely righteous are inscribed at once, and everyone else's destiny is sealed on Yom Kippur.

Which Jewish holiday, nicknamed the New Year of the Trees, is marked in Israel by planting saplings?

Tu BiShvat began as a bookkeeping date that fixed which year a tree's fruit belonged to for tithes, and only later became a day of ecological awareness.

On which Jewish holiday do worshippers dance with the scrolls as the yearly reading cycle restarts?

Simchat Torah sees the last portion of Deuteronomy followed by the first of Genesis, and the singing and dancing often overflow onto the streets.

What is the name of the helper candle used to light the others on a Hanukkah menorah?

The shamash exists because the eight main flames may only be looked at, never put to use, so a separate attendant candle does the practical work.

Which Aramaic declaration, releasing worshippers from vows, opens the services of Yom Kippur?

Kol Nidre is strictly a legal formula, not a prayer, and attempts to fix its Aramaic grammar have failed because the changes would not fit the much-loved melody.

Which ceremony, using a multi-wick candle, wine and sweet spices, marks the end of Shabbat?

Havdalah means separation; if missed on Saturday night it may still be said as late as Tuesday, though by then without the candle or the spices.

In which Rosh Hashanah ritual do worshippers symbolically throw their sins into a river or lake?

Tashlich takes its name from a verse in Micah about casting sins into the depths; some people toss in bread, a habit many rabbis say is forbidden on the holiday.

The etrog, held beside a bundle of branches during Sukkot blessings, is which kind of fruit?

Citron, a yellow citrus, joins a palm frond, myrtle and willow as the four species, which are waved together in a ceremony on every day of the festival except Shabbat.

Which Jewish holiday, falling between Passover and Shavuot, is celebrated in Israel with bonfires?

Lag BaOmer fires are often explained as a symbol of the spiritual light brought into the world by the sage Simeon ben Yochai, though some Israelis object to the smoke.

Which summer day of mourning recalls the destruction of both ancient Temples, by Babylon and Rome?

Tisha B'Av is regarded as the saddest day in the Jewish calendar; even ordinary Torah study is off limits, because learning counts as an enjoyable activity.

Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot all fall within which month of the Hebrew calendar?

Tishrei hosts the Jewish New Year even though it is counted as the seventh month of the Hebrew year, not the first.

Which Passover Seder song has a title meaning that a single divine gift would have sufficed?

Dayenu is more than a thousand years old, and its upbeat verses work through gift after gift, from release from slavery to the Torah and the Sabbath.

Which Seleucid king outlawed Jewish religious rites, triggering the revolt behind Hanukkah?

Antiochus IV took the title Epiphanes, meaning god manifest, but his eccentric behaviour led detractors to pun on it with Epimanes, the mad one.

Which Hebrew hymn, known in English as Rock of Ages, is sung after lighting the Hanukkah candles?

Maoz Tzur is thought to date from the 13th century, the era of the Crusades, and its familiar English version is a loose translation made by way of German.