Friday, August 14, 2009

The Circular Timeline of Judaism


A common misconception in Judaism is that, just like in any other religion or culture, we have holidays to commemorate past events. For example, we celebrate Pesach to remember what happened when we left Egypt. In Judaism, the timeline is circular.

Every year at different times of the year, we go through the same times. Imagine all the months of the Jewish calendar in a circle; now imagine going around the circle every year over and over again.

Every year we experience the special energies that are associated with that month or time of year. For example, Pesach has the energy of redemption; this is why we have a tradition that we will be redeemed in the month of Nissan (the month where Pesach takes place).

The Mitzvoth and Halachot that are associated with each holiday, simply help us to connect to the wave of energy, that is prevalent at that time of the year. This means, that the holidays are as relevant now, as they were at any other time in our history.