Topic

Jewish holiday questions

Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: Selichot, shofar in Elul, kapparot, Tashlich without a river, and the fast if you're pregnant, nursing or on medication.

These are questions we chose and published. What readers ask here is private, and is never added to this archive.

• How do I hold and shake the lulav and etrog?

  Holding and shaking the four species (arba minim: lulav, etrog, hadassim, aravot) follows a set sequence, but the exact order of directions for the shaking (na'anuim) varies by community.

• What bracha do I say when I eat in the sukkah?

  There is a special blessing (bracha) for sitting and eating in the sukkah, called 'Leishev BaSukkah,' recited at the start of a meal built around bread.

• What makes a sukkah kosher — the walls, or what goes on the roof?

  A kosher sukkah needs both: at least three sturdy walls to enclose the space, and schach (the roof covering, made of cut plant material) laid over it. Neither one alone makes a valid sukkah; they are two separate requirements that both come from the Torah.

• It's raining on Sukkot. Do I still have to eat in the sukkah?

  When rain is heavy enough that it would ruin your food (the classic measure is rain that would spoil a pot of porridge), you are exempt from eating in the sukkah and may eat inside instead. The first night is treated differently: the rule given there is that you eat at least an olive's worth of bread in the sukkah even in the rain, though how long to wait for a lull first, and whether to say the blessing, are questions for your own rabbi.

• Can I build a sukkah on a balcony, or under a tree?

  Both a balcony sukkah and a tree-shaded sukkah can be valid, but each depends on specific physical facts about what is directly above the sukkah's roof (sekhach, the covering material).

• Do I have to sleep in the sukkah?

  Whether you sleep in your sukkah is a question for your own rabbi, and it is worth asking before the holiday rather than at bedtime on the first night. What it turns on: how your sukkah is built and where you put it, what the nights are actually like where you live, whether you can sleep there safely and privately, and what your family or community has done in past years.

• Do I have to eat all my meals in the sukkah?

  You don't need to eat every single bite in the sukkah (a temporary hut built for the holiday of Sukkot), but any meal built around bread or grain products must be eaten there, and on the first night there's a special obligation to eat at least a small amount of bread in the sukkah.

• I forgot to light Chanukah candles one night. What now?

  If you missed lighting Chanukah candles on one night entirely and the night has already passed, there's nothing to make up. You simply resume lighting with the correct number of candles on the following night, as usual.

• I'm away from home over Chanukah. Where and how do I light?

  You do have to light Chanukah candles (or oil) even away from home, and where and how depends mainly on whether you're staying as a guest with a host, alone in a hotel, or covered by a spouse lighting for you back home.

• In what order do I put in and light the Chanukah candles?

  Each night you add the new candle in a specific spot, then light in the opposite order, newest candle first. This order is set by long-standing practice and widely followed.

• On Saturday night of Chanukah, do I make havdalah first or light the menorah first?

  Whether you make havdalah or light the Chanukah candles first on Saturday night depends on your family's or community's custom, so it's a question for your rabbi rather than for us.

• Can I use an electric menorah?

  Most poskim (halachic decisors) hold that an electric Chanukah lamp does not fulfill the mitzvah of Chanukah lights, because the obligation requires an actual flame fed by fuel and a wick, not a bulb. Real oil or wax candles are the standard, though electric ones are used and appreciated in specific situations where open flame isn't possible.

• Does everyone in the house light their own menorah, or one per family?

  Whether each person lights their own menorah, or one menorah is lit for the whole household, depends on your family's or community's custom, so it's a question for your rabbi rather than for us.

• What blessings do I say when I light Chanukah candles?

  Before lighting Chanukah candles, you recite two blessings every night, and a third blessing only on the first night (or the first time you light that Chanukah season). All three praise God for the mitzvah, for the ancient miracle, and for reaching this season alive.

• On Friday of Chanukah, do I light the menorah before or after Shabbat candles?

  On Friday during Chanukah, you light the Chanukah menorah first, and only afterward light the Shabbat candles. This is the universal practice, since lighting the Shabbat candles brings in Shabbat, after which kindling any flame is forbidden.

• What time do I light Chanukah candles, and how long do they have to burn?

  The classic time to light the Chanukah menorah (chanukiah) is at the end of sunset, though customs differ on exactly when within the window from sunset to nightfall. Whenever you light, the candles or oil need to last long enough to keep burning until at least half an hour after nightfall.

• What time do I have to stop eating before Yom Kippur?

  Eating stops before sunset on erev Yom Kippur. Most people finish earlier than that, to leave room for the pre-fast meal.

• When do Selichot start, and what are they?

  Selichot are the penitential prayers said before the High Holidays. When they begin depends on which day Rosh Hashanah falls, and on your community.

• Is shofar blown during Elul, and when?

  The shofar is blown every weekday morning through Elul, usually at the end of Shacharit, as preparation for the High Holidays.

• What is kapparot, and do I have to use a chicken?

  Kapparot is done before Yom Kippur, with a chicken or with money, often coins. Money is widely used and equally valid, and is given to charity.

• Besides not eating, what else is prohibited on Yom Kippur?

  Yom Kippur restricts more than food: eating, drinking, washing, lotions and oils, leather shoes, and marital relations.

• Can I do Tashlich if there is no river or lake near me?

  No river nearby does not mean no Tashlich. A pond, reservoir or well can work, and so can waiting for a later opportunity. Here are the options.

• What are the simanim (symbolic foods) eaten on Rosh Hashanah night?

  The simanim are the symbolic foods eaten on Rosh Hashanah night: apple and honey, pomegranate, dates and more. Which ones appear varies by family.

• What do I say when someone greets me on Rosh Hashanah?

  What to say back on Rosh Hashanah: Shanah Tovah, a good year, or Shanah Tovah Umetukah, a good and sweet year.

• I take daily medication. What do I do about it on Yom Kippur?

  If you take daily medication, Yom Kippur is a question for your doctor and your rabbi together: what the fast needs, and whether timing or form can change.

• What happens if Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat?

  When Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur falls on Shabbat, the services combine both — prayers carrying elements of the holiday and of Shabbat together.

• I'm pregnant (or nursing). Am I supposed to fast on Yom Kippur?

  Whether to fast while pregnant or nursing is decided with your doctor and your rabbi. Bring what the doctor says to the rabbi, and have it early.

• How do I ask someone for forgiveness before Yom Kippur?

  Asking forgiveness before Yom Kippur works best when it is specific and sincere: name the harm, say you regret it, and ask plainly.

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