Chapter 5:
Festivals and Holidays


In this chapter of the virtual tour of the former Synagogue of Niederzissen, called “Holidays”, a selection of Jewish holidays will be explained more closely, using texts, illustrative images, and some well-known holiday melodies. Moving along the dates of the Jewish calendar (which uses a different calculation of the year) the weekly rest day of Shabbat will be explained first, followed by Rosh Hashanah and Jom Kippur – New Year and the Day of Atonement – and then Sukkot and the Simchat Torah – the Feast of Tabernacles and the festival of “Rejoicing with the Torah”. Afterwards, the Festival of Lights, Hannukah, and Purim are described, as well as Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and Shavuot, the “Festival of Weeks”. Finally, Tisha B’Av, the day of mourning, and the most recently added Holocaust Memorial Day of Yom HaShoah will be explained. Objects from the Genizah of Niederzissen, like the shofar, ram’s horn, or the lulav-ring (used as part of the lulav for Sukkot) help create a connection to the former Jewish life in the Brohl valley.