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The Three Pilgrimage Festivals, in
Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
''Shalosh Regalim'' (שלוש רגלים), are three major festivals in JudaismPesach (''Passover''),
Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan in ...
(''Weeks'' or ''Pentecost''), and Sukkot (''Tabernacles'', ''Tents'' or ''Booths'')—when all ancient Israelites who were able would make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem, as commanded by the Torah. In Jerusalem, they would participate in festivities and ritual worship in conjunction with the services of the kohanim ("priests") at the Temple. After the
destruction of the Second Temple The siege of Jerusalem of 70 CE was the decisive event of the First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE), in which the Roman army led by future emperor Titus besieged Jerusalem, the center of Jewish rebel resistance in the Roman province of Ju ...
and until the building of the
Third Temple The "Third Temple" ( he, , , ) refers to a hypothetical rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem. It would succeed Solomon's Temple and the Second Temple, the former having been destroyed during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in and the latter havin ...
, the actual pilgrimages are no longer obligatory upon Jews, and no longer take place on a national scale. During synagogue
services Service may refer to: Activities * Administrative service, a required part of the workload of university faculty * Civil service, the body of employees of a government * Community service, volunteer service for the benefit of a community or a p ...
the related passages describing the holiday being observed are read aloud from a
Torah scroll A ( he, סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה; "Book of Torah"; plural: ) or Torah scroll is a handwritten copy of the Torah, meaning the five books of Moses (the first books of the Hebrew Bible). The Torah scroll is mainly used in the ritual of Tora ...
on the bimah (platform) used at the center of the synagogue services. During the
Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
s in modern-day Israel, many observant Jews living in or near Jerusalem make an effort to attend prayer services at the Western Wall emulating the ancient pilgrimages in some small fashion. Samaritans make pilgrimages to
Mount Gerizim Mount Gerizim (; Samaritan Hebrew: ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; Hebrew: ''Har Gərīzīm''; ar, جَبَل جَرِزِيم ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinit ...
three times a year to this day.


Sources in the Hebrew Bible

* Book of Exodus (): "Offer a sacrifice to Me . Keep the festival of
matzo Matzah or matzo ( he, מַצָּה, translit=maṣṣā'','' pl. matzot or Ashk. matzos) is an unleavened flatbread that is part of Jewish cuisine and forms an integral element of the Passover festival, during which ''chametz'' (leaven and ...
s nleavened bread... the reaping festival .e., ''Shavuot''... the harvest festival .e., ''Sukkot''... , every male among you must appear before God the Lord...." (Exodus 23:14–17) and "Keep the Festival of Matzahs .e., Passover... Keep the Festival of ''Shavuot'' through the first fruits of your wheat harvest. Also keep the harvest festival .e., ''Sukkot''soon after the year changes. , all your males shall thus present themselves before God the Master, Lord of Israel." (Exodus 34:18-23) *
Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy ( grc, Δευτερονόμιον, Deuteronómion, second law) is the fifth and last book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called (Hebrew: hbo, , Dəḇārīm, hewords Moses.html"_;"title="f_Moses">f_Moseslabel=none)_and_th ...
: "Safeguard the month of standing grain so that you will be able to keep the Passover to God your Lord, since it was in the month of standing grain that God your Lord brought you out of Egypt at night.... Then count seven weeks for yourself. From the time that you first put the sickle to the standing grain, you must count seven weeks. You shall then celebrate the festival of
Shavuot (''Ḥag HaShavuot'' or ''Shavuos'') , nickname = English: "Feast of Weeks" , observedby = Jews and Samaritans , type = Jewish and Samaritan , begins = 6th day of Sivan (or the Sunday following the 6th day of Sivan in ...
to God your Lord, presenting a hand-delivered offering according to the extent of the blessing that God your Lord has granted you.... When you bring in the products of your threshing floor and wine vat, you shall celebrate the festival of Sukkot for seven days.... , all your males shall thus be seen in the presence of God your Lord in the place that He will choose: on the festival of matzahs, on the festival of Shavuot, and on the festival of Sukkot. You shall not appear before God empty-handed." (Deuteronomy 16:1, 9-10, 13, 16-17)


Other biblical references

In his vision of a restored Jerusalem, the prophet Isaiah refers to Zion as "the city of our appointed feasts,". Zechariah foretells a messianic era when all nations will come to Jerusalem for the feast of Sukkot. The
Songs of Ascent Song of Ascents is a title given to fifteen of the Psalms, 120–134 (119–133 in the Septuagint and the Vulgate), each starting with the superscription Shir Hama'aloth ( ''šîr ha-ma‘ălōṯ'', meaning "Song of the Ascents"), or, in the cas ...
or pilgrim psalms ( Psalms 120-134) are associated with the pilgrims' journey to Jerusalem.


See also

*
Jewish holiday Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or ''Yamim Tovim'' ( he, ימים טובים, , Good Days, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []), are holidays observed in Judaism and by JewsThis article focuses on practices of mainstre ...
s


References

{{Authority control Three Pilgrimage Festivals, Jewish pilgrimages Nisan observances Sivan observances Tishrei observances Land of Israel laws in Judaism