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Jewish religious year, the cycle of Sabbaths and holidays that are commonly observed by the Jewish religious community—and officially in Israel by the Jewish secular community as well. The Sabbath and festivals are bound to the Jewish calendar, reoccur at fixed intervals, and are celebrated at home and in the synagogue according to ritual set forth in Jewish law and hallowed by Jewish custom. In this article dates are listed as bce (Before the Common Era = bc) and ce (Common Era = ad).
The cycle of the religious year
According to Jewish teaching, the Sabbath and festivals are, in the first instance, commemorative. The Sabbath, for example, commemorates the Creation, and Passover commemorates the Exodus from Egypt over 3,000 years ago. The past is not merely recalled; it is also relived through the Sabbath and festival observances. Creative physical activity ceases on the Sabbath as it did, according to Genesis, when the Creation was completed; Jews leave their homes and reside in booths during the Sukkot festival as did their biblical ancestors. Moreover, Sabbath and festival themes are considered to be perpetually significant, recurring and renewed in every generation. Thus the revelation of the Torah (the divine teaching or law) at Sinai, commemorated on Shavuot, is considered an ongoing process which recurs whenever a commitment is made to Torah study. In this article dates are listed as bce (Before the Common Era = bc) and ce (Common Era = ad).
An important aspect of Sabbath and festival observance is sanctification. The Sabbath and festivals sanctified the Jews more than the Jews sanctified the Sabbath and festivals. Mundane meals became sacred meals; joy and relaxation became sacred obligations (mitzwot). No less significant is the contribution of the Sabbath and festivals toward communal awareness. Thus, neither Sabbath nor festival can be properly observed in the synagogue according to the ancient tradition if fewer than 10 male Jews are present. Again, a Jew prays on Rosh Hashana and mourns on Tisha be-Av not only for his own fate but for the fate of all Jews. The sense of social cohesiveness fostered by the Sabbath and festival observances has stood the Jews well throughout their long, often tortuous history.
The seven-day week, the notion of a weekly day of rest, and many Christian and Islāmic holiday observances owe their origins to the Jewish calendar, Sabbath, and festivals.
The Jewish calendar
Lunisolar structure
The Jewish calendar is lunisolar—i.e., regulated by the positions of both the moon and the sun. It consists usually of 12 alternating lunar months of 29 and 30 days each (except for Ḥeshvan and Kislev, which sometimes have either 29 or 30 days), and totals 353, 354, or 355 days per year. The average lunar year (354 days) is adjusted to the solar year (365 1/4 days) by the periodic introduction of leap years in order to assure that the major festivals fall in their proper season. The leap year consists of an additional 30-day month called First Adar, which always precedes the month of (Second) Adar. A leap year consists of either 383, 384, or 385 days and occurs seven times during every 19-year period (the so-called Metonic cycle). Among the consequences of the lunisolar structure are these: (1) The number of days in a year may vary considerably, from 353 to 385 days. (2) The first day of a month can fall on any day of the week, that day varying from year to year. Consequently, the days of the week upon which an annual Jewish festival falls vary from year to year despite the festival's fixed position in the Jewish month.
Months and notable days
The months of the Jewish religious year, their approximate equivalent in the Western Gregorian calendar, and their notable days, are as follows:
|Tishri (September–October)
|1, 2
|Rosh Hashana (New Year)
|Tzom Gedaliahu (Fast of Gedaliah)
|Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement)
|Sukkot (Tabernacles)
|Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of the Solemn Assembly)
|Simḥat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law)
|Ḥeshvan, or Marḥeshvan (October–November)
|Kislev (November–December)
|Ḥanukka (Feast of Dedication) begins
|Ṭevet (December–January)
|Ḥanukka ends
|ʾAsara be-Tevet (Fast of Tevet 10)
|Shevaṭ (January–February)
|Tu bi-Shevaṭ (15th of Shevaṭ: New Year for Trees)
|Adar (February–March)
|Taʾanit Esther (Fast of Esther)
|14, 15
|Purim (Feast of Lots)
|Nisan (March–April)
|Pesaḥ (Passover)
|Iyyar (April–May)
|Lag ba-Omer (33rd Day of the Omer Counting)
|Sivan (May–June)
|6, 7
|Shavuot (Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost)
|Tammuz (June–July)
|Shivaʾ ʾAsar be-Tammuz (Fast of Tammuz 17)
|Av (July–August)
|Tisha be-Av (Fast of Av 9)
|Elul (August–September)
During leap year, the Adar holidays are postponed to Second Adar.
Since 1948 many Jewish calendars list Iyyar 5—Israel Independence Day—among the Jewish holidays.
Origin and development
The origin of the Jewish calendar can no longer be accurately traced. Some scholars suggest that a solar year prevailed in ancient Israel, but no convincing proofs have been offered, and it is more likely that a lunisolar calendar similar to that of ancient Babylonia prevailed in ancient Israel. In late Second Temple times (i.e., 1st century bce to 70 ce), calendrical matters were regulated by the Sanhedrin, or council of elders, at Jerusalem. The testimony of two witnesses who had observed the New Moon was ordinarily required to proclaim a new month. Leap years were proclaimed by a council of three or more rabbis with the approval of the nasi, or president, of the Sanhedrin. With the decline of the Sanhedrin, calendrical matters were decided by the Palestinian patriarchate (the official heads of the Jewish community under Roman rule). Jewish persecution under Constantius II (reigned 337–361) and advances in astronomical science led to the gradual replacement of observation by calculation. According to Hai ben Sherira (died 1038)—the head of a leading Talmudic academy in Babylonia—Hillel II, a Palestinian patriarch, introduced a fixed and continuous calendar in 359 ce. A summary of the regulations governing the present calendar is provided by Maimonides, the great medieval philosopher and legist, in his Code: Sanctification of the New Moon, chapters 6–10.
Fragments of writings discovered in a geniza (depository for sacred writings withdrawn from circulation) have brought to light a calendrical dispute between Aaron ben Meir, a 10th-century Palestinian descendant of the patriarchal (Hillel) family, and the Babylonian Jewish authorities, including Saʿadia ben Joseph—an eminent 10th-century philosopher and gaon (head of a talmudic academy). Ben Meir's calculations provided that Passover in 922 be celebrated two days earlier than the date fixed by the normative calendar. After a bitter exchange of letters, the controversy subsided in favour of the Babylonian authorities, whose hegemony in calendrical matters was never again challenged.
Calendars of various sectarian Jewish communities deviated considerably from the normative calendar described above. The Dead Sea (or Qumrān) community (made famous by the Dead Sea Scrolls discoveries) adopted the calendrical system of the noncanonical books of Jubilees and Enoch, which was essentially a solar calendar. Elements of this same calendar reappear among the Mishawites, a sect founded in the 9th century.
The Karaites, a sect founded in the 8th century, refused, with some exceptions, to recognize the normative fixed calendar and reintroduced observation of the New Moon. Leap years were determined by observing the maturation of the barley crop in Palestine. Consequently, Karaites often celebrated the festivals on dates different from those fixed by the rabbis. Later, in medieval times, the Karaites adopted some of the normative calendrical practices, while rejecting others.
The Sabbath
The Jewish Sabbath (from Hebrew shavat, "to rest") is observed throughout the year on the seventh day of the week—Saturday. According to biblical tradition, it commemorates the original seventh day on which God rested after completing the creation.
Scholars have not succeeded in tracing the origin of the seven-day week, nor can they account for the origin of the Sabbath. A seven-day week does not accord well with either a solar or lunar calendar. Some scholars, pointing to the Akkadian term shapattu, suggest a Babylonian origin for the seven-day week and the Sabbath. But shapattu, which refers to the day of the Full Moon and is nowhere described as a day of rest, has little in common with the Jewish Sabbath. It appears that the notion of the Sabbath as a holy day of rest, linking God to his people and recurring every seventh day, was unique to ancient Israel.
The central significance of the Sabbath for Judaism is reflected in the traditional commentative and interpretative literature called Talmud and Midrash (e.g., "if you wish to destroy the Jewish people, abolish their Sabbath first") and in numerous legends and adages from more recent literature (e.g., "more than Israel kept the Sabbath, the Sabbath kept Israel"). Some of the basic teachings of Judaism affirmed by the Sabbath are God's acts of creation, God's role in history, and God's covenant with Israel. Moreover, the Sabbath is the only Jewish holiday the observance of which is enjoined by the Ten Commandments. Jews are obligated to sanctify the Sabbath at home and in the synagogue by observing the Sabbath laws and engaging in worship and study. The leisure hours afforded by the ban against work on the Sabbath were put to good use by the rabbis, who used them to promote intellectual activity and spiritual regeneration among Jews. Other days of rest, such as the Christian Sunday and the Islāmic Friday, owe their origins to the Jewish Sabbath.
The biblical ban against work on the Sabbath, while never clearly defined, includes such activities as baking and cooking, travelling, kindling fire, gathering wood, buying and selling, and bearing burdens from one domain into another. The Talmudic rabbis listed 39 major categories of prohibited work, including agricultural activity (e.g., plowing and reaping), work entailed in the manufacture of cloth (e.g., spinning and weaving), work entailed in preparing documents (e.g., writing), and other forms of constructive work.
At home, the Sabbath begins Friday evening some 20 minutes before sunset, with the kindling of the Sabbath candles by the wife, or in her absence by the husband. In the synagogue, the Sabbath is ushered in at sunset with the recital of selected psalms and the Lekha Dodi, a 16th-century Kabbalistic (mystical) poem. The refrain of the latter goes: "Come, my beloved, to meet the bride," the "bride" being the Sabbath. After the evening service, each Jewish household begins the first of three festive Sabbath meals by reciting the Qiddush ("sanctification" of the Sabbath) over a cup of wine. This is followed by a ritual washing of the hands and the breaking of bread; two loaves of bread (commemorating the double portions of manna described in Exodus) being placed before the breaker of bread at each Sabbath meal. After the festive meal, the remainder of the evening is devoted to study or relaxation. The distinctive features of the Sabbath morning synagogue service include the public reading of the Torah, or Five Books of Moses (the portion read varies from week to week) and, generally, the sermon, both of which serve to educate the listeners. Following the service, the second Sabbath meal begins, again preceded by Qiddush (of lesser significance), and conforming for the most part to the first Sabbath meal. The afternoon synagogue service is followed by the third festive meal (without Qiddush). After the evening service, the Sabbath comes to a close with the Havdala ("Distinction") ceremony, which consists of a benediction noting the distinction between Sabbath and weekday, usually recited over a cup of wine accompanied by a spice box and candle.
The Jewish holidays
The major Jewish holidays are the Pilgrim Festivals: Pesaḥ (Passover), Shavuot (Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost), and Sukkot (Tabernacles); and the High Holidays: Rosh Hashana (New Year) and Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement). In common, their observance is required by the Torah and work is prohibited for the duration of the holiday (except on the intermediary days of the Pesaḥ and Sukkot festivals, when work the neglect of which entails monetary loss is permitted). Purim (Feast of Lots) and Ḥanukka (Feast of Dedication), while not mentioned in the Torah (and therefore of lesser solemnity), were instituted by Jewish authorities in the Persian and Greco-Roman periods. Lacking the work restrictions characteristic of the major festivals, they are sometimes regarded as minor festivals. In addition, there are the five fasts: ʿAsara be-Ṭevet (Fast of 10 Ṭevet), Shivaʿ ʿAsar be-Tammuz (Fast of Tammuz 17), Tisha be-Av (Fast of Av 9), Tzom Gedaliahu (Fast of Gedaliah), and Taʿanit Esther (Fast of Esther); and the lesser holidays—i.e., holidays the observances of which are few and not always clearly defined—such as Rosh Ḥodesh (First Day of the Month), Ṭu bi-Shevaṭ (New Year for Trees), and Lag ba-ʿOmer (33rd Day of Omer Counting). The fasts and the lesser holidays also lack the work restrictions characteristic of the major festivals. Some of the fasts and Rosh Ḥodesh are mentioned in Scripture, but most of the details concerning their proper observance, as well as those concerning the other lesser holidays, were provided by the Talmudic and medieval rabbis.
Pilgrim festivals
In Temple times, all males were required to appear at the Temple three times annually and actively participate in the festal offerings and celebrations. These were the joyous pilgrim festivals of Pesaḥ, Shavuot, and Sukkot. Originally, they marked the major agricultural seasons in ancient Israel and commemorated Israel's early history; but after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 ce, emphasis was almost exclusively placed on the commemorative aspect.
In modern Israel, Pesaḥ, Shavuot, and Sukkot are celebrated for the number of days prescribed by Scripture, namely, seven days, one day, and eight days, respectively (with Shemini Atzeret added to Sukkot). Due to calendrical uncertainties which arose in Second Temple times (6th century bce to 1st century ce), each festival is celebrated for an additional day in the Diaspora.
Pesaḥ commemorates the Exodus from Egypt and the servitude that preceded it. As such, it is the most significant of the commemorative holidays, for it celebrates the very inception of the Jewish people—i.e., the event which provided the basis for the covenant between God and Israel. The term pesaḥ refers originally to the paschal (Passover) lamb sacrificed on the eve of the Exodus, the blood of which marked the Jewish homes to be spared from God's plague; its etymological significance, however, remains uncertain. The Hebrew root is usually rendered "passed over"—i.e., God passed over the homes of the Israelites when inflicting the last plague on the Egyptians—hence the term Passover. The festival is also called Ḥag, Matzot ("Festival of Unleavened Bread"), for unleavened bread is the only kind of bread consumed during Passover.
Leaven (seʾor) and foods containing leaven (ḥametz) are neither to be owned nor consumed during Pesaḥ. Aside from meats, fresh fruits, and vegetables, it is customary to consume only those foods prepared under rabbinic supervision and labelled "kosher for Passover," warranting that they are completely free of contact with leaven. In many homes, special sets of crockery, cutlery, and cooking utensils are acquired for Passover use. On the evening preceding the 14th day of Nisan, the home is thoroughly searched for any trace of leaven (bediqat ḥametz). The following morning the remaining particles of leaven are destroyed by fire (biʿur ḥametz). From then until after Pesaḥ, no leaven is consumed. Many Jews sell their more valuable leaven products to non-Jews before Passover (mekhirat ḥametz), repurchasing the foodstuffs immediately after the holiday.
The unleavened bread (matza) consists entirely of flour and water, great care being taken to prevent any fermentation before baking. Hand-baked matza is flat, rounded, and perforated. Since the 19th century, many Jews have preferred the square-shaped, machine-made matza.
Passover eve is ushered in at the synagogue service on the evening before Passover, after which each family partakes of the seder ("order of service); i.e., an elaborate festival meal in which every ritual is regulated by the rabbis. (In the Diaspora, the seder is also celebrated on the second evening of Passover.) The table is bedecked with an assortment of foods symbolizing the passage from slavery (e.g., bitter herbs) into freedom (e.g., wine). The Haggada (literally "narration"), a printed manual comprised of appropriate passages culled from Scripture, Talmud, and Midrash, accompanied by medieval hymns, serves as a guide for the ensuing ceremonies and is recited as the evening proceeds. The seder opens with the cup of sanctification (Qiddush), the first of four cups of wine drunk by the celebrants. An invitation is extended to the needy to join the seder ceremonies, after which the youngest son asks four prescribed questions expressing his surprise at the many departures from usual mealtime procedure. ("How different this night is from all other nights!") The father then explains that the Jews were once slaves in Egypt, were then liberated by God, and now commemorate the servitude and freedom by means of the seder ceremonies. Special blessings are recited over the unleavened bread and the bitter herbs (maror), after which the main courses are served. The meal closes with a serving of matza recalling the paschal lamb, consumption of which concluded the meal in Temple times. The seder concludes with the joyous recital of hymns praising God's glorious acts in history and anticipating a messianic redemption to come.
The Passover liturgy is considerably expanded and includes the daily recitation of Psalms 113–118 (Hallel, "praise"), public readings from the Torah, and an additional service (musaf). On the first day of Pesaḥ, a prayer for dew in the Holy Land is recited; on the last day, the memorial service for the departed (yizkor) is added.
Originally an agricultural festival marking the wheat harvest, Shavuot commemorates the revelation of the Torah at Sinai. Shavuot ("weeks") takes its name from the seven weeks of grain harvest separating Passover and Shavuot. The festival is also called Ḥag ha-Qazir (Harvest Festival) and Yom ha-Bikkurim (Day of First Fruits). Greek-speaking Jews called it pentēkostē, meaning "the fiftieth" day after the sheaf offering. In rabbinic literature, Shavuot is called atzeret ("cessation, conclusion"), perhaps because the cessation of work is one of its distinctive features, or possibly because it was viewed as concluding the Passover season. In liturgical texts it is described as the "season of the giving of our Torah." The association of Shavuot with the revelation at Sinai, while not attested to in Scripture, is alluded to in the Pseudepigrapha (a collection of noncanonical writings). In rabbinic literature the association first appears in 2nd-century materials. The association, probably an ancient one, was derived in part from the book of Exodus, which dates the revelation at Sinai to the third month (counting from Nisan), i.e., Sivan.
Scripture does not provide an absolute date for Shavuot. Instead, 50 days (or seven weeks) are reckoned from the day the sheaf offering (ʿOmer) of the harvest was brought to the Temple, the 50th day being Shavuot. According to the Talmudic rabbis, the sheaf offering was brought on the 16th of Nisan; hence Shavuot always fell on or about the 6th of Sivan. Jewish sectarians, such as the Sadducees, rejected the rabbinic tradition concerning the date of the sheaf ceremony, preferring a later date, and celebrated Shavuot accordingly.
In Temple times, aside from the daily offerings, festival offerings, and first-fruit gifts, a special cereal offering consisting of two breads prepared from the new wheat crop was offered at the Temple. Since the destruction of the Second Temple, Shavuot observances have been dominated by its commemorative aspect. Many Jews spend the entire Shavuot night studying Torah, a custom first mentioned in the Zohar ("Book of Splendour"), a Kabbalistic work edited and published in the 13th–14th centuries. Some prefer to recite the tiqqun lel Shavuʿot ("Shavuot night service"), an anthology of passages from Scripture and the Oral Law (Mishna) compiled in the late medieval period. An expanded liturgy includes Hallel, public readings from the Torah, yizkor (in many congregations), and musaf. The Book of Ruth is read at the synagogue service, possibly because of its harvest-season setting.
Sukkot ("booths"), an ancient harvest festival that commemorates the booths the Israelites resided in after the Exodus, was the most prominent of the three pilgrim festivals in ancient Israel. Also called Ḥag ha-Asif (Festival of Ingathering), it has retained its joyous, festive character through the ages. It begins on Tishri 15 and is celebrated for seven days. The concluding eighth day (plus a ninth day in the Diaspora), Shemini Atzeret, is a separate holiday. In Temple times, each day of Sukkot had its own prescribed number of sacrificial offerings. Other observances, recorded in the Mishna tractate Sukka, include the daily recitation of Hallel, daily circumambulation of the Temple altar, a daily water libation ceremony, and the nightly bet ha-shoʾeva or bet ha-sheʾuvah ("place of water drawing") festivities starting on the evening preceding the second day. The last mentioned featured torch dancing, flute playing, and other forms of musical and choral entertainment.
Ideally, Jews are to reside in booths—walled structures covered with thatched roofs—for the duration of the festival; in practice, most observant Jews take their meals in the sukka ("booth") but reside at home. A palm-tree branch (lulav), bound up together with myrtle (hadas) and willow (ʿarava) branches, is held together with a citron (etrog) and waved. Medieval exegetes provided ample (if not always persuasive) justification for the Bible's choice of these particular branches and fruit as symbols of rejoicing. The numerous regulations governing the sukka, lulav, and etrog comprise the major portion of the treatment of Sukkot in the codes of Jewish law. The daily Sukkot liturgy includes the recitation of Hallel, public readings from the Torah, the musaf service, and the circumambulation of the synagogue dais. On the last day of Sukkot, called Hoshana Rabba (Great Hoshana) after the first words of a prayer (hoshana, "save us") recited then, seven such circumambulations take place. Kabbalistic (mystical) teaching has virtually transformed Hoshana Rabba into a solemn day of judgment.
Hoshana Rabba is followed by Shemini Atzeret (Eighth Day of Solemn Assembly), which is celebrated on Tishri 22 (in the Diaspora also Tishri 23). None of the more distinctive Sukkot observances apply to Shemini Atzeret; but Hallel, public reading from the Torah, yizkor (in many congregations), musaf, and a prayer for rain in the Holy Land are included in its liturgy. Simḥat Torah (Rejoicing of the Law) marks the annual completion of the cycle of public readings from the Torah. The festival originated shortly before the gaonic period (c. 600–1050 ce) in Babylon, where it was customary to conclude the public readings annually. In Palestine, where the public readings were concluded approximately every three years, Simḥat Torah was not celebrated annually until after the gaonic period. Israeli Jews celebrate Simḥat Torah and Shemini Atzeret on the same day; in the Diaspora, Simḥat Torah is celebrated on the second day of Shemini Atzeret. Its joyous celebrations bring the Sukkot season to an appropriate close.
Ten Days of Penitence
The Ten Days of Penitence begin on Rosh Hashana and close with Yom Kippur. Already in Talmudic times they were viewed as forming an especially appropriate period of introspection and repentance. Penitential prayers (seliḥot) are recited prior to the daily morning service and, in general, during the period scrupulous observance of the Law is expected.
According to Mishnaic teaching, the New Year festival ushers in the Days of Judgment for all of mankind. Despite its solemnity, the festive character of Rosh Hashana is in no way diminished. In Scripture it is called "a day when the horn is sounded"; in the liturgy "a day of remembrance." In the land of Israel and in the Diaspora, Rosh Hashana is celebrated on the first two days of Tishri. Originally celebrated by all Jews on Tishri 1, calendrical uncertainty led to its being celebrated an additional day in the Diaspora and, depending upon the circumstances, one or two days in Palestine. After the calendar was fixed in 359, it was regularly celebrated in Palestine on Tishri 1 until the 12th century, when Provençal scholars introduced the two-day observance. Considerable speculation in recent literature concerning the origin of the Jewish New Year festival proves mostly that its early history can only be conjectured, not reconstructed.
The most distinctive Rosh Hashana observance is the sounding of the ram's horn (shofar) at the synagogue service. Medieval commentators suggest that the blasts acclaim God as Ruler of the universe, recall the divine revelation at Sinai, and are a call for spiritual reawakening and repentance. An expanded New Year liturgy stresses God's sovereignty, his concern for man, and his readiness to forgive those who repent. On the first day of Rosh Hashana (except when it falls on the Sabbath) it is customary for many to recite penitential prayers at a river, symbolically casting their sins into the river; this ceremony is called tashlikh ("thou wilt cast"). Other symbolic ceremonies, such as eating bread and apples dipped in honey, accompanied with prayers for a "sweet" and propitious year, are performed at the festive meals.
The most solemn of the Jewish festivals, Yom Kippur is a day when sins are confessed and expiated and man and God are reconciled. It is also the last of the Days of Judgment and the holiest day of the Jewish year. Celebrated on Tishri 10, it is marked by fasting, penitence, and prayer. Work, eating, drinking, washing, anointing one's body, sexual intercourse, and donning leather shoes are all forbidden.
In Temple times, Yom Kippur provided the only occasion for the entry of the high priest into the Holy of Holies; details of the expiatory rites performed by the high priest and others are recorded in the Mishna and recounted in the liturgy. Present-day observances begin with a festive meal shortly before Yom Kippur eve. The Kol Nidre prayer (recited before the evening service) is a legal formula which absolves Jews from fulfilling solemn vows, thus safeguarding them from accidentally violating a vow's stipulations. The formula first appears in gaonic sources (derived from the Babylonian Talmudic academies, 6th–11th centuries) but may be older; the haunting melody that accompanies it is of medieval origin. Virtually the entire day is spent in prayer at the synagogue, the closing service (neʿila) concluding with the sounding of the ram's horn.
Minor festivals: Ḥanukka and Purim
Ḥanukka and Purim are joyous festivals lacking the work restrictions characteristic of the major festivals.
Ḥanukka commemorates the Maccabean (or Hasmonean) victories over the forces of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes (reigned 175–164 bce), and the rededication of the Temple Kislev 25, 164 bce. Led by Mattathias and his son Judah Maccabee, the Maccabees were the first Jews who fought to defend their religious beliefs rather than their lives. Ḥanukka is celebrated for eight days beginning on Kislev 25. The Ḥanukka lamp or candelabrum (menora), which recalls the Temple lampstand, is kindled each evening. One candle is lit the first evening; an additional candle is lit each subsequent evening until eight candles are lit on the last evening. According to the Talmud (Shabbat 21b), the ritually pure oil available at the rededication of the Temple was sufficient for only one day's light but miraculously lasted for eight days, hence the eight-day celebration of Ḥanukka. Evidence from the Apocrypha (writings excluded from the Jewish canon but included in the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox canons) and rabbinic literature shows an association between Sukkot and Ḥanukka, possibly accounting for the latter's eight-day duration. Ḥanukka joy is expressed in festive meals, song, games, and gifts to children. The liturgy includes Hallel, public readings from the Torah, and the ʿal ha-nissim ("for the miracles") prayer. The Scroll of Antiochus, an early medieval account of Ḥanukka, is read in some synagogues and homes.
As recorded in the biblical Book of Esther, Purim commemorates the delivery of the Persian Jewish community from the plottings of Haman, Ahasuerus' (perhaps Xerxes, king of Persia, 486–465 bce) prime minister. Mordecai and his cousin Esther, the King's Jewish wife, interceded on behalf of the Jewish community, rescinded the royal edict authorizing a pogrom against the Jews, and instituted the Purim festival. The historicity of the biblical account is questioned by many modern scholars. It is now generally conceded that the Book of Esther was written in the Persian period (it contains Persian but not Greek words) and reflects Persian custom. Except for the Book of Esther, the earliest mention of the Purim festival is from the 2nd–1st centuries bce. The name of the festival was derived from the Akkadian pûru, meaning "lot."
In most Jewish communities, Purim is celebrated on Adar 14 (some also celebrate it on the 15th, others only on the 15th). On the evening preceding Purim, men, women, and children gather in the synagogue to hear the Book of Esther read from a scroll (megilla). The reading is repeated Purim morning. A festive meal during the day is accompanied by much song, wine, and merriment. Masquerades, Purim plays, and other forms of parody are common. Friends exchange gifts of foodstuffs and also present gifts to the poor. Aside from the Esther readings, the liturgy includes public reading from the Torah and recital of the Purim version of the ʿal hanissim prayer.
The five fasts
The commemorative aspects of the fasts are bound up with their penitential aspects, all of which find expression in the liturgy. Thus the Jew not only relives the tragic history of his people with each fast, but is also afforded an opportunity to search within himself and focus on his own (and his people's) present and future. Penitential prayers (seliḥot) are recited on all fasts, and the Torah is read at the morning and afternoon services.
ʿAsara be-Ṭevet (Fast of Ṭevet 10) commemorates the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylonia, in 588 bce.
Shivaʿ ʿAsar be-Tammuz (Fast of Tammuz 17) commemorates the first breach in the wall of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 ce. It initiates three weeks of semi-mourning that culminate with Tisha be-Av.
Tisha be-Av (Fast of Av 9) commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in 586 bce and 70 ce. The most solemn of the five fasts, its self-denials are more rigorous than those prescribed for the others, and, like Yom Kippur, the fast begins at sunset. The book of Lamentations is read at the evening service, followed by poetic laments that are also recited Tisha be-Av morning.
Tzom Gedaliahu (Fast of Gedaliah) commemorates the slaying of Gedaliah, governor of Judah after the destruction of the First Temple.
Taʿanit Esther (Fast of Esther), which commemorates Esther's fast (cf. Esther 4:16), is first mentioned in gaonic literature.
The lesser holidays
A major festival in the biblical period, Rosh Ḥodesh (First Day of the Month) gradually lost most of its festive character. Since Talmudic times, it has been customary to recite Hallel on Rosh Ḥodesh. In the medieval period, aside from the liturgical practices carried over from the Talmudic period, it was celebrated with a festive meal. Always more diligently observed in Palestine than in the Diaspora, attempts to revive its full festive character are being made in modern Israel.
First mentioned in the Mishna, where it marks the New Year for tithing purposes, Tu bi-Shevat (New Year for Trees) assumed a festive character in the gaonic period, and later in the medieval period it became customary to eat assorted fruits on the holiday. In modern times it is associated with the planting of trees in Israel.
Lag ba-ʿOmer (33rd Day of the ʿOmer Counting) is a joyous interlude in the otherwise somber period of ʿOmer counting (i.e., of the 49 days to Shavuot), which is traditionally observed as a time of semi-mourning. Usually celebrated as a school holiday with outings, it is first mentioned in medieval sources, which attribute its origin to the cessation of a plague that was decimating the students of Akiba, an influential rabbinic sage in the 2nd century, and to the anniversary of the death of another great rabbi, Simeon ben Yoḥai (died c. 170 ce).
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Judaism: The Jewish religious yearThe calendar of Judaism includes the cycle of Sabbaths and holidays that are commonly observed by the Jewish religious community—and officially in Israel by the Jewish secular community as well. The Sabbath and festivals are bound to the Jewish calendar, reoccur at…
calendar: The Jewish calendarPresent knowledge of the Jewish calendar in use before the period of the Babylonian Exile is both limited and uncertain. The Bible refers to calendar matters only incidentally, and the dating of components of Mosaic Law (Torah)…
chronology: JewishThe era at present in vogue among the Jews, counted from the creation of the world (
anno mundi; abbreviated to am), came into popular use about the 9th century ad. Traceable in dates recorded much earlier, this era has five styles conventionally indicated by…
Holocaust remembrance days…add it to their religious calendar. Since the 1st century
ce, Jews have grafted events worthy of commemoration onto existing holy days. The destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 ceand the Spanish expulsion of Jews in 1492 were added to the Ninth of Av liturgy as…
lunar calendarThe Jewish calendar, which supposedly dates from 3,760 years and three months before the Christian Era (
bce) is one example. The Jewish religious year begins in autumn and consists of 12 months alternating between 30 and 29 days. It allows for a periodic leap year and…
More About Jewish religious year7 references found in Britannica articles
Assorted References
- major reference
- anno mundi use
- In anno mundi
- Babylonian influence
- calendar
- chronology
- Holocaust remembrance days
- lunar calendar


text:
We were very proud to see everyone excited about representing their own countries, and waving their flags and cheering. I think we all found it was impossible to define in one key stroke or spread of the knife any one single dish we felt represented our individual countries, but, represent you did with delicious foods from around the world. We all have much to offer. Here's to us!
Visit Giz at Equal Opportunity Kitchen for the first half of the Culinary Olympics with countries from A -M.
Kitchen Butterfly
One of the first on the podium is Oz representing Nigeria with pride with her Chocolate-Filled Plantain Gnocchi with Chillies.
Will Work for Biltong
This is Adele's second entry representing her homeland South Africa expertly with a gold medal dish Biltong and Ricotta Ravioli with Sage Butter. See her previous entry under Australia.
The Winter Guest
Miriam represents Spain very well with her medal dish Grandma Libia's Homemade Croquetas.
Spanish Recipes
Our friend Nuria from the Catalonia region of Spain brings us Xató.
Health Nut
Entering from the United States Yasmeen has brought her winning dish of Cranberry Chicken\Turkey Satay and Cranberry Falafel Lollies.
Yasmeen says, "Very close to the home of Winter Olympics 2010,Vancouver Canada, is Richmond that is also home to one of the largest group of Cranberry farms( more than 60 family-owned farms). What better fruit than healthy versatile cranberries, to honor the winter games and the Cranberry farmers of the region.
Lipsmacking Goodness
Lori stood proudly on the podium with her Turkey and Multibean Chili.
A HUGE thank you to all the culinary althletes. The games are now over but we are happy that spectators and athletes alike came to visit . It was the moment to show people, that even if you weren't in the stadium, you were part of the Olympic Games in Vancouver. We enjoyed your stay. Thank you!!!!
One final reminder of the H2Ope for Haiti raffle. It is nearing an end so if you haven't already done so please take the time to purchase a ticket and you may win one of many fabulous prizes!!!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Wellington has some spectacular view spots across different points for a unique perspective of the city and its regions. Here is a list of our top 3 Wellington scenic look outs / viewing points that are must see for visitors.
1 – Mt Victoria Lookout
–>Alexandra Lookout Road, Mount Victoria, Wellington, New Zealand
The best views of Wellington city and the surounding suburbs can be found at the Mt Victoria Lookout. This is a common spot for holiday photos with the various monuments and war memorials as well as panoramic views of Wellington city, Wellington harbour and Wellington airport at close proximity.
2 – Brooklyn Wind Turbine
–>Follow the access signs from Ashton Fitchett Drive, Brooklyn, Wellington.
The public viewing area at the Brooklyn Wind Turbine provides a wider panoramic view of Wellington and the outer suburbs. Mountain biking in this area is also highly recommended with tracks leading down to the south coast and Wellington city.
3 – Mount Kaukau
–>Simla Crescent, Khandallah, Wellington, New Zealand
This one involves a hike up Mount Kaukau, but the rewards on a fine day are amazing views across all Wellington regions and the South Island can be visible on an exceptional day.


text:
Q: My mother is 79. She has depression and mild Alzheimer's dementia. She lives in an in-law apartment attached to my home. We bring her meals and supervise her bills and medications, but otherwise she manages around the home just fine. The problem is that she wants to visit her family in Italy one last time before she isn't able to do it anymore. My brother and I will take her over on the airplane and, once she gets there, family will keep a close eye on her. My concern is this: Will she get confused with all the changes, and is a long plane flight safe for someone like my mother?
A: Your question is quite timely as many folks are making their summer vacation plans. There are several parts to your questions. Let's take them one at a time.
The first concern is about your mother's dementia and the possibility of her getting confused. This depends on the individual. There are a number of signs that may indicate that travel is not a good idea, such as disorientation, confusion or agitation even in familiar settings; asking to go home when away from home on short visits; delusional, paranoid or disinhibited behaviors; anxiety when in crowds; or difficulty managing continence.
It is good that you and your bother will go with her on the flight, and that she has family to help her once she gets to Italy. It is important that the family in Italy is aware of your mother's memory condition. Make sure you take all her medications and bring enough pills to last for the duration of the trip.
Have a list of all her medical conditions and any other important instructions for your family. It might be helpful for your mother's doctor to write a letter describing her medical condition. While she is there, have her wear or carry some form of identification in case she wanders away or gets lost. You might want to consider travel health insurance for the time she is away. It can be expensive, but if she gets sick or needs medical attention while overseas, most Medicare insurance won't cover her.
Try to get a nonstop flight to make the trip easier. If a nonstop flight is not possible, pick connecting flights with plenty of time between them to avoid the stress of rushing at the airport. Make sure to let the security teams and flight crew know in advance that your mother has memory problems so they can accommodate her better. Having a wheelchair, even if your mother can walk just fine, can be helpful in getting through long lines and security.
Your doctor can prescribe some anti-anxiety pills in case the travel makes her agitated, but use them sparingly since they can make your mother sleepy and predispose her to falling down and getting hurt.
The second concern you have is about long plane flights. There is a small risk for developing blood clots during long periods of sitting. That risk can be lessened by wearing elastic support stockings and loose clothing, not smoking, avoiding alcoholic drinks and drinking plenty of fluids to prevent dehydration, not crossing your legs when seated, taking strolls up and down the aisles when possible, and doing calf and foot stretches whenever possible. Before leaving, check with your mother's doctor. If she is particularly susceptible to blood clots, for example if she has any kind of vascular disease or has cancer, your doctor may want to prescribe a blood thinner or aspirin for the trip. Also there are some other heart and lung conditions that require people to travel with oxygen even if you don't need oxygen at home. The high altitude makes the air thinner and less oxygen is in the air on the airplane. Your mother's doctor will know if this is needed and help you with letters to the airline to make arrangements.
Once you get to Italy, make sure to give your mother time to recover from the stress of the flight. Give her a few days to adjust before she goes out and starts travelling and seeing family. Schedule time for her to rest or nap in the afternoons and make sure family watches that she doesn't get overly tired or stressed by the changes to her routine.
To combat jet lag, have your mother take a zinc supplement daily in the weeks leading up to her trip. Try to get her to sleep during the flight. If her doctor prescribed an anti-anxiety pill, once she is safely on the plane and it has taken off, the anti-anxiety pill may help her sleep during the flight. Once arriving at your destination, the best way to minimize jet lag is to go to sleep at the normal bedtime (based on the local time zone). Also avoid alcohol and caffeine for the first few days and drink plenty of water. Dehydration makes jet lag worse.
If you follow these suggestions, your mother should be able to enjoy her trip. Safe travels.
Questions can be mailed to Center for Geriatrics, AskDrViv, at 95 Armory Road, Stratford CT 06614 or emailed to email@example.com.
Article source: http://www.ctpost.com/health/article/Air-travel-tips-for-ailing-mom-5660000.php


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Watch Episodes
@nikwriter i start right now my friend
Can't find any working links for Haven, can anyone reupload for my gf and I? Thanks in advance :D
Game of Thrones: 8x2 https://myseries4you.com/episodes/game-of-thrones-season-8-episode-2-watch-online/
hey guys GOT episode 2 in online now: http://moviestreaming.fun/tvepisodes/game-of-thrones-8x2-watch-online/
@SonOfWoody99 Never even heard of Kodi until you gave it a shoutout, looked it up and it seems pretty cool, definitely gonna use it now. Also yes curse you free and open source app that is basically the same things as other site that coalesce media for you to enjoy it for free.
@anazonbecky---me too..........BUT SPINOFFS! And by 2025 Martin may actually publish the last book...and wouldn't it be grand to see THAT on the screen
@Kruciphix, thx for reposting the death of Openload link--Openload-specific sites all over are folding & everyone is scrambling for a replacement. Suggested: If you're downloading to watch say American Gods on a bigscreen you want a 720p mkv link at about a gig that preserves the sound, maybe an early Vidoza (That's what I've switched to). But once it's converted to mp4 it sometimes loses some loudness (I've noticed that on all the fruitstreams), though the picture is still okay at about a half gig mp4 . Any of the above links look okay on a cellphone, but some fuzzy on a laptop. AND IF YOU'RE USING KODI, THX FOR KILLING THE GOOSE THAT LAID THE GOLDEN EGGS FOR YEARS AND YEARS
addicted to this shiw don't know what I'm going to do after the last episode of this season when the show ends.
@ Kruciphix thanks for the input. I use to do this years ago so I know it is a thankless job. I have my fav sites I use to watch and did notice something, thanks for filling in the blank.
jerkgently, SonOfWoody99 shared this links in the comments to show us why there isn't any new openload links: https://torrentfreak.com/huge-video-hoster-openload-stops-paying-uploaders-190419/
thanks for the effort but those flix555 dont seem to not work for me, vidoza works but its slow and stuttering. openload is ok if its a live link but i notice a lack of new openload lately. just an obsevation
I agree streamango, me that's what i'm using for now
@cdawg4207 I like streamango when possible
I liked this
where is the best place to watch/download with openload gone? quality wise
there is weird and then there is "Beard man", Timothy Dalton and Cave=women sex weird.
@Kyndryd yes there is going to be a season 3, season 2 timeline is set just a few years prior to the first episode of the original Star Trek. Many die hard fans were crying because there is no mention of a Starship Discovery, a Michael Burnham, nor a spor drive in the original series and were butt hurt about all of it so they needed a way to explain why they are never mentioned in the original that would still allow for this series to continue.
HOLY HELL - I really NEED to see wherre they go with this.
Jesus mary and joseph that was bloody heart wrenching!
@vcoll - your answer is in the episode. I do not see a Season 3, but I could be wrong. The thing I liked about this? It showed us how Captain Pike ended up in the 'chair'.
how bout some fresh links over here
I see everyone went to the same GI Joe/Stormtrooper firing range.
jasmine Guy - life has not been kind.
And by ads, I mean in-video commercials.
Ads? Come on, I expect more of a service I don't even directly pay for than that.
Btw he isn't my friend XD but of course you would think that. Just because we agree on something doesn't means we are friends LOL
I almost did nt recognize "Glenn" - since he had a face.. and a head.
**KODI USERS BREAK OPENLOAD**OPENLOAD STOPS PAYING UPLOADERS ON APR 15**I'm going to keep putting this link up so the news won't get swallowed: https://torrentfreak.com/huge-video-hoster-openload-stops-paying-uploaders-190419/
@Recondlte oooooh my God, another asshole has coming to town!!! You are brilliant, you are genius and soooooo hillarius!!! And as i see, a new member, right about the time i wrote about Kruciphix. What you wrote are nonesense from the begining to the end. If you want quality, get a job and buy Netflix, if you want to do our job send a message at the admin, if you know what we are all doing here, you are God, but if not, you are another ridicuous clown like your friend.
SonOfWoody99 thanks. i was wondering why there where no links of openload and now i know
@Tonia1 Good fucking lord, you're a genuine crazy person! What a treat. What you aren't, though, is a stream ripper. Or an encoder. You aren't a black, gray or even white hatter. You aren't a member of any scene crew that provides any bonafide useful service to anyone. In short: YOU DON'T DO "WORK" anywhere in the pirate show world. You copy/paste other people's "work," (which was also copy/pasted across dozens of domains by that point), just like everyone else - BUT, *unlike* at least MOST everyone else, you seem to think that you're above taking—literally—5 seconds to make sure the sources that you're pasting aren't UTTER SHIT. Quality being nonexistent, YOU then spam—yes, SPAM—your "stolen" sloppy-five-hundreds' "work" all over and call it "contributing," to the universal frustration of most if not every single user on this domain, (and, I'd wager, of every other site on which you and your links like to lurk). And then, even more hilariously, you get butt hurt when random passersby with a modicum of intelligence level perfectly justified criticism at you for it! Let's not forget the real kicker here: GOOD quality sources are ubiquitous. What's your excuse for endlessly reposting awful ones? Do you just not know how to use search engines? See, you're part of a problem; you waste people's TIME in an age where performing nearly any service nearly instantaneously costs a trivial afterthought and $0.0002 of bandwidth - because somebody was going to do it on their own anyway. People like you are what continue to make the internet memeworthy. Don't stop! But people like you are also what make otherwise useful tools—like this site—far less functional and useful than they could and should be. You can stop THAT part.
Ok Tonia1 Here is the logic : How can Hai5hi5ei can steel you work when he is the first one to upload (not all the time but most of the time) You want example look right here he was the one to upload links XD matri was the second.. And 2 question can spam Bots can comments? because hai5hi5ei commented twice. And second question how do you know they if they are spam bots or not? For real HOW? And you are a waste of time and mind ( trying to explain something to someone stupid always is) but since i have a lot of time to waste well here i am... You are a spammer too you spam the same links over and over again and the same comment about hi5hi5ei and matri. (And i'm not saying that i don't spam so don't say i did) You have your own links you can use so how do you know that their links have virus?? Simple question and yet you never answered it (don't say you did because i looked and you didn't) you talk about respect you said i was i piece of... human being while i didn't even mentionned you XD Common Start thinking before writing something.. And Just to answer your question no i'm not a retard. You should just stop answering my comments, your comments makes no sense XD Bye have a nice day or night!!!
Uh @VCOLL bro you do realize next episode is the last one right.....and it wasn't cancelled it ended just where the producers and actors wanted it too so what is it your saying exactly....guess your just another person on here who just says stuff without doing any research since smallville was never classified as cancelled seemingly like gotham now they ended where they wanted to.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW WHY OPENLOAD IS GONE, READ THIS BREAKING STORY https://torrentfreak.com/huge-video-hoster-openload-stops-paying-uploaders-190419/
@Kruciphix My God...You are a retard? Seriously? After so many months, you haven't realise that those 2 are NOT uploaders but spam bots that steal our work?You don't believe me? Ask polferis, or polish. So either you are indeed a retard, or you are the person who uses those two bots, i really can't find any other logical explanation for your attidute and empathy. And yes, you are really not a waste of time, but a waste of mind, so kiss my ass goodbye
faker. but nice axes and good grouping..
OH i frogot one last thing Tonia1 you said ''Really, it's a waste of time to answer you....'' so why your still answering me?
WOW Tonia1 first day by day REALLY i wasn't even talking about you right now i was talking in general, second in this web site i haven't seen a lot of people who doesn't like me in fact a lot of people said that they agree with me when i'm talking about you XD You are one the the uploaders that doesn't even rescpect othe uploaders so you can't really talk with your hai5hi5ei and matrilinear opinion we get it and you don't respect them.. Btw i did thank you for uplaoding links when someone ask but you don't really care about that because i defend Hai5hi5ei and matri (2 UPLOADERS BTW) witch you don't respect.. YOU ONLY WANT ATTENTION. Your are in no position to talk about respect... Your have your opinion aboutthe 2 uploaders and we have ours.. I'll stop complaining about you when you stop complaining about these 2 uploaders. Oh and i'm grateful like i said i did thank you and i'm grateful to hai5hi5ei too but you are not, you can't even admit when you are wrong XD. And now the one who tries to be kind to everyone who deserves it is out BYE
@Kruciphix of course, you are the main reason that we the uploadres, don't respect viewers like you. Day by day you talk about me, you complain about me and, yet, i have no complains from the other uploaders, not even the admin of this site. Not to say about the messages that i have from people that thanking me for doing what i do. So, talk as much as you want, moan as much as you want, i ll continue to be an uplader, and you ll continue to be an ungrateful piece of.....human being
First catch it live i have cable i can't catch every tv show that i watch live. second ''disrespect and shows you dont care about the work going into making this possible for all of us to use'' really I just wrote that some uploaders disrespect other uploaders and even some of us because we respect the uploader that they don't... And finally i'm complaining about the fact that there are no links 2 hours after the show aris live for 2 reasons first i'm impatient (Can you respect that?) and second because new episodes are usually uploaded 5-10 minutes after they aired live sometime 1 hour.. So stop saying that we disrespect uploaders because for me i will respect people that respect me and others....
Also, many of these uploads still have commercials...
There's no openload links anymore?
whats the point of comming on here and complaining there are no links 2 hours after a show airs live? or about how every link has commercials...if it means so much to you just catch it live...i totally agree with @figaro...this is a free to use site so all uploaders are indeed doing us a favour..so to complain about commercials or prompt uploading is tantamount to disrespect and shows you dont care about the work going into making this possible for all of us to use...
Well figaro the uploaders could stop uploading the same links over and over again when they know it's not a good one + I respect uploaders but when they deserve it. Some uploaders don'tt even respect other uploaders btw. So i'll respect the uploaders that respect me and others (including other uploaders) but beside that no.
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked: 11x8 https://myseries4you.com/episodes/rupauls-drag-race-untucked-season-11-episode-8/
Justified Season 2 Episode 12 (s02e12)
A character drama based on the 2001 Elmore Leonard short story "Fire in the Hole." Leonard's tale centers around U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens of Kentucky, a quiet but strong-willed official of the law. The tale covers his high-stakes job, as well as his strained relationships with his ex-wife and father.
Justified Season 2 Episode 12 (s02e12) LinksSee All Episodes
Justified Season 2 Episode 12


text:
The Texas A&M International University Small Business Development Center, (TAMIU-SBDC) in conjunction with the Texas Department of Insurance, Division of Workers' Compensation, will hold the Rio Grande Safety Summit, a series of workshops on how to prevent work-related incidents, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009, from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at TAMIU's Student Center Ballroom.
Registration fee is $125. Those registering five people get one free.
Are your employees at risk? How much do injuries and non-compliance cost your business? These workshops will provide employer and employees with information to help prevent work-related incidents. Participants can choose the session most valuable for industry or workplace.
Breakout sessions include:
For more information, call the TAMIU-SBDC office at 956.326.2827. To register, call 512-804-4610, or register online at www.tdi.state.tx.us/wc/eventstraining.html by clicking on "Workplace Safety."
Spring 2009 registration is underway at tamiu.edu. Classes begin Monday, Jan. 12, 2009.
Journalists who need additional information or help with media requests
and interviews should contact the Office of Public Relations, Marketing and Information
Services at firstname.lastname@example.com
Texas A&M International University
5201 University Boulevard
Laredo, TX 78041
© 2019


text:
فصل اول : شناخت خصوصيات و وظايف امدادگر در عمليات ...ادامه
انجام ورزشهائي مثل شنا ، پياده روي و دوچرخه سواري ...ادامه
The Fire Management Voluntary Guidelines were prepared over a two-yearmultistakeholder process involving governments, non-governmental and intergovernmental organizations and private-sector fire specialists and Practitioners from around the globe. Many dedicated people and institutions gave willingly of their time and specialist expertise during the formulation and review. Although the process was coordinated by FAO, Denny Trousdale of the United States Forest Service, USA, was the lead author, ably supported by a core team of specialists, including Johann Gondomar, Global Fire Monitoring Center, Germany; Gary Morgan, Australasian Fire Authorities Council, Australia; Patricio anhueza, Corporaَn National Forestall, Chile; Brian van Wilgen, Jonkershoek Forestry Research Centre, CSIR Natural Resources and the Environment, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, South Africa; Ricardo Velez, Servicio Nacional contra Incendios Forestales, Direcciَn General de Conservaciَn de la Naturaleza, Ministerio de Medio Ambiente, Spain; Ayn Shlisky and Robert Myers, Global Fire Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, USA; Murray Dudfield, National Rural Fire Office, New Zealand; Eric Rigolot, Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Unité de Recherches Forestières Méditerranéennes; and Leonid Kondrashov, Training Insitute in Ecology and Nature Management, Russian Federation ... ادامه


text:
Damone is a power-pop band from Boston, which is widely believed to be the worst city in all of creation for everything from music, to food, to hookers. Despite coming from such a shit hole, they have created a sound which is only slightly crappy.
A few years after his death, Vic Damone wanted to take another shot at the music biz, and Damone is what has come of it, after many lineup changes and stylistic turnarounds. Not much is known about the band except for the lineup before the current lineup, so that is where we shall start. After a few years of Vic being back in the grave, Dave Pino was recruited as a lead guitarist, at which point he kicked everyone else out of the band. There was some drunk guy sitting outside his apartment, and he said to him "Hey, you want to play drums for my band?" This drunk guy, Dustin Hengst, had actually banged a set of pans when he was a child, so was an expert drummer. Needless to say, they started jamming, and all was good.
A few weeks later, in need of a bassist, they put out an add in the local paper. Vasquez, who was a substitute school teacher in spite of his severe mental retardation, answered their call, and despite Dustin hogging all the booze, everything went well during the audition. A few days later, Dave wanted to start pulling out some solos. Because of his limited mental capacity, Vasquez couldn't keep rhythm, so a second guitarist was needed. Since Vasquez was a school teacher, he had molested a few children in his day, and knew of one who could play a guitar fairly decently. Enter Noelle LeBlanc, the gifted, but deaf as a post, singer and guitar chick.
As time went by, the band decided to get off their asses and write music. What they produced in their first two years became their first album, From the Closet. During the tour for this album, Dustin caught Dave taking a sip of his whiskey. Because Dustin is such an immature alcoholic and jealous about his liquor, they ended up in an argument, at the end of which Dave quit the band. It is said that Dave is so ashamed of his pussing out during this fight that he threw himself off the edge of the Earth.
After a four month bender, the band decided, once again, to get off their asses and write music. After about three weeks, they realized that they had no lead guitarist. With this in mind, they recruited some chubby guy named Woods or Woody or Boner or something like that, to be their guitarist. He has since turned to anorexia to lose the exess pounds, and is now a sexy beast. At this point, they said "FUCK YOU!" to RCA, who said "FUCK YOU RIGHT BACK!" and dropped them. They then stole some riffs from the theme songs of children's television shows and started writing music. This got them signed to Island, where they have tried to get The Killers dropped with no success.
After a while, they recorded the music they had written before getting signed to Island, and released it as Out Here All Night.
At some unknown time during the history of the current lineup, the following happened:
- Vasquez's head exploded
- Dustin Learned to share
- The band saw a man mauled by a puma
- Woods or Woody or Boner or whatever his name sold all of the band's equipment for drug money
Current and former band membersEdit
- Noelle LeBlanc - Vocals, guitar
- Vasquez - Unknown, supposedly bass
- Dustin Hengst - Getting drunk, breaking shit
- Whatever his name is - Lead guitar
- Vic Damone - Vocals, piano, cello, digereedoo...
- Johnny Santos - Screaming, guitar
- A one legged dog - Being a one legged dog
- Lars Ulrich - Not catching the beat
- (hed) p.e. - writing shitty music
- Will Smith - Vocals, zamboni
- John Wayne - Shooting rowdy concert goers
- Lil' John - YEAH!
- Vince Neil - Vocals
- Slash - Guitar, doing drugs
- Rising Zan - Muse
- It - Eating babies
- Tim Curry - Curry
- Mick Foley - Barbed wire
- John Bonham - Drums
- Lenny Cravitz - Guitar, vocals, being black, having dreadlocks
- Tye Zamora - Bass
- Leo Fender - Calling stuff by the wrong name
- Satan - Fucking Sadam
- Stan - Spoons
- Joan Jett - Vocals, guitar
- Travis Barker - Tatoos
- A bunch of other untalented people - Whatever it was they did


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Output devices
Hardware video decoder
The principle of the VDR software is avoiding to deal with MPEG data on software side as much as possible. For viewing of the video stream provided by the DVB card, a hardware video decoder can be used. There are few possibilities for decoding video on hardware:
Crystal HD video decoders
Crystal HD video decoder is a decoder card which does not have video input or outputs. Instead it is plugged in a mini PCI-e slot and handles only decoding of the video data. After decoding the video is forwarded to an output device.
Xine-plugin seems to have support for this hardware.
Full-featured DVB card
Full featured DVB card has the DVB tuner and the hardware video decoder with TV-Out.
Dxr3 or Hollywood-Plus MPEG decoder card
MPEG decoder card, originally used for DVD viewing on slow computers. The current status (April 2013) is that it cannot be used on stable VDR-2.0.0 because VDR requires DVB driver api 5.3 and the API is available in recent kernel versions which are not supported by the dxr3 driver anymore. The dxr3 driver has the em8300 decoder chip.
The previous stable VDR-1.6.0 can still work with dxr3 card and Linux kernels up to 2.6.37. The dxr3 card has limited OSD (On Screen Display) capabilities and can only show four colors. The limitations can be cirumvented by using dxr3 compatible VDR skins.
Hauppauge WinTV PVR350
WinTV PVR350 is an old analogue TV card with onboard hardware MPEG2 decoder.
VDPAU capable video card
When using VDPAU capable video card the video is decoded "in software" by xineliboutput or similar plugin. It is then up to the plugin to use capabilities of the underlying hardware to decode the video as efficiently as possible in hardware. VDPAU api is meant for offloading video decoding to hardware. Many video card manufacturers are currently (2013) supporting it such as ATI/AMD, Intel and NVidia.
The main advantage of using the VDPAU api is that VDR can be run under Xorg and other software for Xorg can be used directly without modifications. The video out will then be a normal Xorg session with hardware for VDR.
Software MPEG decoders
Most input cards sold nowadays are so-called budget cards, i.e. they don't have hardware video decoders. The decoding is done by the CPU and the output is usually given to the normal graphic card. There are a number of VDR software decoder plugins available:
- Softdevice-plugin Provides excellent output on VGA hardware using X11 or DirectFB. Can also do hardware MPEG2 acceleration on motherboards provided with CLE266 chipset. Can also do field perfect interlaced output using Matrox G450/550 cards under DirectFB.
- Xine-plugin (requires xine, gxine or some other xine-lib front-end). Xine can also use the hardware MPEG2 acceleration feature of the EPIA M motherboards with CLE266 chipset. Software playback on EPIA.
- Xineliboutput-plugin


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Cybervision was a cyberpunk zine published by Kid Thalidomide (Eric Generic) and Saint Vitus (Dan Raasch). Unlike other "cyberpunk" zines, Cybervision was firmly rooted in both the hacker community and the punk subculture. Early issues featured vegan hair care tips, DIY body armor, and articles on 'Phone Phreaking'. It was published in St. Paul, Minnesota, and lasted from approximately 1991-1994.
Cybervision achieved worldwide infamy after being featured on the front cover of City Pages. In a 2000 interview, Saint Vitus describes seeing his photo on the sides of city buses. Saint Vitus's "Cyberpunk Manifesto" was later reprinted in Wired Magazine, a Seattle weekly, a sociological textbook on "deviant" behavior, and was even translated into French.
In the wake of the City Pages cover story, the hacker community accused the editors of Cybervision of betraying their secrets, and the FBI (literally) came knocking on their door.
According to Cybervision #3, a Hollywood studio acquired the rights to their story (including rights to the names "Saint Vitus" and "Kid Thalidomide"), without their permission.
The editors of Cybervision were both experienced Phone Phreakers (a subculture that exploits vulnerabilities in the telecommunications system). They had previously placed collect calls to the White House.
Arriving just prior to the advent of the World Wide Web, Cybervision set out to create its own subculture. Issue 2 featured interviews with cartoonist Tom Tomorrow and cyberpunk author William Gibson; hacking tips by Earwig Impetigo; instructions for making spiked wrist bands out of bicycle inner tubes; and Kid Thalidomide's advice on how to defend yourself against attacks by Nazi skinheads -by embedding razorblades in your mohawk, and slashing your head from side-to-side (the author had recently been assaulted by skinheads, who tried to shave off his hair).
Cybervision also reprinted scripts from the short-lived TV series Max Headroom: 20 Minutes Into the Future.
In 1993, Eric Generic co-published a one-shot punk zine called Garageland with Spike Mayonnaise, and featured contributor Felix von Havoc, Profane Existence columnist.
In the mid-1990's, the editors of Cybervision launched a pirate radio station, called 2000 Flushes Pirate Radio.


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Schooner Olad
Camden Harbor/Camden Public Landing
Maine 04843
This water adventure company offers two hour tours along Maine's coastline where visitors can see plenty of marine and bird life and seafaring activity. Dogs are allowed on board for no additional fee. Dogs must be friendly, under their owner's control at all times, and leashed. They also suggest visitors bring necessary refreshments for themselves and the pet.
DogFriendly.com, with tens of thousands of places listed to take your dog to, will be releasing on it's Dog News blog, Facebook page and on Twitter a list of 200 Top Places that you can take your dog in the U.S. and Canada. This list, while intended to highlight top places that are especially pet-friendly, is not designed to be the absolutely top 200 places that we could find, but a sampling of the top places so that all regions, types of attractions, hotels, B&Bs, vacation rentals, parks, beaches, shopping and more can be considered. No doubt each of you will find many other places not on this list or our full list of dog-friendly places at https://www.dogfriendly.com. Please let us know about them by commenting on the blog or emailing us at email@example.com. You can also let us and our readers know if you agree or disagree with the selections, or your experiences there. Please keep in mind that places often change their policies regarding dogs and thus may have different policies at any time in the future.
The blog entries can be found at https://dogfriendly.com/dognews/?cat=243, our Facebook page, or Twitter.


text: Greg Lindahl wrote: > On Tue, Dec 11, 2007 at 08:52:11AM -0500, Joe Landman wrote: > >> On the contrary, it is precisely because people are asking "how should I >> parallelize" that they need to ask the basic question of "where does my >> code spend time for my problems." > > OK, so say I have a garden-variety finite-difference code. I know how [... deletia ...] Greg, you missed my point, entirely. By a wide margin. This is why I note that talking about MPI vs OpenMP and other pseudo-debates generates mostly heat and very little light. Reminds me of editor battles, shell scripting battles ... Bowing out of this part of the discussion, so no more heat is generated. -- Joseph Landman, Ph.D Founder and CEO Scalable Informatics LLC, email: landman at scalableinformatics.com web : http://www.scalableinformatics.com http://jackrabbit.scalableinformatics.com phone: +1 734 786 8423 fax : +1 866 888 3112 cell : +1 734 612 4615


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Lasagna made with zucchini from my mom's garden instead of noodles. Also features spinach, as well as homegrown peppers, basil, and parsley
More after the jump!
Homegrown asparagus
My haul from the Farmers Market
Salad made from said haul
Eggplant Parm with heirloom tomatoes and leftover zucchini lasagna
GF Walnut Torte
Gillie's Special
The bounty of Mom's garden
The meal it made
Blanched white peaches
Their skin
Peach pecan pancakes (GF)


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Dear Semester,
Hi, it's me Katie M. You know, the old one with no stamina, a serious need for regular beauty sleep, and some pretty sweet bags from Switzerland? Yeah. That one. Um, could we make a deal? You know, maybe you could take it a bit easy on me this year? I mean, I can handle the seminars and the teaching, even if you did throw in exams and a dissertation to write like I wouldn't notice. Okay, I get that. That's what I get paid for. I saw it coming. And planning the conference was totally my own fault. But how about no curve balls? No heartbreak? No rashes or sinus infections? No weeks of Doritos for dinner? Could we just agree on that? And plenty of time for knitting. That would be awesome.
With love, esteem, affection, and just a hint of passive aggression,
Katie M.
I think a letter to Santa might be more effective.
Ah well, just look at all this cowl! It was the perfect weekend knitting for a brain too tired to focus on anything more complex than Bad Girls Club and Bridezillas. I've still got a good few inches to go (so big and cowly!) …
… and a magically non-shrinking gigantor ball of ecowool. It will last forever!


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Cellphones as carcinogenic as coffee
Gentlemen... start your panic
Comment Tuesday's classification of mobiles as potentially carcinogenic produced some great headlines, despite being based on no additional research or statistical findings and putting phones into the same danger category as coffee.
"Cellphone radiation can cause cancer" read one headline, while "Cellphone, cancer link confirmed" was another.
Most news outlets were more circumspect, preferring to plant the seeds of uncertainty with questions such as "Could your cellphone be making you sick?", and "Is your cellphone lethal?" which is like reporting the news only much more exciting.
Especially when the news is quite dull. The World Health Organisation categorises loads of things as "potential carcinogens" including lead, bracken fern, the printing process, and working in a dry cleaners, but we live with all of those things and a whole lot more that are harder to spell (25-page PDF/98.3KB). But more annoying was the fact that the classification doesn't result from any additional data, its just a reaction to what we already know.
The WHO has admitted its reclassification is largely down to the Interphone study, a 10-year analysis which did seem to indicate that using a phone more than 30 minutes a day increased the chances of cancer (on which finding the WHO based its classification). But Interphone also discovered that using a phone for less than 30 minutes a day reduced the incidence of cancer – so the WHO should really be recommending that we all make a few calls daily.
But let's ignore the contradictory evidence for a moment, and take the Interphone study at its worst by assuming everyone gets their chances of head cancer bumped by 40 per cent. Let's furthermore assume that everyone in the UK (including babies and children) spends an hour a day with a phone clamped to their ear: if we make both those assumption then we should see just over a thousand additional deaths from brain cancer annually.
That's to be lamented, but let's be clear: we already kill almost three times that number for the pleasure and productivity of being able to drive our cars around the place. That's not a theoretical risk – in the UK we kill around eight people a day on our roads. That is the level of death we'll accept for the joy of driving, and we have some of the safest roads in the world.
We could no more switch off our mobile networks than we could stop driving cars, and thankfully few people are suggesting either.
People aren't frightened of driving because they (probably erroneously) believe they have some level of control, while poisonous rays from a mobile phone are to be feared. That fear sells newspapers, and just as public fear prompted the Japanese authorities to upgrade the Fukushima reactor to "Level 7" despite no change in the conditions there so the WHO lists cellphones as potentially cancerous despite the lack of empirical evidence.
What's worse is that by doing so the WHO provides fodder for the Campaigners Against Stuff who are delighted to see such an august body apparently endorsing their view. The WHO release was only minutes old when we got a following release from the Council of Europe, who approved their own scaremongering report last week and could hardly conceal their glee:
"The information from the WHO confirms the contents of my report," said the author of the report, despite the fact that the WHO said nothing of the sort; "Awareness-raising campaigns targeting teachers and parents should be implemented rapidly," he continues before falling into a self-congratulatory stupor.
The WHO has just added cellphones to a list that includes coffee and carpentry*, saying that it is possible, perhaps, that heavy use is a contributory factor in cancer rates.
But even if there is a risk from using mobile phones then that risk is vanishingly small – there are many things which will kill you, but your mobile phone won't unless it hits you really hard (most likely to happen, ironically, during a car accident).
So what we have is a risk that almost certainly doesn't exist, and even if it does then it is a small risk – a fine reason to embark on another hugely expensive (25-year!) study of the effects.
There were thousands of yuppies who spent the 1980s with phones clamped to their ears, and hundreds of thousands who do today. When they start dropping dead in significant numbers then it will be time for the rest of us to panic... once we've celebrated the final demise of the yuppie of course. ®
* And joinery, just in case all you joiners thought you were off the hook.
Sponsored: Becoming a Pragmatic Security Leader


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Warner Bros.' Jeff Robinov is stepping down from the top position at Hollywood's largest movie studio.
Robinov has served as president of Warner Bros. Pictures Group since 2007. While he has not officially left the Burbank studio, he is making arrangements to do so, according to several people at the studio.
The move comes less than a week after Warner Bros.' latest Superman film, "Man of Steel," set a record for the biggest June box office opening with more than $113 million in receipts. On Monday, Robinov was surprisingly absent during a champagne celebration on the Burbank lot to mark the record opening, according to three people familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
-- Daniel Miller and Meg James
Helena Bonham Carter cast as fairy godmother in Disney's 'Cinderella'
Motorist beaten after confronting cyclists, skateboarders in Burbank
Burbank taps top executive of Fresno to be new city manager


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I am happy to announce the results of the Human Constructions category for the Panoramio contest of January 2011.
The First Prize is for a photo taken by mjb_germany in the Austria.
The Second Prizeis for a photo taken by Vadim Balakin in the Czech Republic.
Honorable Mentions are:
You can see all the winners in the results page for January 2012.
Posted by Gerard Sanz, Panoramio Community Manager