This unusual explanation of the Jewish High Holidays from September of 1874 is somewhat correct, but Passover and Shavuot get thrown in for good measure, making for some interesting copy. To wit, Rosh Hashana decidedly does NOT celebrate the killing of the first born sons of the Egyptians; that would be Passover. The article goes on to mention Tsom Gedaliah, a minor fast day, which commemorates the murder of Gedaliah, a governor of Judea in the sixth century BCE, correctly stating that it occurs after the second day of Rosh Hashana. Sukkot is not nine days long, it’s seven, but since the separate holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah occur at the end of Sukkot you can see how this error was made. Also, Simchat Torah celebrates the end and beginning of the Torah reading cycle, NOT the receiving of the Torah, which is the holiday of Shavuot and typically takes place in May or June. And Shemini Atzeret isn’t just an evening holiday (no Jewish holiday is). However, Moses Mendelson of Anaheim, the source for this newspaper article, surely gets an “A” for his efforts!
Dalia Taft, Director of the Orange County Jewish Historical Society, highlights images from the archives every month. For more information, please visit https://www.jccoc.org/Pages/Oc-Jewish-Historical-Society. You can also contact Dalia at Daliat@jccoc.org or at (949) 435-3400, Ext. 360. The Orange County Jewish Historical Society is a program of the Merage Jewish Community Center and is funded by the Jewish Community Foundation Orange County.