Choral Works for the Jewish Festivals (Sh'losh Regalim & Chanukkah) by Michael Reid Winikoff
The Sh'losh Regalim or three pilgrimage festivals
are the major festival observances of the Jewish calendar, and include Passover (or Pesah) in early spring,
Pentacost (or Shavuot) occuring in late May
or early June, and Tabernacles (or Sukkot),
beginning just five days after Yom Kippur. The term
"pilgrimage" stems from the biblical commandment that for each of these
festivals, the Israelites were called upon to journey into Jerusalem to
make their requisite festival offering.
The nuschaot (chant modes) of the Sh'losh Regalim are often
closely related to (and likely derive from) those of the High Holy Days.
Chanukkah (Festival of Dedication, aka
"Festival of Lights") is a post-biblical festival
commenorating the defeat of the Assyrian Greeks and re-taking of the
Temple by the Maccabees. The defiled temple was purified and
re-dedicated, upon which an eight-day festival (possibly a delayed
observance of Sukkot and Sh'mini Atzeret) was observed
in inauguration of the newly dedicated sancturary.
On each of these festivals, the liturgy of praise and thanksgiving known as Hallel is
recited, which opens with Psalm 113 and features Psalm 117.