Jewish Holidays

Yizkor (Hebrew: יזכור) , which means remembrance, is a spaciel Jewish memorial prayer.
The Yizkor prayer has become a formal part of the prayer service during the Crusades of the eleventh century, when many Jews were killed as they made their way to the Land Of Israel .

There is an earliest mention of Yizkor , which can be found in the 11 century Machzor Vitry.

Counting of the Omer (Hebrew: ספירת העומר ) is counted every evening ,for forty-nine days after nightfall, from the second night of Passover till the night before Shavuot.

According to the Torah , there are seven basic emotions that make up the spectrum of human experience. At the root of all forms of enslavement, is a distortion of these emotions.

Chol Hamoed (Hebrew: חול המועד) refers to the intermediate period of the festivals of Passover and Sukkot. The meaning of Chol Hamoed is the weekday of the Holiday.
 

These are the days sandwiched between the beginning and end holy days of both festivals.
Passover is celebrated for seven or eight days (In Israel it's celebrated for 7 days).

At the end of the eight days of Passover, on the day after Passover, Jews of North African origin , especially Moroccan Jews, celebrate a very unique Holiday: the Mimouna

(Hebrew:מימונה).

According to Jewish tradition the name Mimouna is derived from the Rambam's name :Maimon . It also means: Emunah- faith.

 The Mimouna is a joyful celebration.

Afikoman (Hebrew: אפיקומן )  is the name of a portion of Matzah  eaten at the end  of the Passover evening meal.( Lail Ha'seder).

The afikoman is a substitute for the Korban Pesach, based on the Mishnah (Pesahim 119a).Korban Pesach was the last thing eaten at the Passover Seder during the periods of the First and Second Temples and the Mishkan(Tabernacle).

Queen Esther (Hebrew: אסתר המלכה), also known as Hadassah, was a Jewish heroine, who saved the Jewish people from Haman Haman HaRasha.

Mishloach manot (Hebrew: משלוח מנות), meaning: sending of portions, are gifts of food that are sent to friends, relatives, neighbors and any other acquaintances on the Holiday of Purim. Sending Mishloach Manot is a great Mitzva as mentioned in the Book of Esthe 9:22:

Janucá (Hebreo: חנוכה) es una fiesta judía celebrada durante ocho días, conmemora el triunfo de los Macabeos contra los Helenos en el siglo II a. C. y la re dedicación del 2º Templo de Jerusalém. Jánuca es también conocida como la Fiesta de las Luces 

Hanukkiyah (Hebrew : חנוכיה ), also known as Hanukkah Menorah,  is a nine-branched candelabrum lit during the eight day Holiday of Hanukkah.

On the first night of Hanukkah and on all other nights during the Holiday, the middle candle (called a shamash) is lit first. The shamash does not count as one of the Hanukkah candles, but is used to light all the other candles.
 

Sevivon (Hebrew : סביבון)  is a four sided spinning top, played with during Hanukkah.
Each side of the dreidel bears a letter of the Hebrew alphabet: נ (Nun), ג (Gimel), ה (Hei), ש (Shin).