Biblical Hebrew Forum

["Uzi Silber" <uzisilber AT gmail.com>]

Friends,

this is my understanding in a nutshell.

originally, there were two big holidays -- pilgrimages actually - that the
Israelites inherited from the Canaanites:
1) Pesach (combination of Hag Matzot and Pesach) and
2) Sukkot.

One celebrated from time immemorial the fall harvest and onset of the rainy
season while the other was positioned at the beginning of the dry season
celebrating the beginning of the summer harvest and sheep sheering. With the
passage of the centuries these two khagim would commemorate additional
events -- sukkot coincided with the dedication of the first temple while the
exodus celebration would be appended to Pesach.

Shavuot is simple the end of the Pesach season (also known as the omer)

Then during and after the Babylonian exile, this equinox/harvest schdule was
modified with two new connected holidays.
Yom zikhron truah ((later known as rosh hashana) and yom kippur (another yom
hazikaron) were added to the calendar.  Both of these holidays in the month
of tishrei (tashritu in Babylon) are of Babylonian provenance.

Considering the state of mind in wake of the catastrophe of the destruction
of the first commonwealth, its not surprising that the exiles and returnees
would adopt and adapt these two Babylonian holidays to Judahite purposes.
zikaron -- "remember!" its sort of like a "never again" attitude.  By
allaying god's wrath through annual repentance, the proto-Jews were
attempting to ensure that never again would such a calamity happen.

I look forward to any and all comments.

Uzi Silber