Do Jews celebrate Lent

Answer 1

I may not be Jewish, but suffice it to say, the answer is no. Lent is a Christian based event begun 40 days before Easter to represent the time Jesus spent in the desert, where he was tempted by Satan. The purpose behind Lent is based on Christian doctrine and as the Jewish faith does not recognize Jesus as being the true messiah, they would not celebrate Lent...it's the same idea as to how they do not celebrate Christmas as that is a holiday centered around the birth of Jesus.

The previous answer is correct. Jews do not celebrate lent, except in some multi-faith households.

Answer 2

Of course Jews do not celebrate Lent, but 'like lent' could refer to a period of solemn penitence leading up to a festival celebrating redemption. In that sense the month of Elul serves such a purpose. The month of Elul begins on the new moon before Rosh Hashanah (which is itself on a new moon). For the entire month, it is traditional to blow the shofar (ram's horn) daily (except on the Sabbath). This could be considered to be practice (shofar blowing isn't trivial), but it also serves as a reminder of the season of penetence. There are also special penetential prayers, and a big focus on obtaining forgiveness from those who have been wronged -- this is because the Jewish tradition states that God cannot forgive sins between people until the victims have forgiven the sinners. Rosh Hashana, is not the end of this. Instead for the ten days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, the penetential season (minus the daily shofar blowing) continues to Yom Kippur, a day-long total fast where most of the waking hours are filled with religious services, ending with one long shofar blast.

Answer 3

Yom Kippur is at the end of a 5-week period of reflection and penitence that begins on the first of Ellul. During that interval, the liturgy reminds Jews to put things right with any people they have wronged. Perhaps that penitential season is a parallel with Lent, while Yom Kipper might be compared with Easter Sunday. Lent is a partial fast, while Easter Sunday is a feast. In contrast, Yom Kippur is a total fast for 25 hours (no food or drink at all) while the preliminary penitential season has no food restrictions.

Answer 4

Yom Kippur is at the end of a 5-week period of reflection and penitence that begins on the first of Ellul. During that interval, the liturgy reminds Jews to put things right with any people they have wronged. Perhaps that penitential season is a parallel with Lent, while Yom Kipper might be compared with Easter Sunday. Lent is a partial fast, while Easter Sunday is a feast. In contrast, Yom Kippur is a total fast for 25 hours (no food or drink at all) while the preliminary penitential season has no food restrictions.

Answer 5

If you mean, is there a penitential season in Judaism, then yes, the month of Elul, the month that ends with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, plus the 10 days between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are a penetential period when it is traditional to try to make things right in preparation for the day of Judgement. The annual fast day of Yom Kippur is, quite litterally, a dry run for Judgement Day, when tradition has it that God stands in judgement over all men, declaring who shall live and who shall die in the next year. Unlike Lent, there is no partial fast extending over the entire penitential season. Instead, the fast is condensed into 25 hours on Yom Kippur itself, when observant Jews, regardless of denomination, do not eat or drink anything at all.