The three Festivals that the Israelites were commanded to celebrate "in the place the Lord your God will choose" (Deut. 16:16). These are Passover (seven days in the Land of Israel beginning on 15 Nisan), Shavu'Ot (one day in Israel, 6 Sivan), and Sukkot (eight days including Shemini Atseret, beginning on 15 Tishri). The festivals are referred to in Hebrew as the shalosh regalim, the three (foot) pilgrimages, the name being derived from the biblical injunction that all adult males (i.e., aged 13 or more) go to the place of God's choosing , which was ultimately Jerusalem (Ex. 23:17; see Pilgrimage). Until the Temple was destroyed, three commandments had to be observed by adult males on the festivals: going to Jerusalem; bringing individual sacrifices known as the ḥagigah ("pilgrimage offerings") in addition to those brought on behalf of the nation; and rejoicing on the festival. Each festival had its own requirements for the sacrifices to be brought on behalf of the nation (Num. 28, 29), and after the Temple's destruction, these were incorporated in the Additional Service recited on each day of the festivals.
All three festivals have both agricultural and national significance. Passover is "the festival of the spring," in which a measure of the new barley crop (the Omer) is brought, and it also celebrates the Exodus from Egypt; Shavu'ot is the "harvest festival," celebrating the end of the barley harvest and the beginning of the wheat harvest, as well as the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai; Sukkot is "the festival of the ingathering" of crops, and it also commemorates the 40 years the Israelites wandered in the desert.
The laws requiring a pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the bringing of offerings lapsed with the destruction of the Temple. However, the obligation to rejoice on the festivals continued; this was interpreted as the eating of meat, the drinking of wine, and the wearing of new clothes. Maimonides (Sefer ha-Mitsvot, Commandment 54) notes that this commandment to rejoice includes ensuring that the underprivileged be also provided with the means to rejoice on the festival.
The Morning Service on each day of the pilgrim festivals includes the recitation of the Hallel prayer, the Reading of the Law, and the Musaf (Additional Service). Outside Israel, an extra day is added to each festival (see Second Day of Festivals). All work except that connected with food preparation is forbidden on the first and last days (first two and last two outside Israel) of Passover and Sukkot, and on Shavu'ot.
Each festival has its own individual rituals and customs, such as the Seder on Passover, all-night study (Tikkun ḥatsot) on Shavu'ot, and the Four Species on Sukkot. One of the Five Scrolls is also read on each festival: the Song of Songs on Passover, Ruth on Shavu'ot, and Ecclesiastes on Sukkot.
