The Three Pilgrim Festivals - The Shalosh Regalim

The Three Pilgrim Festivals are referred to in Hebrew as the "shalosh regalim", the three (foot) pilgrimages. All three festivals have both agricultural and national significance.

The Three Festivals consist of Passover (Pesach), the Feast of Weeks (Shavuot) and the Feast of Booths (Succoth or Tabernacles).

The name Shalosh Regalim derives its origin from the following Biblical verse:
(Exodus 23:14-17)

23:14: Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto Me in the year.

23:15: The feast of unleavened bread shalt thou keep; seven days thou
          shalt eat unleavened bread, as I commanded thee, at the time
          appointed in the month Abib - for in it thou camest out from Egypt;
          and none shall appear before Me empty;

23:16: and the feast of harvest, the first-fruits of thy labours, which thou
          sowest in the field; and the feast of ingathering, at the end of
          the year, when thou gatherest in thy labours out of the field.

23:17: Three times in the year all thy males shall appear before the Lord God...


Within the word "regalim" however, is also expressed the idea of a journey on foot or a pilgrimage, an important element in the celebration of these three festivals.

"Three times every year shall your menfolk appear before the Lord your God in the place that He will choose, in the feast of Pesach, in the feast of Shavuot, and in the Feast of Succoth" (Deuteronomy 16:16).




  Pesach
  The first pilgrimage feasts begin with Pesach
  (seven days in the Land of Israel beginning on 15 Nisan)
  Read more

  Shavuot
  The second pilgrimage feast is Shavuot.
  The Feast of Weeks (Greek name: Pentecost)
  Read more

  Succoth
  The third pilgrimage feast is Succoth,
  a seven-day festival, also known as the feast of Booths
  Read more