“The Philosophical Significance of the Holidays” by Tamar Ben Shoshan is more a personal essay about the holidays.
As the years of ones life pass the holidays remain solid and firm, like a lighthouse in a storm. They enable us to keep our feet, to remain on the right path of life. The essence of a holiday is like a rolled up scroll waiting to be unfurled. A person who observes the holiday with the proper intentions and behavior, with all his heart and soul is as one that loosens the string fastening the scroll – enabling it to unfurl and reveal the richness of its secrets. In order to truly feel the significance of a particular holiday one must delve into the meaning of its message. One must internalize the particular values of the holiday – such as, courage, generosity, forgiveness, joy – thus enabling the spirit of the holiday to truly move us.
