When carrying holy books, you may put a Torah or Talmud below other books to prevent their falling or to make them easier to carry.  For piling books on top of each other, see Holy Books: Stacking Order.

Question: Why didn't the Israelites bake bread (the Torah says that they did not have time for the dough to rise)? They knew 14 days ahead of time (on Rosh Chodesh Nisan) that they would be leaving, and they knew it would be middle of night (since God said that is when they would leave).
Answer: The Israelites did not do anything to prepare, except what God told them to do: the Passover offering and putting blood on their doorposts.

Only three of the Four Sons' questions are mentioned in the Torah (which all related to the Passover sacrifice), since the fourth (smallest) child cannot ask questions. Regarding this child, the hagada says, "Aht p'tach lo" (in the feminine).
Reason  The mother is supposed to be a child's primary teacher while the child is young.
There is a difference in attitude between the wise son and the evil son: The wise son says "Eloheinu" (OUR God); he is asking a question and seeking and answer. The evil son makes a statement (sort of a rhetorical question), instead of asking a question for which he seeks an answer. Yet, regardless of the sons' level of observance, it is a commandment to teach them about going out of Egypt.

Jewish Festivals are listed in the Torah and are of two types: 

1. Three pilgrimage festivals (shalosh regalim):

• Passover,
• Shavuot, and
• Sukkot (including Shimini Atzeret).

These festivals were celebrated in ancient times by "appearing before God"--by bringing offerings to the Tabernacle or Temple.

2. High Holidays: 

• The Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana—“Yom Teru'a” in the Torah), and the
• Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur).

 
Duration
Jewish holidays that were originally one day are now observed as follows:

• Rosh Hashana--2 days.
• Yom Kippur--1 day.
• Shavuot--1 day in Eretz Yisrael or 2 days elsewhere.
• Passover has festival days at the beginning and end of the holiday and intermediary days of lesser holiness, which are called chol ha'moed. In Eretz Yisrael, Passover lasts for 7 days in total and the first and last days are festival days. Outside of Eretz Yisrael, Passover lasts 8 days and has two festival days at the beginning and two at the end.
• Sukkot has festival days at the beginning and at the end and intermediary days of lesser holiness, which are called chol ha'moed. In Eretz Yisrael, Sukkot lasts for 8 days and the first and last days are festival days (the last day is Shimini Atzeret). Outside of Eretz Yisrael, Sukkot lasts for 9 days and the first two days and last days are festival days (the 8th day is Shimini Atzeret and the 9th day is Simchat Torah).

Character
Each holiday contributes its own character to Jewish life (Passover--the theme of freedom; Yom Kippur brings atonement, etc.). 

Celebrating
How to celebrate these holidays is detailed in our Oral Law and halacha books. Jewish festivals as practiced today are similar in holiness to Shabbat. As with Shabbat, the Jewish festival has candle lighting, kiddush at two meals, and havdala.   We eat our best food and wear our best clothing on Jewish festivals (we eat our next-best food and wear our next-best clothing on Shabbat!).
The main idea behind eating meals on Jewish festivals is joy (simcha), so you should drink wine and eat meat (only if you enjoy wine and meat).  There is no third meal on Jewish festivals since people used to eat two meals each day (adding a third meal on Shabbat was for enjoyment/oneg).
 
Melachot
Any activities or actions permitted on Shabbat are also permitted on the Jewish festivals. Actions that are forbidden on Shabbat are generally also forbidden on Jewish festivals, but there are some leniencies (only if the actions are needed for that festival day).
Examples

• Lighting from an existing flame,
• Cooking and baking for the Jewish festival day, and
• Carrying outside the eruv (hotza'a--transferring objects between domains).

 
Grama
Grama (indirectly causing an action) is permitted on Jewish festivals (but not on Shabbat). For example, you may advance or delay a timer that will make a light go on or off in the future (the timer must already be plugged in and operating from before sunset of the festival day).
Note For an action to be considered indirect based on time, there must be at least 2.5 seconds after the first action is done before the resulting action begins to happen.

Psik Reisha Dla Neicha Lei
Psik reisha dla neicha lei is forbidden on Jewish festivals, just as it is on Shabbat.

D'oraita Restrictions
D'oraita restrictions apply world-wide to:

• First and seventh days of Passover,
• First and eighth days of Sukkot,
• First day of Shavuot,
• Yom Kippur,
• First day of Rosh Hashana.

Note The same restrictions apply to all other Jewish festival days but are rabbinical.
 
Women
In general, women are not required to perform the positive, time-dependent commandments. Women and girls are not required to eat any Jewish festival meals except the Passover seder meal (but they are not allowed to fast on those days).

We are stringent in applying laws if we are uncertain about Torah commandments.
We are lenient in applying laws if we are uncertain about rabbinic commandments.
 

You should not listen to Jewish music containing lines from the Torah (psukim) while you are in the bathroom.

A husband may say shema and the amida (and study Torah) in his wife's presence if her hair is uncovered (as long as he is not looking at her hair), but not if she is immodestly dressed.

A mezuza (pl., mezuzot) is a small, sofer-inscribed parchment scroll containing the two Torah paragraphs commanding us to put mezuzot on our doorposts and gates: Deuteronomy/Devarim 6:4-9 and 11:13-21 (these are the first two paragraphs of the shema prayer.)  Each doorway that is related to where people live must have a mezuza.

Mezuzot are placed on the right side of doorways as you enter in apartments, buildings, or even recreational vehicles that you rent for 30 days or more (or that you purchase/own), in which you sleep.

A mezuza has protective value in that it reminds us to think about God each time we walk past a doorway or gateway, and so the particular name of God written on the mezuza (shin-daled-yud) likewise can serve as an acronym for God's role as “Shomer dirot Yisrael”—Watcher over the dwelling places of Israel.  

Yashan applies to grain grown anywhere in the world.

For women's dress code, see individual listings under ATTIRE:
Introduction to Attire
Attire: Blessings/Torah/Prayer
Attire: Women: Tzni'ut
Attire: Married Women: Head Covering (Kisui Rosh)

When you go back to your seat after an aliya to the Torah, take the longer way around the bima--even if it is inconvenient or you want to avoid someone who is along the way back to your seat.
 

When piling up several holy books, put them in this order (top to bottom):

• Torah (Jewish Bible) 
• Nach/Prophets
• Talmud, siddur, and any other holy books.

There is no limit to how much “charity” you may give to Torah institutions. 

You may ask a mekubal (someone well-versed in the spiritual world) or a Torah scholar for advice.  The mekubal must be known as a genuine mekubal. 
 

You may say any blessing on a mitzva—such as kiddush, hallel, Torah—for another person, even if you have already fulfilled the mitzva for yourself, as long as that other person is required to do that mitzva.