Jewish Calendar

Shabbat (or Sabbath) falls every seventh day of the week, from Friday just before sunset until dark on Saturday night. It is a day of rest, marking the time when God stopped creating after after the six days of creation. Shabbat recognizes God as Creator of the Universe and as Redeemer of Israel from Egypt.

Rosh Chodesh (the new month) is celebrated for either one or two days. Before the calendar was set, this was determined by whether the new moon was seen on the 30th of the month. The Torah instituted that each new month be commemorated with a sacrifice. While no animals are currently sacrificed, many mark Rosh Chodesh with extra singing and prayers, including Hallel, Torah reading, and a haftarah. In some communities, women gather together and refrain from work in honor of the womens' refusal to contribute to the making of the golden calf.

Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year, two days spent in prayer for the coming year and marked with festive meals.

Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, also known as the Sabbath of Sabbaths, is considered by many to be the holiest day of the Jewish year. Traditionally, the day is one of fasting and prayer for a clean slate at the start of the new year.

Sukkot is a weeklong celebration of the harvest in early fall. It is celebrated by the building of temporary booths — that is, sukkot — outside homes in which people eat their meals and sometimes even sleep. The booths are reminders of the transience of life and the sheltering presence of God.

Shemini Atzeret is an early fall holiday that marks the end of the harvest and the start of the rainy season. It directly follows the holiday of Sukkot and is observed with prayers for rain in Israel.

Simchat Torah is a joyous festival celebrating the completion of the year's cycle of reading the Torah. It is common to find people singing and dancing in synagogues — and even in the streets — with Torah scrolls.

Chanukkah is an eight-day winter holiday commemorating the Jewish victory over the Seleucid Greek oppressors in 164 BCE. It is widely known as the "Festival of Lights" due to the practice of lighting a candle or oil lamp each night of the holiday. This ritual recalls the miracle of the oil, in which a small container of oil for the Temple menorah lasted for eight nights, after it was expected to last for only one.

Tu Bishvat, or the 15th of Shevat, is the New Year (or birthday) for trees and planting. It is often celebrated by eating specific fruits.

Purim is a holiday commemorating the events of the book of Esther, where the Jewish Queen Esther and Mordekhai overturn a decree of genocide against the Jews of the ancient Persian Empire.

Passover — or Pesach, in Hebrew — is a week-long springtime festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt. It also celebrates national redemption and freedom from slavery. It is observed through avoidance of certain foods, mainly leavened grains, and ritual dinners called Seders, where attendees retell the story of the Exodus.

Yom HaAtzmaut is Israel's Independence Day. It is usually celebrated on the fifth day of the Hebrew month of Iyyar, the date on which the Israeli provisional government signed its Declaration of Independence in 1948. The day is marked by a variety of ceremonies, celebrations, and observances, including a unique liturgy in many synagogues.

Lag BaOmer ("the 33rd day of the Omer") is a day of celebration during the otherwise solemn period of the 49 days between the holidays of Passover and Shavuot. Many mark this day with outdoor parties and bonfires.

Shavuot is a holiday that celebrates both the wheat harvest and the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Many stay up all night learning to honor the latter. It is traditional to chant the book of Ruth on this holiday and to indulge in dairy foods.

Tisha B’Av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, is a fast day and the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. Among other historical tragedies, it commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem in 586 BCE and 70 CE, respectively. One fasting abstains from food and other physical pleasures, reads the biblical book of Lamentations, and observes mourning customs.

Adar is the sixth month of the Hebrew calendar. In seven out of every 19 years, a second month of Adar is added in order to keep the agricultural cycle of the Jewish lunar calendar synchronized with the solar year. The rabbis taught that one rejoices when the month of Adar begins.

Elul is the 12th month of the Hebrew calendar and is a time during which the liturgy focuses on preparation to stand before God in judgement on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.

There are assorted fast days scattered across the Jewish calendar. During the two major fast days, Yom Kippur and Tisha B'Av, one abstains from food, drink, washing, and sexual relations for 25 hours. During the other, minor fast days, one abstains from food and drink from sunup to sundown.

The “Four questions” is a text that features prominently at the Passover seder, opening up the portion of the evening in which the exodus story is discussed. Also referred to as “Ma Nishtanah” (“why is this night different”) after its two opening words, the questions highlight the differences between the seder night and all other nights. The text’s origins are in the Mishnah, with variant versions in different rabbinic texts and haggadahs. It is commonly recited or sung by the youngest person at the seder.

The High Holidays refer to the Jewish New Year (Rosh HaShanah) and the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) that follows 10 days later. These days are a time for repentance, introspection, prayer, and good deeds.

There are four New Years in Jewish tradition: the New Year for governments and festivals in the spring, the New Year for tithing animals in late summer, the New Year for calendars and spiritual renewal (Rosh Hashanah) in the fall, and the New Year for trees and planting in the end of winter.

The seder is a ritual dinner and discussion held on the first or first two nights of Passover. Attendees retell the story of the exodus from Egypt and eat special foods to mark the occasion.

Sefirat HaOmer (literally, "the counting of the Omer") is the period of 49 days between Passover and Shavuot. Each day is verbally counted off. Traditionally, this period of time is a solemn one, and many avoid celebrations during this calendar period.

Shabbat HaGadol (“The Great Shabbat”) is the Shabbat that immediately precedes the holiday of Passover. Jewish texts offer many explanations as to why this Shabbat is called “great,” like those that point to a great miracle performed on this Shabbat during the exodus, or those that point to the word “great” at the end of the haftarah portion traditionally read on this Shabbat. In many communities, the rabbi delivers a lengthy sermon on a Passover-related topic.

Sigd is an Ethiopian Jewish festival celebrating the acceptance of the Torah as told in the book of Ezra.

Asarah BeTevet, literally, "the tenth of Tevet" is minor fast day on the tenth day of the Hebrew month of Tevet that lasts from dawn until nightfall. It commemorates the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem in the sixth century BCE that ultimately culminated with the destruction of the First Temple.

“The Four Children” refers to a rabbinic text incorporated into the maggid section of many haggadahs. The text presents four types of children who ask different kinds of questions, from different perspectives, at the Passover seder. Each child is given a unique answer, built by weaving together different biblical verses. Variations of the text abound.

The first ten days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei—beginning with Rosh Hashanah and ending with the conclusion of Yom Kippur—are referred to in Judaism as the ten days of repentance. These days are a time for renewal, introspection, prayer, and good deeds. They are marked by unique additions to the daily liturgy and customs that vary by community, such as only eating certain types of food.

Tu B'Av — the fifteenth of Av — is a minor holiday. Falling just six days after the fast day of Tisha B'Av, which commemorates the destruction of the Temples in Jerusalem, Tu B'Av is described in rabbinic literature as one of the happiest days for the Jewish people. In antiquity, women would go out in festive clothing to dance in vineyards on this day. Today, the holiday is often viewed as a celebration of love.

Tzom Gedaliah ("the Fast of Gedaliah") is a minor fast day on the third of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, which is the day after Rosh HaShanah. It is observed from dawn to nightfall and commemorates the assasination of Gedaliah, a Judean official, by fellow Judeans — an act that led to further dispersal during the Babylonian Exile.

Yom Yerushalayim, or Jerusalem Day, is a day of celebration marking the establishment of Israeli control over the Old City of Jerusalem and renewed access to Jewish holy sites.

Hoshana Rabbah is the seventh day of the holiday Sukkot. In Temple times, the day was marked by seven processions around the altar, which was decorated with willow branches. Today, the day is marked by customs such as seven processions around the synagogue sanctuary, extended recitation of prayers known as hoshanot, the striking of willow branches on the floor, and staying up at night to learn Torah.

The 17th day of the Hebrew month of Tammuz is a minor Jewish fast day. It commemorates the breach of Jerusalem's walls in 70 CE that led to the destruction of the Second Temple three weeks later. The day marks the onset of a period of three weeks of mourning practices, culminating with the fast day of Tisha B'Av, the day on which the Temple was destroyed.

Ushpizin ("guests") refers to a custom of the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, according to which each night of the holiday, a different historical guest is figuratively invited to the sukkah. The custom is kabbalistic in origin, and many recite a prayer formally inviting the guests. Traditionally, the seven guests are: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Aaron, and David. Some modern versions modify the list or add other guests as well.

Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, is Israel's official day of commemorating the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust and the Jewish resistance during that period. It is usually observed on the 27th day of the Hebrew month of Nissan. The day is marked by ceremonies, services, air raid sirens in Israel during which people silently reflect, and special prayers.

Yom Tov (literally: "good day") refers to any Jewish holiday marked by ritual blessings over the wine and abstention from work: the beginning and end of Passover, Shavuot, Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, the beginning and end of Sukkot, Shemini Atseret, and Simchat Torah.

Yom HaZikaron is Israel's official remembrance day for fallen soldiers and civilian victims of terrorism. It is usually observed on the fourth day of the Hebrew month of Iyyar, the day preceding Yom HaAtzmaut. The day is marked by ceremonies, services, special prayers, and air raid sirens in Israel during which people silently reflect.