Jewish Holidays
Eight major holidays that anchor Jewish life across the year. Each carries centuries of tradition, meaning, and memory. Learn what they are, how they are observed, and why they matter.
Rosh Hashanah
The Jewish New Year, the first and second days of Tishrei mark the beginning of the High Holy Days, the Days of Awe. It is a time of introspection, prayer, and ...
Yom Kippur
The Day of Atonement, the holiest day in the Jewish year. Occurring on the tenth of Tishrei, Yom Kippur is a solemn 25-hour fast during which Jews seek forgiven...
Sukkot
The Festival of Tabernacles, a joyful seven-day harvest festival that begins on the fifteenth of Tishrei. Sukkot commemorates the forty years the Israelites spe...
Hanukkah
The Festival of Lights, eight nights of celebration commemorating the miracle of the Temple oil and the Maccabean victory over the Seleucid Greek empire, with t...
Purim
The Feast of Lots, one of the most festive and joyful days in the Jewish calendar, celebrated on the fourteenth of Adar. Purim commemorates the salvation of the...
Passover
Pesach, the Festival of Freedom, is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays in the world. Beginning on the fifteenth of Nisan and lasting seven or eight...
Shavuot
The Festival of Weeks, occurring fifty days after Passover on the sixth of Sivan, Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, the harvest of the ...
Tu B'Shvat
The New Year of the Trees, occurring on the fifteenth of Shevat, Tu B'Shvat is an ancient agricultural new year that has evolved into a celebration of nature, t...
Shemini Atzeret
The Eighth Day of Assembly, a quiet, self-contained holiday that immediately follows the seven days of Sukkot. Where Sukkot is expansive and outward, Shemini At...
Simchat Torah
The Rejoicing of the Torah, the most exuberant day of the Jewish year, when the annual cycle of Torah reading is completed and immediately begun again. The scro...
Yom HaShoah
Holocaust Remembrance Day, a solemn modern observance dedicated to the memory of the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, and to the resilience of those ...
Yom HaAtzmaut
Israeli Independence Day, the joyful celebration of the establishment of the modern State of Israel on the 5th of Iyar, 1948. It follows immediately after the s...
Tisha B'Av
The Ninth of Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, a full fast day mourning the destruction of both the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, along with ...
Shabbat
The Sabbath, a weekly day of rest and holiness that arrives every Friday at sundown and departs Saturday at nightfall. Unlike the festivals fixed to a single da...
Lag BaOmer
The thirty-third day of the Omer, a bright day of celebration in the middle of a somber season. During the seven weeks between Passover and Shavuot, Jews count ...
Yom HaZikaron
Israel's Memorial Day, a solemn national day honoring the soldiers who fell defending the State of Israel and the civilians killed in acts of terror. Observed o...
Yom Yerushalayim
Jerusalem Day, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli control during the Six-Day War of June 1967, when Jewish access to the Old City and th...
Tu B'Av
The fifteenth of Av, an ancient and joyful day that the Talmud counts, alongside Yom Kippur, among the happiest days in the Jewish calendar. In modern Israel it...
Minor Fast Days
The four minor fasts, a set of dawn-to-nightfall fast days spread through the Jewish year, lighter in their demands than the two major fasts of Yom Kippur and T...
New to a holiday? See our step-by-step guides on how to celebrate the Jewish holidays, cook the classics from the recipe collection, or check dates on the Hebrew calendar.
Celebrate With The Right Gear
Jewish-American pride merch for every holiday, milestone, and moment.