Sukkot (sukkōt, or sukkos, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles) is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei (late September to late October). It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Jews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Shemini Atzeret (“the Eighth of Assembly”) is celebrated on the 22nd day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei (first month of calendar). In the Diaspora, an additional day is celebrated, the second day being separately referred to as Simchat Torah. In Israel and Reform Judaism, the holidays of Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are combined […]

Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah (also Simkhes Toreh, “Rejoicing with/of the Torah,”) is a celebration marking the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the Biblical Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret (“Eighth Day of Assembly”), which follows immediately after the […]

Tu BiShvat or Tu B’Shevat or Tu B’Shvat occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. It is also called “The New Year of the Trees” or (Rosh HaShanah La’Ilanot‎). Tu BiShvat is one of four “New Years” mentioned in the Mishnah.

Purim (“lots”, from the word pur, related to Akkadian pūru) commemorates the deliverance of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire from destruction in the wake of a plot by Haman, a story recorded in the Biblical Book of Esther (Megillat Esther).

Passover (Pesach) commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. Passover begins on the 15th day of the month of Nisan in the Jewish calendar, which is in spring in the Northern Hemisphere, and is celebrated for seven or eight days. It is one of the […]

Holocaust Remembrance Day “Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day” known colloquially in Israel and abroad as Yom HaShoah (יום השואה) and in English as Holocaust Remembrance Day, or Holocaust Day, is observed as Israel’s day of commemoration for the approximately six million Jews and five million others who perished in the Holocaust as a result of […]

Yom Hazikaron (Israel's Memorial Day) is a day to remember Israel’s fallen soldiers as well as Israeli victims of terror.

Immediately after Yom Hazikaron ends, Yom Haatzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day) begins. It takes place on the date in the Hebrew calendar that Israel declared independence, the 5th of Iyar.  

Lag BaOmer occurs on the 33rd day of the Omer, which is the 49-day period between Passover and Shavuot. The word “Lag” represents the number 33 in Hebrew, and the name “Omer” refers to the Biblical “omer,” which was a unit of measure. Lag BaOmer is a happy occasion that marks the end of a plague […]