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 […]
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.
Shavuot is the second of three pilgrimage festivals in Judaism (along with Passover and Sukkot). Known as the Shalosh Regalim in Hebrew, these festivals each have agricultural and historical significance and were days when, in ancient times, Jews would travel to the Temple in Jerusalem.
Hanukkah, Chanukah or Chanuka, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev […]
Join us on Wednesday, December 17th between 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm for a delightful Chanukah celebration! Sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
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).
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 […]
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 […]