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Jewish Holy Days, Holidays, Fast Days, and
Commemorative Days
Days listed in BOLDFACE CAPITALS are major holidays which are sacred to Jews, many of whom completely abstain from workday activities and from performing monetary transactions on them. Marriages are commonly prohibited during these holidays by most Jewish denominations, except for the Progressive movement, whose views are more accomodating in respect to weddings on these days. Please see When Is It Appropriate To Marry According To Judaism for more info on the specific rules regarding appropriate marriage dates according to the different Jewish denominations. Note that in many cases the rules regarding marriages on minor holidays are less restrictive than those applying to weddings on major holidays. Minor holidays are listed here using Bold Italics.
In the Hebrew calendar, a day does not begin at 12:00 AM or at sunrise, as it does in the Western calendar, but at sunset on the prior day. Thus, each day listed below actually begins the evening before the dates shown (the evening before a holiday is called "Erev"). For example, the Sabbath (Shabbat) begins at sunset on Friday ("Erev Shabbat") and lasts until sunset on Saturday. But note that in a few cases, a fast day is observed only as a daytime fast, from sun-up to sundown, on the day of the fast. Where this is the case, it is noted.
The holidays are listed in order, from the beginning of the Hebrew year (beginning with Rosh haShanah) to the end, with the exception of the first two holidays listed, the weekly Shabbat (or Sabbath) and the monthly Rosh Chodesh. Rosh haShanah (the Jewish New Year) does not coincide with the Civil calendar, which was originally developed by the Roman Empire and then was modified by St. Gregory the Great. The Civil calendar begins on January 1st. The Hebrew year always straddles two Civil calendar years. It begins sometime in September or October in one year and continues into the next year. By the way, the Catholic and Protestant Liturgical years, both originally based on the Hebrew calendar, begin in the same way. Each begins with Advent, which starts in November, and continues into the next year.
For certain holidays, Jews outside of Israel traditionally extend the holiday by an additional day. The extended dates of those holidays are noted in italics.
Holiday dates are given according to the Hebrew calendar, listing the Hebrew month and day. To find the Civil calendar date for a given year, use the handy Hebrew:Civil Date Converter at the bottom of the page.
Days listed in BOLDFACE CAPITALS are major holidays which are sacred to Jews, many of whom completely abstain from workday activities and from performing monetary transactions on them. Marriages are commonly prohibited during these holidays by most Jewish denominations, except for the Progressive movement, whose views are more accomodating in respect to weddings on these days. Please see When Is It Appropriate To Marry According To Judaism for more info on the specific rules regarding appropriate marriage dates according to the different Jewish denominations. Note that in many cases the rules regarding marriages on minor holidays are less restrictive than those applying to weddings on major holidays. Minor holidays are listed here using Bold Italics.
In the Hebrew calendar, a day does not begin at 12:00 AM or at sunrise, as it does in the Western calendar, but at sunset on the prior day. Thus, each day listed below actually begins the evening before the dates shown (the evening before a holiday is called "Erev"). For example, the Sabbath (Shabbat) begins at sunset on Friday ("Erev Shabbat") and lasts until sunset on Saturday. But note that in a few cases, a fast day is observed only as a daytime fast, from sun-up to sundown, on the day of the fast. Where this is the case, it is noted.
The holidays are listed in order, from the beginning of the Hebrew year (beginning with Rosh haShanah) to the end, with the exception of the first two holidays listed, the weekly Shabbat (or Sabbath) and the monthly Rosh Chodesh. Rosh haShanah (the Jewish New Year) does not coincide with the Civil calendar, which was originally developed by the Roman Empire and then was modified by St. Gregory the Great. The Civil calendar begins on January 1st. The Hebrew year always straddles two Civil calendar years. It begins sometime in September or October in one year and continues into the next year. By the way, the Catholic and Protestant Liturgical years, both originally based on the Hebrew calendar, begin in the same way. Each begins with Advent, which starts in November, and continues into the next year.
For certain holidays, Jews outside of Israel traditionally extend the holiday by an additional day. The extended dates of those holidays are noted in italics.
Holiday dates are given according to the Hebrew calendar, listing the Hebrew month and day. To find the Civil calendar date for a given year, use the handy Hebrew:Civil Date Converter at the bottom of the page.
SHABBAT (occurs every weekend, starting on Friday evening and continuing until Saturday evening): The weekly Sabbath, a day of rest, reflection, recreation, and of being with family and friends. To create a peaceful atmosphere the Bible prohibited earning one's livelihood on this day, or doing a variety of actions that might be interpreted as workday activities, or things that would cause others to do the same. Workday activities are allowed in cases where not performing them would be dangerous or life-threatening or where animals would suffer because of this.
ROSH CHODESH (occurs towards the beginning of each lunar month): Each Rosh Chodesh celebrates the beginning of a new month. The Jewish calendar consists of twelve (thirteen during a leap year) lunar months, each of which begins with the appearance of the New Moon. Each Rosh Chodesh is considered a minor holiday lasting for two days: consisting of the last day of the previous month and the first day of the new month. Rabbi Sandberg hosts a community Festa each Rosh Chodesh for members of his Chavurah.
ROSH HASHANAH (occurs on Tishri 1-2): The "New Year" Festival. Repentance and forgiveness are the themes of this holiday. The ten days following Rosh HaShanah until the holiday of Yom Kippur are called the "Days of Awe" or the "High Holy Days." The heaviest synagogue attendance of the year happens on Rosh HaShana and Yom Kippur. Incidentally, the entire thirty day period prior to Rosh HaShana is also considered as part of the holiday, where Jews are urged to begin the process of spiritual preparation and repentance, in very much the same way as the Lenten period is celebrated today in the Christian faith.
Fast of Gedaliah
(occurs on Tishri 3): A minor holiday observed by a daytime fast (i.e., observed only from sunup to sundown). Celebrated in remembrance of the day the last Jewish governor of Judea, appointed by the Babylonian overlords, was assassinated by Jewish zealots in 586 BCE, which subsequently lead to the last and decimating depopulation of the country (according to the prophet Jeremiah Chapter 41). This is one of the four "Jerusalem Fasts" which mourn the loss of independence and the destruction of the first and second Temples (see Zechariah 8:18, 19). Since this day is considered a day of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by many Jewish communities.YOM KIPPUR (occurs on Tishri 10): Also called the "Day of Atonement," the holiday observance requires a total fast from food or water from sundown the evening before to sundown the day of. The entire day is spent in prayer and reflection. Jews are advised to reconcile with their enemies by the eve of Yom Kippur, or else face the possibility of divine retribution.
SUKKOT (occurs starting on Tishri 15 through the 22nd): Festival of "Booths,", which recalls the Israelites' hut-like dwellings during their wanderings in the wilderness, as well as ancient harvest lean-to's and booths used by farm workers. Worldwide, Jews build festive leaf-covered booths (known as a "sukka" in the singular and as "sukkot" in the plural) in which they host meals and worship. Sukkot, together with the holidays of Passover and Shavuot, are the three "Pilgrimage" Festivals when Israelites made a trip to the Temple in Jerusalem and gave special festal offerings (Exodus 23:14-17).
Shmini Atzeret (occurs on Tishri 22): The "Concluding Eighth" day of Sukkot is a minor holiday in itself, rounding up the festival season of Tishri. The observances of the minor holiday, which is celebrated for one day in Israel or for two days outside of Israel, are also combined with those of the major holiday of Simchat Torah, which falls either on the same day (in Israel) or on the second day of Shmini Atzeret (outside of Israel).
SIMCHAT TORAH (occurs on Tishrey 22 in Israel or on Tishri 23 outside of Israel): This holiday, the name of which means "Rejoicing with the Torah", celebrates the end and new beginning of the yearly cycle of liturgical readings. Outside of Israel this holiday is celebrated on the second day of Shmini Atzeret; inside Israel, it is celebrated on the first (and only) day of Shmini Atzeret.
CHANUKAH (occurs starting on Kislev 25 through Tevet 2): The Festival of "re-dedicating" the Temple. It celebrates the miracle of the "Oil for the Temple Menorah ('lamp') that Lasted Eight Days" when the Maccabees (a family who led the revolt from 167-164 B.C.E.) re-conquered and purified the Jerusalem temple from pagan defilement by the Seleucid Greek Empire.
Fast of the Tenth of Tevet (Tevet 10): This fast is one of the four "Jerusalem Fasts", and it lasts from sunup to sundown. 10 Tevet was the day Jerusalem was surrounded by the besieging armies prior to the destructions in 586 BCE and 70 CE. Since this day is considered a day of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by many Jewish communities.
Tu biShvat (Shevat 15): The New Year for Trees -- the Jewish Arbor Day.
Fast of Esther (Adar 13): this fast lasts from sunup till sundown, and it relives Esther's fast before approaching King Ahasuerus to request her people be spared Haman's genocide of the Jewish people. Since this day is considered a day of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by many Jewish communities.
PURIM (Adar 14): The name means "Lotteries". The celebration, as mentioned in the Biblical Book of Esther, of the downfall of the world's first anti-Jewish genocide attempt in Persia, in the fifth century BCE. Haman, the evil prime minister of King Ahasuerus, chose the date of death by lotteries (i.e. "Purim"), hence the name of the day.
Fast of the First Born (Nisan 14): This fast by firstborn males lasts from sunup to the Passover seder, and commemorates the firstborn Egyptian males slain in the tenth plague and the grief suffered by their loved ones. Since this day is considered a day of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by many Jewish communities.
PESACH (Nisan 15-21 and 22 for some): Known in English as the holiday of "Passover," the remembrance of the Exodus from Egypt. The seder on the first two nights in the diaspora (and only on the first night in Israel) recounts the experience in a family celebration with symbolic foods relating to the whole of the Egyptian bondage. the first night of Passover is the anniversary of the night that G0d "passed over" the houses of the Israelites during the tenth plague. The last day commemorates the crossing of the Reed Sea. No leavened products are eaten during the week of Passover to symbolize the haste of the departure, "without enough time for the bread to rise".
Yom haSho'ah (Nisan 27): Known in English as "Holocaust Memorial Day," this holiday was created by the Knesset of Israel. It precedes Yom haAtzmaut by eight days, emphasizing the tragedy of 1933-45, and how Israel and the Jewish people must ensure that it never happens again. Since this day is considered a day of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by many Jewish communities.
Yom HaZikaron (Iyar 4): Israel's "Memorial Day," created by the Knesset of Israel, commemorating those who died defending the country.
Yom haAtzma'ut (Iyar 5): Israel's "Independence Day".
LaG ba'Omer (Iyar 18): The fifty days from Passover to Shavuot are the "Omer period," days on which an "omer" (a Biblical bushel) of first-fruits of one's field were brought to the Temple. Some observe this period as one of semi-mourning commemorating the unsuccessful Bar-Kochba Revolt against Roman occupiers of Israel in 133-135 CE. Since this period is considered one of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by many Jewish communities (as well as haircuts, parties). But on the "33rd Day of the Omer Count," what is called in Hebrew, "LaG ba'Omer," the sad period ends and a happy period begins the buildup to Shavuot. It is a day for picnics and for singing around bonfires.
Yom Yerushalayim (Iyar 28): Known in English as "Jerusalem Day," the holiday was created by the Knesset of Israel, commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem in 1967.
SHAVUOT (Sivan 6 and 7 for some). Feast of the culmination of the seven "Weeks" of the Omer from Passover when the Revelation at Mount Sinai occurred. Some study all night as if preparing for a new revelation.
Fast of the Seventeenth of Tammuz (Tammuz 17): This fast is one of the four "Jerusalem Fasts", and it lasts from sunup to sundown. 17 Tammuz was the day Jerusalem's walls were breached prior to the destructions in 586 BCE and 70 CE. Traditionally it is also seen as the day that Moses descended from Mt. Sinai, since this day is forty days after Shavuot (the day of the revelation at Mt. Sinai). On that day, Moses broke the first Tablets of the Ten Commandments when confronted by the Golden Calf. Since this day is considered a day of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by many Jewish communities. In fact, the whole period from this day to the ninth of Av is a period of semi-mourning like the omer period, with the same restrictions. From the first of Av till after the ninth, some additionally refrain from eating meat.
TISHA B'AV (9th of Av): This fast is the most important of the four "Jerusalem Fasts", and it lasts from sundown to sundown. It mourns the day of the destruction of the first and second Temples in 586 BCE by Babylonians and in 70 CE by Romans. After Yom Kippur, this is the most important fast of the year. Since this day is considered a day of mourning, weddings are not permitted on this day by all Jewish communities. Some Jewish and Jewish-Interfaith couples are insistent about getting married on this day. This is totally disrespectful and inappropriate, the equivalent of a Christian couple getting married on Ash Wednesday or Good Friday.
Rabbi Sandberg has provided this easy-to-use converter to help you convert dates from the Civil to the Hebrew calendars and back.
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Java-based Hebrew - Civil Date Converter Today's Date: Today's date, both Civil and Hebrew, are automatically displayed. To Find Another Date, Civil Or Hebrew:
To find the Civil date, fill in the Hebrew date and hit the "Convert to Civil" button.
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