mission
calendar
board
history
rabbis
advocacy
FAQ
Holidays 5770
NOTE: All holidays begin the evening before at sundown.
Tishah B'Av, 9 Av (July 20) Fast of the Ninth of Av on the Hebrew calendar commemorates the destruction of the first and second Temples (the first by the Babylonians in 586 B.C.E.; the second by the Romans in 70 C.E.). Expulsion of Jews from Spain in 1492 also falls on this date.
Holidays 5771
NOTE: All holidays begin the evening before at sundown.
Rosh HaShanah, 1 Tishrei (September 9) Jewish New Year. A High Holy Day emphasizing happiness and humility. Marks the beginning of a ten-day period of prayer, self-examination and repentance.
Yom Kippur, 10 Tishrei (September 18) Day of Atonement. A High Holiday observed by fasting, prayer, repentance and self-improvement.
Sukkot, 15 Tishrei (September 23) Sukkot, Hebrew for "booths" or "huts", refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest, and in commemoration of 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after Sinai.
Simchat Torah, 22 Tishrei (September 30) Simchat Torah, Feast of Rejoicing with the Law when the closing and opening chapters of the Torah are read in the synagogue.
Chanukah, 25 Kislev (December 2) Chanukah celebrates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian army.
Tu BiSh'vat, 15 Sh'vat (January 20) Tu Bish'vat is also known as the New Year for Trees.
Purim, 14 Adar II (March 20) Purim commemorates the annulment of the decree against the Jewish people in ancient Persia (late 6th century B.C.E.).
Pesach (Passover), 15 Nisan (April 19) Passover commemorates the Exodus of the people of Israel from ancient Egypt.
Yom HaShoah, 27 Nisan (May 1) Holocaust Memorial Day remembers the 6 million Jews killed by the German Nazi regime and their collaborators.
Yom HaAtzma-ut, 4 Iyar (May 10) Israel Independence Day. Marks the Declaration of Independence of the State of Israel in 1948
Lag BaOmer, 18 Iyar (May 22) Lag BaOmer is the 33rd day of the Omer commemorating a break in the mourning period for the 24,000 students of Rabbi Akiva (2nd century).
Shavuot, 6 Sivan (June 8) Shavuot is also known as the Festival of the Giving of the Torah as it marks the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses at Mount Sinai over 3,000 years ago.
