About Shabbat

The Jewish Sabbath begins at sundown on Friday evening and ends after sundown on Saturday evening.

Candles are lit, the kiddush, an ancient prayer over wine, is recited, and challah (traditional bread) is served. Observant Jews go to synagogue Friday evening, Saturday morning, and Saturday evening.

All work is prohibited on Shabbat to commemorate G-d’s day of rest on the seventh day of creation as well as the Exodus from Egypt. It is a time for spiritual renewal, contemplation, learning, and family gathering.

Please note that, on Shabbat, observant Jews do not work from Friday sundown to Saturday after sundown and that, as the days grow shorter in the winter months, early departure from school or work may be required.

In Jewish tradition, work includes a range of creative activities rather than simply physical or occupational labour. On Shabbat, observant Jews abstain from using technology, driving, writing, cooking, commercial activities, and other tasks.

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish New Year

1-2 Tishrei (Sept / Oct)

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, is considered one of the most important Jewish Holy Days. It celebrates creation as told in the Book of Genesis. Rosh Hashanah is the yearly renewal of creation and has come to signify the continuity of creation and the ongoing involvement of G-d in the lives of the Jewish people. Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the ten days of repentance. It is a time to assess one’s personal achievements and failures and to prepare to begin anew.

The blast of the shofar, the ram’s horn, in the synagogue reminds the Jewish people to fear G-d and to do good deeds during the ensuing twelve months.

Rosh Hashanah is celebrated with symbolic foods such as apples and honey, which represent the hope of a sweet new year.

Yom Kippur

Day of Atonement

10 Tishrei (Sept / Oct)

Marking the end of the ten days of repentance, Yom Kippur is the Day of Atonement, observed by twenty-five hours of fasting and prayer to be cleansed of sin.

Yom Kippur begins at sundown with an evening service called Kol Nidre, ‘All Vows,’ which is commonly preceded by a large meal, the last meal before the start of the fast.

Sukkot

Festival of Tabernacles

15-21 Tishrei (Sept / Oct)

Sukkot is a seven-day festival with historical and agricultural significance. Historically, Sukkot commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert, living in temporary shelters. Agriculturally, Sukkot is a harvest festival, sometimes referred to as the ‘Feast of Ingathering.’

To celebrate, a sukkah – a booth of palm and willow branches – is built and meals are eaten within it.

No work is permitted on the first two days of Sukkot. The two days following the festival, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, are also days when work is not permitted. Though these days are separate holidays, they are related to Sukkot and are therefore commonly thought of as part of the holiday.

Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah

Festival of Rejoicing with the Torah

22-23 Tishrei (Sept / Oct)

Shemini Atzeret marks the completion of the annual reading of the Torah and Simchat Torah celebrates the resumption of the annual cycle of readings. The holidays are celebrated with singing, dancing, and processions of people carrying Torahs and waving flags.

Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah

Festival of Rejoicing with the Torah

22-23 Tishrei (Sept / Oct)

Shemini Atzeret marks the completion of the annual reading of the Torah and Simchat Torah celebrates the resumption of the annual cycle of readings. The holidays are celebrated with singing, dancing, and processions of people carrying Torahs and waving flags.

Kristallnacht

Night of Broken Glass

Kristallnacht marks the night on which the Jewish community of Nazi Germany, including Austria and Sudetenland, was attacked by the Nazis and their sympathizers. Synagogues and Jewish-owned properties were devastated, and Jewish people were attacked. A community-wide observance is held annually to commemorate Kristallnacht, which took place on November, 9-10, 1938.

Chanukah

Festival of Lights

25 Kislev-2 Tevet (Nov. / Dec)

A festival commemorating the victory of the Maccabees over the Hellenist-Syrians, Chanukah begins in either November or December and lasts for eight days. Chanukah has several spellings (Hanukah, Hanukkah, Chanukkah) because there is no exact English transliteration for the Hebrew word. In 164 BCE, the Maccabees, a band of Hebrews, recaptured their temple from the Hellenist-Syrians. The Temple was cleansed and purified, and the menorah (candelabrum) was lit once again as a re-dedication to G-d. When the jar of sanctified oil for the menorah was found, there was only enough to burn for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days until more was found. To commemorate this miracle, a chanukiah, a special menorah for the Holy Day, is lit for eight days; foods fried in oil, such as potato latkes or pancakes, are eaten; and children play with spinning tops called dreidels.

Tu B’shevat

Festival of the Trees

15 Shevat

A festival marking the beginning of spring in Israel, and a celebration of trees and the earth begins when the sap from the fruit trees of Israel begins to rise. It is celebrated by eating fruits and nuts that come from Israel, by planting trees, and by having picnics.

Purim

Feast of Lots

14 Adar II (Feb. / Mar)

Purim commemorates the deliverance of the Jews from a planned massacre at a time when Jewish communities were living under Persian rule in 450 BCE. The story is found in the biblical Book of Esther and is retold during this holiday. In addition to consuming traditional foods such as the hamantaschen, triangular cookies representing the malevolent enemy Haman, Purim is celebrated with costumes and loud noisemakers.

Pesach

Passover

14-22 Nisan (Mar / Apr)

Commonly referred to as Passover, Pesach is a celebration of the biblical Exodus of the Israelites, under the leadership of Moses acting in the name of G-d, from the slavery imposed by the Egyptians.

During Passover, Jews refrain from eating leavened products including bread, cakes, pizza, cereal, and others. The ritual meal, or Seder, is the most important part in the celebration of Pesach.

The Hebrew term Seder means the order in which the events of the Pesach ceremony are carried out.

During the Seder, the symbolism of each traditional food is explained, the events of the Exodus are told, and the Haggadah (a book that recounts the Exodus) is read. Pesach begins on the fifteenth day of the month of Nisan and continues for eight days.

The Seder meal is observed by most Jews worldwide.

Work is not permitted on the first two and last two days of Pesach.

Yom HaShoah

Holocaust Memorial Day

27 Nisan (Apr. / May)

Established to remember the Holocaust and the six million Jews who perished during that dark period in history, Yom HaShoah is commemorated on the anniversary of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. A community-wide observance is held annually.

Yom HaZikaron

Remembrance Day

4 Iyar (Apr. / May)

Occurring the day before Yom Ha’atzmaut, Yom HaZikaron is dedicated to the memory of all who died defending Israel before and after it became a state.

Yom Ha’atzmaut

Independence Day

5 Iyar (Apr. / May)

Commemorating Israel’s independence, Yom Ha’atzmaut recognizes the establishment of Israel, a democratic state and national homeland for the Jewish people, in 1948.

Lag B’Omer

The 33rd Day of the Counting of the Omer

17 Iyar (Apr. / May)

This day serves as a break in the mourning days between Pesach and Shavuot and is held as remembrance of the misfortunes that afflicted the Jewish people during the days of Roman domination as well as during the Crusades of the Middle Ages.

Lag B’Omer serves as a reminder of the faith and courage of Torah scholars during the harsh rule of the Roman conquerors. No special liturgy or synagogue ritual exists for this day, and most people treat it as an ordinary workday.

Yom Yerushalayim

Jerusalem Day

28 Iyar (May / Jun.)

The newest holiday in the Jewish calendar is celebrated each year on the 28th day of the month of Iyar. Yom Yerushalayim marks the anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty in 1967.

Shavuot

Festival of Weeks

6-7 Sivan (May / Jun)

Shavuot recalls G-d’s gifts of the Torah and the giving of the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. The Holy Day commemorates the end of the spring harvest when, in biblical times, Jews brought the first fruits to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Shavuot begins on the fiftieth day after Pesach, the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan (in May or June), and lasts for two days. Consuming dairy foods and using floral decorations are customary ways of celebrating the holiday. Work is not permitted during this two-day festival.

The days between Pesach and Shavuot are seen as days of mourning and are held as a remembrance of the misfortunes that afflicted the Jewish people during the days of Roman domination, as well as during the Crusades of the Middle Ages.

Tisha B’av

Destruction of the Temple

9 Av (Jul. / Aug)

In mid-summer, Jews observe the anniversary of the destruction of the ancient Temple that stood in Jerusalem. Today, Jews still turn toward the direction of Jerusalem when in prayer. Traditional Jews mark the day with a fast of twenty-five hours, from sunset to the following day’s nightfall, with prayers of mourning and with some limitations on usual workday activities.