Here is a calendar of upcoming events, up and down the country. Some are organized by us, others by like-minded organizations and groups.
Passover or Pesach (/ˈpɛsɑːx, ˈpeɪsɑːx/;[4] from Hebrew פֶּסַח Pesah, Pesakh), is an important, biblically-derived Jewish holiday. Jews celebrate Passover as a commemoration of their liberation by God from slavery in ancient Egypt and their freedom as a nation under the leadership of Moses. It commemorates the story of the Exodus as described in the Hebrew Bible, especially in the Book of Exodus, in which the Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. According to standard biblical chronology, this event would have taken place at about 1300 BCE (AM 2450).[5]
Passover is a spring festival which during the existence of the Temple in Jerusalem was connected to the offering of the “first-fruits of the barley”, barley being the first grain to ripen and to be harvested in the Land of Israel.[6]
Passover commences on the 15th of the Hebrew month of Nisan and lasts for either seven days (in Israel and for Reform Jews and other progressive Jews around the world who adhere to the Biblical commandment) or eight days for Orthodox, Hasidic, and most Conservative Jews (in the diaspora).[7][8] In Judaism, a day commences at dusk and lasts until the following dusk, thus the first day of Passover only begins after dusk of the 14th of Nisan and ends at dusk of the 15th day of the month of Nisan. The rituals unique to the Passover celebrations commence with the Passover Seder when the 15th of Nisan has begun. In the Northern Hemisphere Passover takes place in spring as the Torah prescribes it: “in the month of [the] spring” (בחדש האביב Exodus 23:15). It is one of the most widely observed Jewish holidays.
In the narrative of the Exodus, the Bible tells that God helped the Children of Israel escape from their slavery in Egypt by inflicting ten plagues upon the ancient Egyptians before the Pharaoh would release his Israelite slaves; the tenth and worst of the plagues was the death of the Egyptian first-born.
The Israelites were instructed to mark the doorposts of their homes with the blood of a slaughtered spring lamb and, upon seeing this, the spirit of the Lord knew to pass over the first-born in these homes, hence the English name of the holiday.[9]
When the Pharaoh freed the Israelites, it is said that they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread dough to rise (leaven). In commemoration, for the duration of Passover no leavened bread is eaten, for which reason Passover was called the feast of unleavened bread in the Torah or Old Testament.[10] Thus matzo (flat unleavened bread) is eaten during Passover and it is a tradition of the holiday.
Historically, together with Shavuot (“Pentecost”) and Sukkot (“Tabernacles”), Passover is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Shalosh Regalim) during which the entire population of the kingdom of Judah made a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.[11] Samaritans still make this pilgrimage to Mount Gerizim, but only men participate in public worship.[12][13]
Shavuot is a moed (appointed time) mandated as a commandment of God. It is also called the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost.
Shavuot has a double significance. It marks the all-important wheat harvest in the Land of Israel (Exodus 34:22); and it commemorates the anniversary of the day God gave the Torah to the entire nation of Israel assembled at Mount Sinai, although the association between the giving of the Torah (Matan Torah) and Shavuot is not explicit in the Biblical text.
The holiday is one of the Shalosh Regalim, the three Biblical pilgrimage festivals. It marks the conclusion of the Counting of the Omer, and its date is directly linked to that of Passover. The Torah mandates the seven-week Counting of the Omer, beginning on the second day of Passover, to be immediately followed by Shavuot. This counting of days and weeks is understood to express anticipation and desire for the giving of the Torah. On Passover, the people of Israel were freed from their enslavement to Pharaoh; on Shavuot they were given the Torah and became a nation committed to serving God.[2] The word Shavuot means weeks, and the festival of Shavuot marks the completion of the seven-week counting period between Passover and Shavuot. The yahrzeit of King David is traditionally observed on Shavuot. Hasidic Jews also observe the yahrzeit of the Baal Shem Tov.[3]
Shavuot is one of the less familiar Jewish holidays to secular Jews in the Jewish diaspora, while those in Israel as well as the Orthodox community are more aware of it.[4][5] According to Jewish law, Shavuot is celebrated in Israel for one day and in the Diaspora (outside of Israel) for two days. Reform Judaism celebrates only one day, even in the Diaspora.[6]
On the first day of the seventh month hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. It is a day for you to sound the trumpets.
Numbers 29:1
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year festival and commemorates the creation of the world. It lasts 2 days. The traditional greeting between Jews is “L’shanah tovah” … “for a good New Year”.
Rosh Hashanah is also a judgement day, when Jews believe that God balances a person’s good deeds over the last year against their bad deeds, and decides what the next year will be like for them.
God records the judgement in the Book of Life, where he sets out who is going to live, who is going to die, who will have a good time and who will have a bad time during the next year. The book and the judgement are finally sealed on Yom Kippur.
That’s why another traditional Rosh Hashanah greeting is “Be inscribed and sealed for a good year” .
In the synagogue
A lot of time is spent in the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah, when there are special services that emphasise God’s kingship.
One of the synagogue rituals for Rosh Hashanah is the blowing of the Shofar, a ram’s horn trumpet. A hundred notes are sounded in a special rhythm.
In the Home
New Year isn’t only celebrated in the synagogue, but at home too. A special meal is served, with the emphasis on sweetness.
Apples are dipped in honey, as a symbol of the sweet New Year that each Jew hopes lies ahead. A sweet carrot stew called a tzimmes is often served.
And at New Year the Jewish Hallah (or Challah) bread served comes as a round loaf, rather than the plaited loaf served on the Sabbath, so as to symbolise a circle of life and of the year.
There’s often a pomegranate on the table because of a tradition that pomegranates have 613 seeds, one for each of the commandments that a Jew is obliged to keep.
Yom Kippur (/ˌjɒm
Source: Wikipedia
Sukkot (Hebrew: סוכות or סֻכּוֹת, sukkōt), commonly translated as Festival of Tabernacles (traditional Ashkenazi spelling Sukkos/Succos) also known as Chag HaAsif (חג האסיף), the Festival of Ingathering, is a biblical Jewish holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the seventh month, Tishrei (varies from late September to late October). During the existence of the Jerusalem Temple, it was one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Hebrew: שלוש רגלים, shalosh regalim) on which the Israelites were commanded to perform a pilgrimage to the Temple.
The names used in the Torah are Chag HaAsif, translated to “Festival of Ingathering” or “Harvest Festival”, and Chag HaSukkot, translated to “Festival of Booths”.[5] This corresponds to the double significance of Sukkot. The one mentioned in the Book of Exodus is agricultural in nature—”Festival of Ingathering at the year’s end” (Exodus 34:22)—and marks the end of the harvest time and thus of the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. The more elaborate religious significance from the Book of Leviticus is that of commemorating the Exodus and the dependence of the People of Israel on the will of God (Leviticus 23:42–43).
The holiday lasts seven days in Israel and eight in the diaspora. The first day (and second day in the diaspora) is a Shabbat-like holiday when work is forbidden. This is followed by intermediate days called Chol Hamoed, when certain work is permitted. The festival is closed with another Shabbat-like holiday called Shemini Atzeret (one day in Israel, two days in the diaspora, where the second day is called Simchat Torah). Shemini Atzeret coincides with the eighth day of Sukkot outside Israel.
The Hebrew word sukkōt is the plural of sukkah, “booth” or “tabernacle“, which is a walled structure covered with s’chach (plant material, such as overgrowth or palm leaves). A sukkah is the name of the temporary dwelling in which farmers would live during harvesting, a fact connecting to the agricultural significance of the holiday stressed by the Book of Exodus. As stated in Leviticus, it is also intended as a reminiscence of the type of fragile dwellings in which the Israelites dwelt during their 40 years of travel in the desert after the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. Throughout the holiday, meals are eaten inside the sukkah and many people sleep there as well.
On each day of the holiday it is mandatory to perform a waving ceremony with the Four Species.
Source: Wikipedia
Shemini Atzeret (שמיני עצרת – “the Eighth [day] of Assembly”) is a Jewish holiday. It 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 into a single day and the names are used interchangeably.
Simchat Torah or Simḥath Torah (also Simkhes Toreh, Hebrew: שִׂמְחַת תורָה, lit., “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 festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (mid-September to early October on the Gregorian calendar).
Auschwitz
Why We Remember: The Enduring Significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Every year on January 27, the world pauses to honor the memory of the six million Jews and millions of others murdered during the Holocaust. This date—marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945—was chosen by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. But this day is more than a historical marker; it is a solemn call to remembrance, education, and vigilance.
A Day of Memory and Meaning
The Holocaust was not only a genocide—it was a systematic attempt to erase entire communities based on ethnicity, religion, disability, and identity. Jews, Roma, disabled individuals, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, LGBTQ+ people, and others were targeted in one of history’s darkest chapters.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day ensures that this horror is never forgotten. It’s a day to remember the victims, honor the survivors, and confront the ideologies that made such atrocities possible.
More Than a Memorial
This day is also a global educational mandate. The UN urges all nations to develop programs that teach the lessons of the Holocaust, combat antisemitism, and challenge all forms of hatred and intolerance. In a world where misinformation and denial still circulate, remembrance is resistance.
Each year, the UN and countries around the world host commemorative events—featuring survivor testimonies, exhibitions, and reflections on justice, resilience, and human dignity. Themes often focus on survivor legacies, youth education, or the role of justice in healing.
Why It Still Matters
In an age of rising extremism and polarization, the lessons of the Holocaust are more urgent than ever. This day reminds us that genocide doesn’t begin with gas chambers—it begins with words, with dehumanization, with silence in the face of hate.
Remembering is not passive. It’s an act of moral courage. It’s how we say, with conviction: Never Again.
Related Observances
While International Holocaust Remembrance Day is globally recognized, many Jewish communities also observe Yom HaShoah in April or May. This day focuses more specifically on Jewish resistance and mourning, often marked by sirens, silence, and public readings of names.
Let us remember not only what was lost, but what must be protected: truth, dignity, and the humanity of all people.
Auschwitz
Why We Remember: The Enduring Significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Every year on January 27, the world pauses to honor the memory of the six million Jews and millions of others murdered during the Holocaust. This date—marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945—was chosen by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. But this day is more than a historical marker; it is a solemn call to remembrance, education, and vigilance.
A Day of Memory and Meaning
The Holocaust was not only a genocide—it was a systematic attempt to erase entire communities based on ethnicity, religion, disability, and identity. Jews, Roma, disabled individuals, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, LGBTQ+ people, and others were targeted in one of history’s darkest chapters.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day ensures that this horror is never forgotten. It’s a day to remember the victims, honor the survivors, and confront the ideologies that made such atrocities possible.
More Than a Memorial
This day is also a global educational mandate. The UN urges all nations to develop programs that teach the lessons of the Holocaust, combat antisemitism, and challenge all forms of hatred and intolerance. In a world where misinformation and denial still circulate, remembrance is resistance.
Each year, the UN and countries around the world host commemorative events—featuring survivor testimonies, exhibitions, and reflections on justice, resilience, and human dignity. Themes often focus on survivor legacies, youth education, or the role of justice in healing.
Why It Still Matters
In an age of rising extremism and polarization, the lessons of the Holocaust are more urgent than ever. This day reminds us that genocide doesn’t begin with gas chambers—it begins with words, with dehumanization, with silence in the face of hate.
Remembering is not passive. It’s an act of moral courage. It’s how we say, with conviction: Never Again.
Related Observances
While International Holocaust Remembrance Day is globally recognized, many Jewish communities also observe Yom HaShoah in April or May. This day focuses more specifically on Jewish resistance and mourning, often marked by sirens, silence, and public readings of names.
Let us remember not only what was lost, but what must be protected: truth, dignity, and the humanity of all people.
Auschwitz
Why We Remember: The Enduring Significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Every year on January 27, the world pauses to honor the memory of the six million Jews and millions of others murdered during the Holocaust. This date—marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945—was chosen by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. But this day is more than a historical marker; it is a solemn call to remembrance, education, and vigilance.
A Day of Memory and Meaning
The Holocaust was not only a genocide—it was a systematic attempt to erase entire communities based on ethnicity, religion, disability, and identity. Jews, Roma, disabled individuals, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, LGBTQ+ people, and others were targeted in one of history’s darkest chapters.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day ensures that this horror is never forgotten. It’s a day to remember the victims, honor the survivors, and confront the ideologies that made such atrocities possible.
More Than a Memorial
This day is also a global educational mandate. The UN urges all nations to develop programs that teach the lessons of the Holocaust, combat antisemitism, and challenge all forms of hatred and intolerance. In a world where misinformation and denial still circulate, remembrance is resistance.
Each year, the UN and countries around the world host commemorative events—featuring survivor testimonies, exhibitions, and reflections on justice, resilience, and human dignity. Themes often focus on survivor legacies, youth education, or the role of justice in healing.
Why It Still Matters
In an age of rising extremism and polarization, the lessons of the Holocaust are more urgent than ever. This day reminds us that genocide doesn’t begin with gas chambers—it begins with words, with dehumanization, with silence in the face of hate.
Remembering is not passive. It’s an act of moral courage. It’s how we say, with conviction: Never Again.
Related Observances
While International Holocaust Remembrance Day is globally recognized, many Jewish communities also observe Yom HaShoah in April or May. This day focuses more specifically on Jewish resistance and mourning, often marked by sirens, silence, and public readings of names.
Let us remember not only what was lost, but what must be protected: truth, dignity, and the humanity of all people.
Auschwitz
Why We Remember: The Enduring Significance of International Holocaust Remembrance Day
Every year on January 27, the world pauses to honor the memory of the six million Jews and millions of others murdered during the Holocaust. This date—marking the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau in 1945—was chosen by the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 as International Holocaust Remembrance Day. But this day is more than a historical marker; it is a solemn call to remembrance, education, and vigilance.
A Day of Memory and Meaning
The Holocaust was not only a genocide—it was a systematic attempt to erase entire communities based on ethnicity, religion, disability, and identity. Jews, Roma, disabled individuals, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, LGBTQ+ people, and others were targeted in one of history’s darkest chapters.
International Holocaust Remembrance Day ensures that this horror is never forgotten. It’s a day to remember the victims, honor the survivors, and confront the ideologies that made such atrocities possible.
More Than a Memorial
This day is also a global educational mandate. The UN urges all nations to develop programs that teach the lessons of the Holocaust, combat antisemitism, and challenge all forms of hatred and intolerance. In a world where misinformation and denial still circulate, remembrance is resistance.
Each year, the UN and countries around the world host commemorative events—featuring survivor testimonies, exhibitions, and reflections on justice, resilience, and human dignity. Themes often focus on survivor legacies, youth education, or the role of justice in healing.
Why It Still Matters
In an age of rising extremism and polarization, the lessons of the Holocaust are more urgent than ever. This day reminds us that genocide doesn’t begin with gas chambers—it begins with words, with dehumanization, with silence in the face of hate.
Remembering is not passive. It’s an act of moral courage. It’s how we say, with conviction: Never Again.
Related Observances
While International Holocaust Remembrance Day is globally recognized, many Jewish communities also observe Yom HaShoah in April or May. This day focuses more specifically on Jewish resistance and mourning, often marked by sirens, silence, and public readings of names.
Let us remember not only what was lost, but what must be protected: truth, dignity, and the humanity of all people.