Jewish Holidays and Festivals. Explanations, observances, study, guide and multimedia to all major and minor Jewish holidays and fast days. Upcoming Jewish Holiday Purim Begins sunset of Wednesday, March 16, 2022 Ends nightfall of Thursday, March 17, 2022 Work should be avoided.Consult a Rabbi if this is not possible. Ta’anit Esther – March 16, 2022 Shushan Purim – March 18, 2022 Purim celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from the wicked Haman in the days of Queen Esther of Persia. Passover Begins sunset of Friday, April 15, 2022 Ends nightfall of Saturday, April 23, 2022 No work permitted on April 16 – 17 and April 22 – 23. Work is permitted only on April 18 – 21 with certain restrictions . Yizkor is recited on Passover, Saturday, April 23 Dates listed are for outside Israel. Passover (Pesach) celebrates the deliverance of the Jewish people from slavery in Egypt. Our Passover megasite has tools, guides, insights, stories, inspiration—and just about everything you need to celebrate Passover. (But bring your own wine.) Second Passover Sunday, May 15, 2022 Work permitted Thirty days ago we cleaned our homes and souls of leaven, and matzahed our way through the week-long festival of Passover. And now, Pesach Sheni—a second Passover experience! Lag B’Omer Thursday, May 19, 2022 Work permitted Sefirat HaOmer – April 16 – June 4, 2022 Lag BaOmer is a festive day on the Jewish calendar, celebrating the anniversary of the passing of the great sage and mystic Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, author of the Zohar. It also commemorates the end of a plague that raged amongst the disciples of the great sage Rabbi Akiva. On Lag BaOmer the dying ceased. Shavuot Begins sunset of Saturday, June 4, 2022 Ends nightfall of Monday, June 6, 2022 No work is permitted. Yizkor is recited on Shavuot, Monday, June 6 Dates listed are for outside Israel. Shavuot marks the giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. The Ten Commandments are read in synagogues, just as they were in the desert on Mt. Sinai over 3,300 years ago. The Three Weeks Saturday, July 16, 2022 through Sunday, August 7, 2022 Work permitted, except Shabbat Fast of the 17th of Tammuz – July 17, 2022 Fast of Tish’a B’Av – August 6 – 7, 2022 The “Three Weeks” and Tisha B’Av are designated as a time of mourning over the destruction of the Holy Temple and the galut (exile). The 15th of Av Friday, August 12, 2022 Work permitted Our sages proclaimed the 15th of Av as one of the two greatest festivals of the year, yet they ordained no special observances or celebrations for it . . . Rosh Hashanah Begins sunset of Sunday, September 25, 2022 Ends nightfall of Tuesday, September 27, 2022 No work is permitted. The Month of Elul – August 28 – September 25, 2022 Fast of Gedaliah – September 28, 2022 Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. It is the anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, and a day of judgment and coronation of G‑d as king. Yom Kippur Begins sunset of Tuesday, October 4, 2022 Ends nightfall of Wednesday, October 5, 2022 No work is permitted. Yizkor is recited on Yom Kippur, Wednesday, October 5 Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the year—the day on which we are closest to G‑d and to the quintessence of our own souls. It is the Day of Atonement—“For on this day He will forgive you, to purify you, that you be cleansed from all your sins before G‑d” (Leviticus 16:30). Sukkot Begins sunset of Sunday, October 9, 2022 Ends nightfall of Sunday, October 16, 2022 No work permitted on October 10 – 11. Work is permitted on October 12 – 14 and October 16 with certain restrictions. . Hoshanah Rabbah – October 16, 2022 Dates listed are for outside Israel. The seven days of Sukkot—celebrated by dwelling in the sukkah, taking the Four Kinds, and rejoicing—is the holiday when we expose ourselves to the elements in covered huts, commemorating G‑d’s sheltering our ancestors as they traveled from Egypt to the Promised Land. The Four Kinds express our unity and our belief in G‑d’s omnipresence. Coming after the solemn High Holidays, it is a time of joy and happiness Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah Begins sunset of Sunday, October 16, 2022 Ends nightfall of Tuesday, October 18, 2022 No work is permitted. Yizkor is recited on Shemini Atzeret, Monday, October 17 Dates listed are for outside Israel. Following the seven joyous days of Sukkot, comes the happy holiday known as Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah. Chanukah Begins sunset of Sunday, December 18, 2022 Ends nightfall of Monday, December 26, 2022 Work permitted, except Shabbat Chanukah commemorates the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem after a group of Jewish warriors defeated the occupying mighty Greek armies. Fast of Tevet 10 Begins sunrise of Tuesday, January 3, 2023 Ends nightfall of Tuesday, January 3, 2023 Work permitted On Asarah B’Tevet, the 10th day of the Jewish month of Tevet, in the year 3336 from Creation (425 BCE), the armies of the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem. Asarah B’Tevet (this year, December 14, 2021) is observed as a day of fasting, mourning and repentance. 15 Shevat Monday, February 6, 2023 Work permitted The 15th of Shevat on the Jewish calendar is the day that marks the beginning of a “new year” for trees. Related