Ben Michelson
[email protected]
| Major Festivals | Minor Festivals | Fast Days |
| SHabat | Tu biSHvat | Yom Kippur |
| Pesach | Purim | Tisha b'Av |
| SHavu'ot | Rosh CHodesh | 10 Tevet |
| Sukot | 17 Tammuz | |
| SHmini Atseret | Fast of Esther | |
| Simchat Torah | Fast of Gedalia | |
| Fast of the Firstborns |
| English name | The new year of the trees |
| Importance | Very Minor Festival |
| Greeting | There is no special greeting for this day |
| Commemorates | The beginning of the agricultural year in Israel |
| Main Observances | Eating fruit |
| Hebrew Date | 15th of SHvat |
| Season | Early spring |
| Length | 1 day |
| Gift Ideas | Fruit basket, Dried fruit, Nuts |
| English Name | Feast of Esther |
| Importance | Minor Festival |
| Hebrew Greeting | CHag Samei'ach
CHag Purim Samei'ach |
| English Greeting | Happy Purim |
| Yiddish Greeting | A Freil'che Purim |
| Commemorates | The saving of the Jewish people
as told in the book of Esther |
| Main Observances | Reading the scroll of Esther
Giving gifts to the poor Sharing food with friends |
| Hebrew date | 14 Adar
15 Adar in Jerusalem et al |
| Length | 1 day |
| Season | Early spring |
| Gift Ideas | Prepared food (Kosher only)
For children, small change - known as Ma'ot Purim |
| English Name | Passover |
| Importance | Major Festival |
| Hebrew Greeting | CHag Samei'ach
CHag Samei'ach v'Kasher |
| English Greeting | Happy Passover |
| Yiddish Greeting | Gut Yom Tov |
| Commemorates | Freedom from slavery in Egypt |
| Main Observances | Seder on first night(s) of Passover
All leavened (i.e. normal) bread is forbidden Eating Matsah (unleavened bread) Practices common to all major festivals |
| Date | 15 Nissan |
| Length | 8 days (7 in Israel)
The first and last 2 (1 in Israel) days are major festivals The rest are minor festival |
| Season | Spring |
| Gift Ideas | Flowers * |
| Importance | Major Festival |
| Also pronounced | Shavu'os |
| English | Pentecost, Feast of Weeks |
| Hebrew Greeting | CHag Samei'ach |
| Yiddish Greeting | Gut Yom Tov |
| English Greeting | Happy Holiday |
| Commemorates | Moses receiving the Bible at Mount Sinai |
| Main observances | Eating dairy foods
Practices common to all major festivals |
| Date | 50 days after first day of Pesach |
| Season | Early Summer |
| Length | 2 days (1 in Israel) |
| Gift ideas | Flowers * |
| Importance | Major day of fasting |
| English | The 9th of Av |
| Greeting | There is no greeting for this day. |
| Commemorates | The destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem |
| Main observances | Fasting
Reading the book of Lamentations |
| Date | The 9th of Av |
| Season | Summer |
| Gift ideas | Gifts are inappropriate |
| Importance | Major Festival |
| English | The Jewish New Year |
| Hebrew Greetings | SHana Tova
l'SHana Tova Tikateivu v'Teichateimu |
| English Greetings | Happy New Year
May you be written and inscribed for a good and happy new year Practices common to all major festivals |
| Commemorates | The Jewish new year |
| Main Observances | |
| Date | 1 Tishrei |
| Season | Autumn |
| Length | 2 days |
| Gift ideas | Flowers *
Fresh fruit basket with exotic fruit |
| Importance | The most serious day on the Jewish calendar |
| English | The Day of Atonement |
| Hebrew Greeting | G'mar Chatima Tova |
| English Greeting | May you be inscribed for a good year |
| Commemorates | Judgment by God |
| Main Observances | Fasting
Prayer "Work" (as expounded by the Rabbis) is forbidden |
| Date | 10 Tishrei |
| Length | 1 day |
| Gift ideas | Gifts may be considered inappropriate |
| Importance | Major Festival |
| Also pronounced | Sukkos |
| English | Festival of Tabernacles (Booths) |
| Hebrew Greeting | CHag Samei'ach |
| Yiddish Greeting | Gut Yom Tov |
| English Greeting | Happy holiday |
| Commemorates | The Israelites wandering 40 years in the desert |
| Main observances | Eating in temporary booths built especially for the holiday
Taking a palm, citron, willow and myrtle together Practices common to all major festivals |
| Date | 15 Tishrei |
| Season | Autumn |
| Length | 7 days
The first 2 days (1 day in Israel) are major festivals The rest are minor festival |
| Gift ideas | Flowers *
Fresh fruit basket |
| Importance | Major Festival |
| Also Pronounced | SHmini Atseres |
| English | |
| Hebrew greeting | CHag Samei'ach |
| Yiddish Greeting | Gut Yom Tov |
| English Greeting | Happy holiday |
| Commemorates | nothing |
| Date | 22 Tishrei (immediately after Sukot) |
| Length | 1 day |
| Gift ideas | Flowers *
Fresh fruit basket |
| Importance | Major Festival |
| Also Pronounced | Simchas Torah |
| English | |
| Hebrew greeting | CHag Samei'ach |
| Yiddish Greeting | Gut Yom Tov |
| English Greeting | Happy holiday |
| Commemorates | Completing the yearly reading of the 5 books of Moses |
| Main observances | Celebrating with song and dance,
especially while carrying the Torah Scroll |
| Date | 23 Tishrei (22 Tishrei in Israel where Simchat
Torah and
SHmini Atseret come out on the same day) |
| Length | 1 day |
| Gift ideas | Fresh fruit basket |
| Importance | Minor festival |
| Also written | Hanukkah, Hanukah, Chanukah, etc. |
| English | Festival of lights |
| Hebrew Greeting | CHag Urim Samei'ach
CHag Samei'ach |
| English Greeting | Happy CHanukah |
| Commemorates | The rededication of the first temple in Jerusalem |
| Main Observances | Lighting candles visible from outside the house
each eve of the holiday |
| Date | 25 CHeshvan |
| Season | Winter |
| Length | 8 days |
| Gift ideas | Toys for children
[safe, quiet, non bulky and not messy only] |
| Importance | The central holy day of the Jewish calendar |
| Also Called | SHabbes |
| English | Sabbath |
| Hebrew Greeting | SHabat SHalom (when SHabat is over - SHavu'a Tov) |
| English Greeting | Have a good Sabbath |
| Yiddish Greeting | Gut Shabbes |
| Commemorates | God resting on the seventh day of creation |
| Main Observances | Practices common to all major festivals |
| Date | Every Saturday |
| Gift ideas | Flowers ** |
| Importance | Minor celebration |
| English | The new moon |
| Hebrew Greeting | CHodesh Tov |
| English Greeting | |
| Yiddish Greeting | |
| Commemorates | The new Hebrew month |
| Main observances | none |
| Date | The time of the new moon
(i.e. The first day the moon waxes) |
| Note | Rosh CHodesh is not celebrated
in the month of Tishrei since this day coincides with Rosh haShana |
| Length | 1 or 2 days - depending on the month and year. |
| Gift ideas | Since this is a minor celebration and it occurs
monthly gifts are not normally given |
| Name | Time of Occurrence | Commemorates |
| 10 Tevet | Winter | The beginning of the Roman
siege on Jerusalem |
| 17 Tammuz | Summer | The Romans breaching
the walls of Jerusalem |
| Fast of Esther | 13 Adar
(Day before Purim) |
The Jews fasting
before fighting their enemies (as described in the book of Esther) |
| Fast of Gedalia | 3 Tishrei
(Day after Rosh haSHana) |
Commemorates the assassination
of Gedalia |
| Fast of the firstborns
*** |
14 Nissan
(Day before Pesach) |
God sparing the Israelite firstborns,
while slaying the Egyptian firstborns with the 10th plague |
| ch | As in the German 'nacht' or the Spanish 'Julio' or 'Mexico' |
| a | As in 'la' |
| e | As in 'let' |
| ei | As in 'eight' |
| i | As in 'ski' |
| o | As in 'ode' |
| u | As in 'too' |
| g | Hard 'g' as in 'good' |
| ' | The Apostrophe is used as a short 'i' sound as in 'bit'
as well as to separate between two vowel sounds. |
I use capital letters in the transliteration to show the first root
sound of the word.
** Flowers should be brought or delivered well before Sunset on Friday