Holidays Event Calendar 5776 (2015-2016)
| ROSH HASHANAH Rosh HaShanah (literally, "Head of the Year") refers to the celebration of the Jewish New Year. The holiday is observed on the first day of the Hebrew month of Tishrei. | Sept. 13-15, 2015 |
| YOM KIPPUR Yom Kippur is the "Day of Atonement" and refers to the annual Jewish observance of fasting, prayer and repentance. This is considered to be the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. | Sept. 22-23, 2015 |
| SUKKOT / HOSHANA RABA /SHMINI ATZERET Sukkot, a Hebrew word meaning "booths" or "huts", refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest as well as the commemoration of the forty years of Jewish wandering in the desert after Sinai. The last two days of Sukkot are called Hoshana Raba and Shmini Atzeret. | Sept. 27-Oct. 5, 2015 |
| SIMCHAT TORAH Simchat Torah, Hebrew for "rejoicing in the Law", celebrates the completion of the annual reading of the Torah. Simchat Torah is a joyous festival, in which we affirm our view of the Torah as a tree of life and demonstrate a living example of never-ending, lifelong study. | Oct. 5-6, 2015 |
| CHANUKKAH Chanukkah, meaning "dedication" in Hebrew refers to the joyous eight-day celebration during which Jews commemorate the victory of the Macabees over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and "rededication" of the Temple in Jerusalem. | Dec. 6-14, 2015 |
| TU B'SH'VAT Tu B'Sh'vat or the "New Year of the Trees" is Jewish Arbor Day. The holiday is observed on the fifteenth (tu) of Sh'vat. Scholars believe that Tu BiSh'vat was originally an agricultural festival, marking the emergence of spring. | Jan. 24-25, 2016 |
| PURIM Purim is celebrated by the reading of the Scroll of Esther, known in Hebrew as the Megillat Esther, which relates the basic story of Purim. | Mar. 23-24, 2016 |
| PESACH Pesach, known as Passover in English, is a major Jewish spring festival, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt over 3,000 years ago. The ritual observance of this holiday centers around a special home service called the seder (meaning "order") and a festive meal; the prohibition of chametz (leaven); and the eating of matzah (an unleavened bread). | Apr. 23-30, 2016 |
| YOM HASHOAH Yom HaShoah, also known as Holocaust Remembrance Day, occurs on the 27th of Nissan. "Shoah", which means catastrophe or utter destruction in Hebrew, refers to the atrocities that were committed against the Jewish people during World War II. This is a memorial day for those who died in the Shoah. | May 4-5, 2016 |
| YOM HAZIKARON Israel's Memorial Day. Israel Independence Day (YOM HA'ATZMA-UT) celebrates the anniversary of the establishment of the State of Israel. The day preceding this celebration is devoted to the memory of those who gave their lives for the achievement of the country's independence and its continued existence. | May 10-11, 2016 |
| YOM HA'ATZMA-UT Yom Ha'atzma-ut, Israeli Independence Day, marks the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. It is observed on the 5th of Iyar. | May 11-12, 2016 |
| LAG B'OMER Lag Ba'Omer is the shorthand way of saying the thirty-third day of the omer. It is celebrated to commemorate the day a plague ended in which thousands of students of Rabbi Akiba, a Talmudic scholar, died during the Counting of the Omer. The period of counting is traditionally observed as a period of mourning. The mourning, however, is set aside on Lag Ba'Omer, making it day of special joy and festivity. | May 25-26, 2016 |
| SHAVUOT Shavuot is a Hebrew word meaning "weeks" and refers to the Jewish festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. | June 11-13, 2016 |
| TISHA B'AV Tishah B'Av, which means the "Ninth of Av", refers to a traditional day of mourning the destruction of both ancient Temples in Jerusalem. | Aug. 13-14, 2016 |
