The Jewish calendar is one of the most distinctive aspects of Jewish life. It structures time around sacred rhythms — weekly Shabbat, monthly new moons, and an annual cycle of holidays that move between joy and solemnity, feasting and fasting, memory and hope. For conversion candidates, understanding the holidays is essential: they will come up in your Beit Din interview, and more importantly, living through them is one of the most powerful ways to internalize what it means to be Jewish.
The Jewish Calendar
The Jewish calendar is lunisolar — it follows the lunar cycle for months but adds a leap month (Adar II) seven times every 19 years to stay aligned with the solar year. This is why Jewish holidays fall on different dates in the Gregorian calendar each year, but always in the same season.
Jewish days begin at nightfall, not midnight. This is why Shabbat begins Friday evening, and why every holiday starts the night before its calendar date. The pattern comes from Genesis: "And there was evening, and there was morning — one day."
| Holiday | Hebrew Date | Gregorian Season | Biblical/Rabbinic | Work Prohibited? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rosh Hashanah | 1–2 Tishrei | Sept–Oct | Biblical | Yes |
| Yom Kippur | 10 Tishrei | Sept–Oct | Biblical | Yes |
| Sukkot | 15–21 Tishrei | Oct | Biblical | First/last days |
| Shemini Atzeret / Simchat Torah | 22–23 Tishrei | Oct | Biblical/Rabbinic | Yes |
| Hanukkah | 25 Kislev – 2/3 Tevet | Nov–Dec | Rabbinic | No |
| Purim | 14 Adar | Feb–Mar | Rabbinic | No |
| Passover | 15–21/22 Nisan | Mar–Apr | Biblical | First/last days |
| Shavuot | 6–7 Sivan | May–Jun | Biblical | Yes |
The High Holidays (Yamim Noraim)
Rosh Hashanah — The Jewish New Year
When: 1-2 Tishrei (usually September/October)
Rosh Hashanah ("Head of the Year") marks the beginning of the Jewish year and the start of the ten Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim). It is simultaneously a joyful new year celebration and a solemn day of divine judgment — tradition holds that God opens the Book of Life on Rosh Hashanah and inscribes the fate of every person for the coming year.
Key customs:
- Shofar (ram's horn) is blown up to 100 times during services
- Tashlich — casting breadcrumbs into flowing water, symbolizing the casting away of sins
- Eating apples and honey for a sweet new year
- Round challah (symbolizing the cycle of life)
- The traditional greeting: Shanah Tovah or L'Shanah Tovah Tikatevu ("May you be inscribed for a good year")
Yom Kippur — The Day of Atonement
When: 10 Tishrei (ten days after Rosh Hashanah)
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year — the day when the divine decree of Rosh Hashanah is sealed. It is a full 25-hour fast (no food or water) dedicated to prayer, repentance, and seeking forgiveness.
Jewish tradition teaches that Yom Kippur atones for sins against God — but not for sins against other people. Before Yom Kippur, Jews are expected to seek forgiveness directly from anyone they have wronged during the year.
Key customs:
- 25-hour fast beginning before sunset
- Five prohibited activities: eating/drinking, bathing for pleasure, wearing leather shoes, anointing with oils, marital relations
- Kol Nidre — the haunting chant that opens the Yom Kippur evening service, annulling unfulfilled personal vows
- Vidui (confession) — recited in the plural throughout the day
- Ne'ilah — the closing prayer service, as the gates of heaven close
- The shofar is blown once at the end of Ne'ilah
Sukkot — The Feast of Tabernacles
When: 15-21 Tishrei (five days after Yom Kippur)
Sukkot ("Tabernacles" or "Booths") is one of the three pilgrimage festivals (shalosh regalim). It commemorates the 40 years the Israelites lived in temporary shelters in the desert after the Exodus, and celebrates the autumn harvest.
Key customs:
- Building and dwelling in a sukkah — a temporary outdoor hut with a roof of natural plant material (schach), through which you should be able to see the stars
- Waving the four species (arba minim): etrog (citron), lulav (palm frond), hadassim (myrtle), and aravot (willow)
- Hoshana Rabbah (the 7th day) — considered the final sealing of the divine decree
- Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah follow immediately after
Simchat Torah
When: 22-23 Tishrei (immediately after Sukkot)
Simchat Torah ("Rejoicing in the Torah") celebrates the completion of the annual Torah reading cycle and its immediate restart. Torah scrolls are taken from the ark and carried in joyful processions (hakafot) around the synagogue, often accompanied by singing and dancing. It is one of the most joyful moments in the Jewish year.
Hanukkah — The Festival of Lights
When: 25 Kislev – 2/3 Tevet (usually November/December)
Hanukkah commemorates the Maccabees' victory over the Seleucid Greeks who had desecrated the Temple (165 BCE), and the miracle of a small flask of oil that burned for eight days — long enough for new oil to be prepared.
Despite its commercial prominence in the United States (due to its proximity to Christmas), Hanukkah is a minor holiday in the Jewish calendar in terms of halachic weight. It has no work prohibitions and is not biblically mandated.
Key customs:
- Lighting the hanukkiah (nine-branched menorah) for eight nights, adding one candle each night
- Placing the hanukkiah where it can be seen to publicize the miracle (pirsumei nisa)
- Eating foods fried in oil: latkes (potato pancakes) and sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts)
- Dreidel (spinning top) with the letters Nun, Gimel, Hey, Shin — "A great miracle happened there" (in Israel: Peh for "here")
Purim — The Festival of Masks
When: 14 Adar (usually February/March)
Purim celebrates the rescue of the Jewish people of ancient Persia from Haman's decree to destroy them, as told in the Megillat Esther (Book of Esther). It is one of the most joyful days in the Jewish calendar.
Key customs:
- Reading the Megillah (Scroll of Esther) twice — on the night and morning of Purim
- Drowning out Haman's name with noise (greggers/ra'ashanim) every time it is mentioned
- Mishloach manot — sending food gifts to friends
- Matanot la'evyonim — giving charity to the poor
- Mishteh — a festive Purim feast
- Dressing in costumes (reflecting the hidden nature of God and Esther's hidden identity)
- Hamantaschen — triangular pastries filled with jam or poppy seeds
Passover (Pesach) — The Festival of Freedom
When: 15-21/22 Nisan (usually March/April)
Passover is the most widely observed Jewish holiday, commemorating the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. Its central commandment is retelling the story of the Exodus to the next generation — "And you shall tell your children on that day" (Exodus 13:8).
Key customs:
- Removing all chametz (leavened grain products) from the home before Pesach
- Bedikat chametz — searching for chametz by candlelight the night before Pesach
- Eating matzah (unleavened bread) throughout the holiday
- The Passover Seder on the first night(s) — a ritual meal using the Haggadah (the telling)
- The Seder plate: maror (bitter herbs), charoset, karpas, zeroa (shankbone), beitzah (egg), chazeret
- Four cups of wine, representing four expressions of redemption
- The afikoman — a hidden piece of matzah ransomed from children at the end of the meal
The Haggadah instructs: "In every generation, each person is obligated to see themselves as if they personally left Egypt." Passover is not just a history lesson — it is an act of identification with the ongoing Jewish story of liberation.
Shavuot — The Feast of Weeks
When: 6-7 Sivan (fifty days after Passover, usually May/June)
Shavuot ("Weeks") marks the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, exactly 50 days after the Exodus. It is the most intellectually oriented of the pilgrimage festivals.
Key customs:
- Staying up all night studying Torah (Tikkun Leil Shavuot)
- Reading the Book of Ruth (Ruth's conversion is a model for Jewish converts)
- Eating dairy foods (cheesecake, blintzes) — various reasons are given
- Synagogue decoration with flowers and greenery
- Confirmation ceremonies in Reform and Conservative synagogues
The Sinai revelation is understood as the moment when Israel collectively "converted" — accepting the Torah and the covenant with God. For this reason, Shavuot has a particular resonance for conversion candidates.
The Fast Days
Beyond Yom Kippur, several minor fast days mark moments of national tragedy:
| Fast Day | Hebrew Date | What It Commemorates | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tisha B'Av | 9 Av | Destruction of both Temples; other tragedies | 25 hours |
| 17 of Tammuz | 17 Tammuz | Breach of Jerusalem's walls | Dawn to nightfall |
| Fast of Gedaliah | 3 Tishrei | Assassination of Gedaliah ben Ahikam | Dawn to nightfall |
| 10 of Tevet | 10 Tevet | Beginning of Nebuchadnezzar's siege | Dawn to nightfall |
| Fast of Esther | 13 Adar | Esther's fast before approaching the king | Dawn to nightfall |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur?
Rosh Hashanah is the New Year — a day of judgment when God "writes" the fate of each person. Yom Kippur, ten days later, is when the judgment is "sealed." Rosh Hashanah is more celebratory (sweet foods, festive meals); Yom Kippur is solemn (25-hour fast, white clothing). Both are required to be understood in depth for a Beit Din.
Why do some holidays last one day in Israel and two days in the diaspora?
This originates from uncertainty about the exact date of the new moon before a fixed calendar was established. To be safe, diaspora communities observed an extra day. Israel and Reform communities generally observe one day; Orthodox and Conservative diaspora communities observe two.
What is the connection between Passover and Shavuot?
The seven weeks between them are called the Omer — a period of counting 49 days from the barley harvest (Passover) to the wheat harvest (Shavuot). Spiritually, it represents the journey from physical liberation (Passover) to spiritual revelation (Shavuot/Sinai). The Omer is counted aloud each night.
Preparing for Your Beit Din
The holidays represent a significant portion of the Beit Din interview. You should be able to name and explain each major holiday, describe key customs, and understand the High Holiday theology. The study sheets on individual holidays go deeper on each one.
Join Judaism's quiz includes dedicated sections on every major holiday — practice regularly to build the confidence you'll need for your Beit Din preparation.
Observance customs vary by Jewish movement and community. This guide presents mainstream traditional practices while noting significant variations where they exist.