Jewish Liturgical Year

Fasts and Feasts

I have started this outline with "Rosh Hashanah," the Jewish feast that celebrates the start of their liturgical New Year.

name	date
7. Tishri
Rosh Hashanah	1-2 Tishri	"Rosh Hashanah" means "Head of the Year." It is the Hebrew way of saying "New Year's Day."
Fast of Gedaliah	3 Tishri
Yom Kippur	10 Tishri	25-hour fast; end of High Holy Days. Five prayer services; public confession of sins.
Sukkot	15 Tishri	Pilgrimage feast. "Feast of Booths" or "Tabernacles."
Hoshanah Rabbah	21 Tishri	"Great Hoshana" or "Great Supplication." End of Sukkot, and last of the Days of Judgment. Seven circuits of the interior of the synagogue are made in procession by the congregation. "I wash my hands in purity and circle around Your altar, O Lord" (Psalms 26:6).
Shemini Atzeret	22 Tishri	"Eighth Day of the Assembly."
Simchat Torah	22 or 23 Tishri	Conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of the next cycle.
8. Cheshvan
9. Kislev
Chanukah	25th Kislev
10. Tevet
Fast of Tevet 10	10 Tevet	A minor fast, from sunrise to sunset. Commemorates the siege of Jersualem that began on 10 Tevet and led to the destruction of Solomon's Temple in 587 BC.
11. Shevat
Tu B'Shevat	15 Shevat	"Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot"--"New Year of the Trees." One of four "New Years" in the Mishnah.
12. Adar
Ta'anit Esther	13 Adar	"Fast of Esther." Dawn until dusk on the eve of Purim. Commemorates three-day fast of the Jews recounted in the book of Esther.
Purim	14 Adar	Commemorates rescue from Haman, as told in the book of Esther.
Shushan Purim	15 Adar	The date for the Purim festival in Jerusalem. Shushan was the capital city of the Persian Empire.
1. Nissan
Passover	15 Nissan
2. Iyar
Second Passover	15 Iyar	"Pesach Sheni." One month after Passover. This gave Jews who could not attend the first Passover a chance to make a Passover sacrifice.
Lag B'Omer	18 Iyar	Literally, "33rd Day in the Counting of the Omer." Anniversary of the death of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. "Scholar's festival." Bonfires and merrymaking.
3. Sivan
Shavuot	6 Sivan	Literally, "Weeks." Seven weeks and one day after Passover (50 days = "Pentecost" in Greek). Festival of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai.
4. Tammuz
Shiv'ah Asar b'Tammuz		The fast of the 17th of Tammuz commemorates the breach of the walls of Jerusalem before the destruction of the Second Temple. It marks the beginning of the three-week mourning period leading up to Tisha B'Av.
5. Av
Tish'a B'Av		Wikipedia, "Tisha B'Av" The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and Second Temple in Jerusalem, which occurred about 655 years apart, but on the same Hebrew calendar date. Although primarily meant to commemorate the destruction of the Temples, it is also considered appropriate to commemorate other Jewish tragedies that occurred on this day, most notably the expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492, one of the concluding events of the Iberian Reconquista. Accordingly, the day has been called the "saddest day in Jewish history." The fast lasts about 25 hours, beginning at sunset on the eve of Tisha B'Av and ending at nightfall the next day. In addition to the prohibitions against eating or drinking, observant Jews also observe prohibitions against washing or bathing, applying creams or oils, wearing leather shoes, and engaging in marital relations. In addition, mourning customs similar to those applicable to the shiva period immediately following the death of a close relative are traditionally followed for at least part of the day, including sitting on low stools, refraining from work and not greeting others.
6. Elul

Jewish Fasting Tradition

"'They had established for themselves and their descendants the matters of the fasts and their cry' (Esther 9:31). This verse actually refers to the four fasts which relate to mourning for the Temple."

Links

• Jewish Holiday Listing for 2012.
• Wikipedia, "Hebrew calendar."