Jewish Liturgical Year
Fasts and Feasts
name | date | |
---|---|---|
7. Tishri | ||
Rosh Hashanah | 1-2 Tishri | |
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 | ||
Fast of the 17th of Tammuz | ||
5. Av | ||
Fast of Tish'a B'Av | ||
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."[1]