Jewish holidays, also known as Jewish festivals or Yamim Tovim (, or singular , in transliterated Hebrew []),"yom tov". Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary. are holidays observed by Jews throughout the Hebrew calendar.This article focuses on practices of mainstream Rabbinic Judaism. Karaite Jews and Samaritans also observe the biblical festivals, but not in an identical fashion and not always at exactly the same time. They include religious, cultural and national elements, derived from four sources: mitzvot ("biblical commandments"), rabbinic mandates, the history of Judaism, and the State of Israel.
Jewish holidays occur on the same dates every year in the Hebrew calendar, but the dates vary in the Gregorian. This is because the Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar (based on the cycles of both the sun and moon), whereas the Gregorian is a solar calendar. Each holiday can only occur on certain days of the week, four for most, but five for holidays in Tevet and Shevat and six for Hanukkah (see Days of week on Hebrew calendar). + Date ranges for Jewish holidaysValid at least from 1999 to 2050. Outside this period the ranges for the holidays in the months from Kislev to Adar I might be slightly larger. After 2089 the early dates will be a day later, and after 2213 the last dates will be a day later. Holiday Date range Rosh Hashanah5 Sep to 5 Oct Yom Kippur14 Sep to 14 Oct Sukkot (first of seven days) 19 Sep to 19 Oct Shemini Atzeret 26 Sep to 26 Oct Simchat Torah 27 Sep to 27 Oct Hanukkah (first of eight days) 28 Nov to 27 Dec Tu Bishvat 15 Jan to 13 Feb Purim 24 Feb to 26 Mar Shushan Purim 25 Feb to 27 Mar Pesach (first of seven/eight days) 26 Mar to 25 Apr Yom HaShoah 8 AprPossibly April 6 or 7, but not in 1999–2050. to 7 MayPossibly 8 May, but not in 1999–2050. Yom Ha'atzmaut 15 AprPossibly 14 April, but not in 1999–2050. to 15 MayPossibly 16 May, but not in 1999–2050. Lag B'Omer 28 Apr to 28 MayYom Yerushalayim 8 May to 7 Jun Shavuot 15 May to 14 Jun Tzom Tammuz 25 Jun to 25 Jul Tisha B'Av 16 Jul to 15 Aug Tu B'Av 22 Jul to 21 Aug
General concepts
Groupings Certain terms are used very commonly for groups of holidays. The Hebrew-language term Yom Tov (), sometimes referred to as "festival day", usually refers to the six biblically mandated festival dates on which all activities prohibited on Shabbat are prohibited, except for some related to food preparation.Mishneh Torah, Moshe ben Maimon, vol. 1, Jerusalem, 1974, s.v. Shevitat Yom-Tov 1:1 (Hebrew). These include the first and seventh days of Passover (the Feast of Unleavened Bread / the Feast of Matzot – Exodus 23:15, Deuteronomy 16:16), [first day of] Shavuot, both days of Rosh Hashanah, first day of Sukkot, and [first day of] Shemini Atzeret. By extension, outside the Land of Israel, the second-day holidays known under the rubric Yom tov sheni shel galuyot (literally, "Second Yom Tov of the Diaspora")—including Simchat Torah—are also included in this grouping. Colloquially, Yom Kippur, a biblically mandated date on which even food preparation is prohibited, is often included in this grouping. The tradition of keeping two days of Yom Tov in the diaspora has existed since roughly 300 BCE. The English-language term High Holy Days or High Holidays refers to Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur collectively. Its Hebrew analogue, "Days of Awe" (), is more flexible: it can refer just to those holidays, or to the Ten Days of Repentance, or the entire penitential period, starting as early as the beginning of Elul, and (more rarely) ending as late as Shemini Atzeret. The term Three Pilgrimage Festivals ( or ḥaġim) refers to Passover (the Feast of Unleavened Bread / Feast of Matzot), Shavuot and Sukkot. Within this grouping, Sukkot normally includes Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah. Ma'agal Hashana (; "year cycle"), a more general term, is often used – especially in educational settingsKodesh Studies, Yeshiva College of South AfricaMa'agal Hashanah, chinuch.org – to refer to the overall study of the Jewish calendar, outlining the month by month events, with mitzvot and minhagim, and philosophical material, that occur over the year.
Terminology used to describe holidays Certain terminology is used in referring to different categories of holidays, depending on their source and their nature:
Shabbat () (Ashkenazi pron. from Yiddish shabbos), or Sabbath, is referred to by that name exclusively. Similarly, Rosh Chodesh () is referred to by that name exclusively. Yom tov () (Ashkenazi pron. from Yid. yontif) (lit., "good day"): See "Groupings" above. Moed () ("festive season"), plural moadim (), refers to any of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot. When used in comparison to Yom Tov, it refers to Chol HaMoed, the intermediate days of Passover and Sukkot. Ḥag or chag () ("festival"), plural chagim (), can be used whenever yom tov or moed is. It is also used to describe Hanukkah and Purim, as well as Yom Ha'atzmaut (Israeli Independence Day) and Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day). Ta'anit (), or, less commonly, tzom (), refers to a fast. These terms are generally used to describe the rabbinic fasts, although tzom is used liturgically to refer to Yom Kippur as well.See text from the Yom Kippur liturgy available at Unetanneh Tokef (He Judges Us).
"Work" on Sabbath and biblical holidays
The most notable common feature of Shabbat and the biblical festivals is the requirement to refrain from the 39 Melakhot on these days.This "negative" (refraining) requirement is paired with a positive requirement to honor and enjoy the Sabbath or festival day. For information on the positive requirements, see Shabbat: Rituals and Shabbat: Encouraged activities. Melakha is most commonly translated as "work"; perhaps a better translation is "creative-constructive work". Strictly speaking, melakha is defined in halakha (Jewish law) by 39 categories of labor that were used in constructing the Tabernacle while the Jews wandered in the desert. As understood traditionally and in Orthodox Judaism: On Shabbat and Yom Kippur all melakha is prohibited. On a holiday other than Yom Kippur which falls on a weekday, not Shabbat, most melakha is prohibited. Some melacha related to the preparation of food is permitted. On weekdays during Chol HaMoed, melakha is not prohibited per se. However, melakha should be limited to that required either to enhance the enjoyment of the remainder of the festival or to avoid great financial loss, or several other categories. On other days, there are no restrictions on melakha.There is a practice for women to refrain from some types of labor on Rosh Chodesh; see Rosh Chodesh and women.
In principle, Conservative Judaism understands the requirement to refrain from melakha in the same way as Orthodox Judaism. In practice, Conservative rabbis frequently rule on prohibitions around melakha differently from Orthodox authorities.See, for example, , as an illustration both on general concepts and on specific rulings. Still, there are some Conservative/Masorti communities around the world where Shabbat and festival observance fairly closely resembles Orthodox observance.This is especially, though not exclusively, true outside the US. For example, Masorti Judaism in Israel and the UK rejects North American Conservatism's position to permit driving to synagogue on Shabbat.
However, many, if not most, lay members of Conservative congregations in North America do not consider themselves Shabbat observant, even by Conservative standards.This is widely recognized as true. The best objective source is probably Jewish Identity and Religious Commitment: The North American Study of Conservative Synagogues and Their Members, 1995–96, edited by Jack Wertheimer, 1997, Ratner Center for the Study of Conservative Judaism. But reliable, updated figures are difficult to come by. At the same time, adherents of Reform Judaism and Reconstructionist Judaism do not accept traditional halakha, and therefore restrictions on melakha, as binding at all.See, for example, Reform Judaism's Position on Jewish Law and Reconstructionist Judaism (Jewish Law and Tradition), and references in those articles. Jews fitting any of these descriptions refrain from melakha in practice only as they see fit.
Shabbat and holiday work restrictions are always put aside in cases of pikuach nefesh, which are actions to save a human life. At the most fundamental level, if there is any possibility whatsoever that action must be taken to save a life, Shabbat restrictions are set aside immediately, and without reservation.The Babylonian Talmud (see at Sotah 20–21) describes one who fails to do so as a chasid shoteh, a foolishly pious individual. Where the danger to life is present but less immediate, there is some preference to minimize violation of Shabbat work restrictions where possible. The laws in this area are complex.YU Torah shiurim on Pikuach Nefesh: Part I, Part II, and Part III, accessed July 11, 2013.
Second day of biblical festivals
The Torah specifies a single date on the Jewish calendar for observance of holidays. Nevertheless, festivals of biblical origin other than Shabbat and Yom Kippur are observed for two days outside the land of Israel, and Rosh Hashanah is observed for two days even inside the land of Israel.
Dates for holidays on the Jewish calendar are expressed in the Torah as "day x of month y". Accordingly, the beginning of month y needs to be determined before the proper date of the holiday on day x can be fixed. Months in the Jewish calendar are lunar, and originally were thought to have been proclaimed by the blowing of a shofar. Later, the Sanhedrin received testimony of witnesses saying they saw the new crescent moon.Similar practices are still used in Islam as well as in the Karaite and Samaritan communities. Then the Sanhedrin would inform Jewish communities away from its meeting place that it had proclaimed a new moon. The practice of observing a second festival day stemmed from delays in disseminating that information.See, in general, Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Kiddush HaChodesh, Chapters 3 and 5.
Rosh Hashanah. Because of holiday restrictions on travel, messengers could not even leave the seat of the Sanhedrin until the holiday was over. Inherently, there was no possible way for anyone living away from the seat of the Sanhedrin to receive news of the proclamation of the new month until messengers arrived after the fact. Accordingly, the practice emerged that Rosh Hashanah was observed on both possible days, as calculated from the previous month's start, everywhere in the world.This reasoning did not directly apply in the actual meeting place of the Sanhedrin, but there are other reasons that the practice was applied there as well. See Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Kiddush HaChodesh 5:8. Three Pilgrimage Festivals. Sukkot and Passover fall on the 15th day of their respective months. This gave messengers two weeks to inform communities about the proclamation of the new month. Normally, they would reach most communities within the land of Israel within that time, but they might fail to reach communities farther away (such as those in Babylonia or overseas). Consequently, the practice developed that these holidays be observed for one day within Israel, but for two days (both possible days as calculated from the previous month's start) outside Israel. This practice is known as yom tov sheni shel galuyot, "second day of festivals in exile communities".Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Kiddush HaChodesh 5:9–12.
For Shavuot, calculated as the fiftieth day from Passover, the above issue did not pertain directly, as the "correct" date for Passover would be known by then. Nevertheless, the Talmud applies the same rule to Shavuot, and to the Seventh Day of Passover and Shemini Atzeret, for consistency.Rambam, Mishnah Torah, Kiddush HaChodesh 3:12.