Hebrew name means “Sabbath” - the English word actually came from shabbat! 

What’s it about? A day of rest and enjoyment at the end of every week as a parallel to the Biblical story of creation, when God rested on the seventh day. Shabbat traditionally lasts from 18 minutes before sundown on Friday until an hour after sundown on Saturday evening. 

Foods: The rule is yummy. It’s traditional to have two loaves of challah, a braided egg bread. 

Activities: Shabbat begins with the lighting of candles. There are special synagogue services and blessings to say at meals. The point of Shabbat is not to work. Some use a set of rabbinic legal definitions for what does and doesn’t count as work, and don’t drive, carry money, write or use electricity on Shabbat. Others don’t use these definitions, but take the day off. Wherever one falls on the spectrum of

observance, Shabbat is a great day to hang out with family and friends, eat together, take walks, study Torah, sing songs, read stories, take a nap, and chill out. 

Symbols: Candles, challah, wine, and flowers.

Greeting: “Shabbat shalom,” which means “Peaceful Shabbat.”

Hebrew name means “Weeks” because it was traditional to count the weeks between Passover and Shavuot. 

What’s it about? Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It was a pilgrimage holiday when the Temple was standing in Jerusalem, when farmers brought the first fruits of their four-year-old trees. It’s a one day holiday in the land of Israel and in the Reform tradition; Orthodox and Conservative Jews in the diaspora keep it for two days. 

Foods: Dairy foods are traditional on Shavuot, like blintzes and cheesecake.

Activities: One of the traditional texts for Shavuot is the Book of Ruth. Reform Judaism therefore chose Shavuot as the holiday on which to hold Confirmation ceremonies, when teenagers reaffirm their Jewish beliefs. Some follow the mystical custom of an all-night study session, called a Tikkun Leil Shavuot, on the eve of Shavuot.

Symbols: Tablets, blintzes. Greeting: “Chag Sameah” or “Happy Holiday.”

Hebrew name means the eighth day, or extra day following Sukkot/Hebrew

name means “Rejoicing in the Torah.” 

What’s it about? Celebrated on the same day in Israel and by US Reform groups, and as two days in Conservative and Orthodox communities in the diaspora. We celebrate finishing the reading of the Torah for the year and starting it again. 

Foods: More big sumptuous meals. 

Activities: This is a synagogue holiday with a long service, and in the middle of it, people get up, process through their building with the Torah scrolls and dance with them. It is a chance to honor people by calling them up to make blessings on the Torah, because there is a reading from the end of the croll—the death of Moses—and another from the beginning–the creation of the world. In some congregations, the assembled people unroll the Torah scroll and stand in the middle of the parchment before they start the cycle again. 

Symbols: The Torah scroll, flags that children carry, dancing people. 

Greeting: “Chag Sameah” or “Happy Holiday!”

Hebrew name means “booths” or tabernacles. The singular is sukkah. 

What’s it about? In ancient times when the Temple stood in Jerusalem, this was a pilgrimage holiday to celebrate the harvest. 

Foods: No specific special food, just more big sumptuous meals. 

Activities: Before the holiday, communities and some families build a sukkah or temporary hut in their yard. The sukkah is open to the elements, and an important activity is eating in the sukkah. There is also a ritual involving blessing and waving the etrog—a citron—and the lulav—a palm branch bound with myrtle and willow. 

Symbols: The sukkah, the lulav and the etrog. 

Greeting: “Chag Sameah” or “Happy Holiday.”

Hebrew name means “Ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av”. What’s it about? This fast day commemorates the Roman destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE. In the medieval period, Jews began attaching other calamities to the day, including the expulsion from Spain in  492. 

Foods: A fast day with no food or later. 

Activities: Though this is a major fast day with no food, water or washing, it is a minor holiday in the sense that there is no requirement to abstain from work. The main activity is the chanting of the Book of Lamentations by candlelight in the synagogue, during which it is traditional to sit on the floor. 

Hebrew name means “15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat.” 

What’s it about? When the Temple in Jerusalem was still standing, first fruits of the trees were offerings made on Shavuot. The trees had to be at least four years old, so you could call Tu B’shvat the official birthday of trees. It’s a great day to recommit to stewardship of the environment. 

Foods: Fruit, nuts and other things that grow on or in trees. 

Activities: Many have reclaimed the mystical practice of the Tu B’shvat leder, or ritual meal, as an opportunity to explore environmentalist themes in Judaism. Another practice is to plant trees. This is a minor holiday in which work is traditionally permitted. 

Symbols: Trees and tree fruit. 

Greeting: “Chag Sameah” which means “Happy Holiday.”

Hebrew name means “Day of Atonement.” 

What’s it about? A fast day of prayer, reflection, and repentance. 

Foods: None. It’s a fast day! 

Activities: There are many prohibitions: not eating, not drinking, not washing, not wearing leather, not engaging in physical intimacy. Traditionally, it is a day spent in synagogue at services. 

Symbols: White clothing. 

Greeting: You can say “have an easy fast.” Some say “Shanah Tovah”, which is Hebrew for “A good New Year.” The specific greeting for Yom Kippur is “G’mar hatimah tovah” or “A good completion to your inscription in the Book of Life.”