Holidays

JEWISH YEAR

SELICHOT (Selichot, a Hebrew word meaning "forgiveness," refers to the special penitential prayers recited by Jews throughout the High Holy Days.)

ROSH HASHANAH (Literally, "Head of the Year" refers to the celebration of the Jewish New Year.)

YOM KIPPUR (Day of Atonement and refers to the annual Jewish observance of fasting, prayer, and repentance.)

SUKKOT (A Hebrew word meaning "booths" or "huts," refers to the Jewish festival of giving thanks for the fall harvest, as well as the commemoration of the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert after Sinai.) 

SIMCHAT TORAH (Hebrew for "rejoicing in the Law", celebrates the completion of the annual reading of the Torah. Simchat Torah is a joyous festival, in which we affirm our view of the Torah as a tree of life and demonstrate a living example of never-ending, lifelong study.)

CHANUKAH (Dedication in Hebrew, refers to the joyous eight-day celebration during which Jews commemorate the victory of the Macabees over the armies of Syria in 165 B.C.E. and the subsequent liberation and "rededication" of the Temple in Jerusalem.) 

TU B'SHEVAT ("New Year of the Trees" is Jewish Arbor Day.)

PURIM (A celebration by the reading of the Scroll of Esther is known in Hebrew as the Megilat Esther, which relates the basic story of Purim.)

PESACH (Known as Passover in English, this is a major Jewish spring festival, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt over 3,000 years ago.) 

YOM HAATZMAUT (Israeli Independence Day, marks the establishment of the modern state of Israel in 1948. It is observed on the 5th of Iyar in the Hebrew calendar.)

SHAVUOT (A Hebrew word meaning "weeks" and refers to the Jewish festival marking the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.)