Holidays

The Festival of Lots recalls the rescue of the Jews of Ancient Persia from annihilation at the hands of Haman, who cast lots to choose this day for his plot...

The Exodus of the Jews from Egypt is celebrated with the eight-day festival of Passover. Ridding the home of chametz (leavened food) and eating only unleavened items commemorate the haste...

Also known as “Holocaust Remembrance Day,” Yom HaShoah is marked by memorials and dedications to those who perished in the Holocaust. Each year, the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum hosts...

Israel Independence Day is celebrated festively by Jews around the world, commemorating the Israeli Declaration of Independence in 1948.

Jerusalem Day commemorates the liberation of the city of Jerusalem during the 1967 Six-Day War.

This holiday marks the end of the Counting of the Omer. It recalls Moses’ receiving of the Torah. The Megillah of Ruth is read, and all-night Torah study is customary....

This solemn day is a reminder of the destruction of the First and Second Temples in Jerusalem, which occurred on the same Hebrew calendar date. It is traditional to fast.

Literally meaning “Head of the Year,” Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the Jewish calendar. It begins a 10-day period of repentance and prayer which ends on Yom Kippur. We...

The Day of Atonement is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, marking the end of the 10 days of repentance. It is spent in fasting and fervent prayer. Sounding...

This harvest festival is named for the temporary dwellings, called Sukkot, decorated with fruit and vegetables, set up to recall the booths in which the Jews lived during their journey...

The day after Sukkot is Shemini Atzeret, which is combined in Israel with Simchat Torah, nominally a separate holiday; thus, there is no partaking of meals in the sukkah, nor...

Outside of Israel, the day after Shemini Atzeret, Simchat Torah marks the end of the annual Torah reading and the beginning of the cycle for the coming year. It is...