MAJOR JEWISH HOLIDAYS & RELIGIOUS OBSERVANCES
This five-year calendar of Jewish holidays has been prepared as an aid for planning and scheduling events (tests, examinations, conferences, assemblies, athletic events, tournaments, open houses, registrations, etc.) in an attempt to minimize conflicts that involve the absence of Jewish students and personnel.
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EXPLANATION OF HOLIDAYS
FALL
Rosh Hashanah
Jewish New Year; marks the beginning of a 10-day period considered the High Holy Days.
yom kippur
Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish year.
SUKKOT
Eight-day harvest and thanksgiving festival.
Shemini atzeret
The final day of Sukkot
simchat torah
Joyous holiday that marks the completion of the yearly cycle of reading the Hebrew Bible (Torah) and the beginning of the next cycle.
hanukkah*
Eight-day festival of lights commemorating the rededication of the ancient Temple in Jerusalem.
SPRING
PURIM*
Festival holiday commemorates the rescue of the Jewish community in ancient Persia based on the Book of Esther.
PESACH (PASSOVER)
Eight-day festival that celebrates the exodus of Jewish from slavery in Egypt. The first two and the last two days are observed as holy days.
SHAVUOT
Celebrates the receiving of the Torah by the Israelites on Mount Sinai.
SHABBAT
The Jewish Sabbath is observed every Friday evening to Saturday evening. Observant Jews refrain from work to devote time to prayer, reflection, and rest.
DATES IN RED are High Holy Days.
DATES IN BLUE are Holy Days.
*It is permissible to attend school and work on these holidays
For 120 years, the Buffalo Jewish Federation has been the voice and the backbone of the Jewish community in Western New York. Our mission is to develop and grow sources of funding, convene, support communal infrastructure, and offer Jewish educational and engagement opportunities. In the last five years our mission has expanded to include communal security, addressing antisemitism and efforts to bolster our place in a civil shared society.
Buffalo is home to approximately 10,000 Jews and our constituency is as diverse as any in America. We are old and young, we are secular and religiously observant, we are white, black, queer, straight, and everything in between. We are not a monolith; however, we are part of a collective, with a shared history, (some) shared values and we see ourselves as inexorably linked to the history of our people and to both a North American (2.2% of US population) and global Jewish peoplehood (0.2% of global population).