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Jewish Festivals or Holidays 2006-2012

Jewish Festivals begin at sundown the evening before the date shown
and conclude at nightfall of the last day of the festival.
Dates in parentheses are those on the Jewish lunar calendar.

Date	Month	Festival	Our Year
Shabbat (The Sabbath) Begins every Friday at sunset and ends Saturday at nightfall.			2006 (5766-67)	2007 (5767-68)	2008 (5768-69)	2009 (5769-70)	2010 (5770-71)	2011 (5771-72)	2012 (5772-73)
	Tishri	Rosh Hashanah	Sep 23, 24	Sep 13, 14	Sep 30, Oct 1	Sep 19, 20	Sep 9, 10	Sep 29, 30	Sep 17, 18
	Tishri	Yom Kippur	Oct 2	Sep 22	Oct 9	Sep 28	Sep 18	Oct 8	Sep 26
	Tishri	Sukkot	Oct 7, 8	Sep 27, 28	Oct 14, 15	Oct 3, 4	Sep 23, 24	Oct 13, 14	Oct 1, 2
	Tishri	Simchat Torah	Oct 15	Oct 5	Oct 22	Oct 11	Oct 1	Oct 21	Sep 9
	Heshvan
	Kislev	Chanukkah	Dec 16 - 23	Dec 5 - 12	Dec 22 - 29	Dec 12 - 19	Dec 2 - 9	Dec 21 - 28	Dec 9 - 16
	Tevet
	Shevat	Tu B'Shvat	Feb 13	Feb 3	Jan 22	Feb 9	Jan 30	Jan 20	Feb 8
	Adar
	Adar II	Purim	Mar 14	Mar 4	Mar 21	Mar 10	Feb 28	Mar 20	Mar 8
	Nisan	Pesach	Apr 13, 14, 19, 20	Apr 3, 4, 9, 10	Apr 20, 21, 26, 27	Apr 9, 10, 15, 16	Mar 30, 31 Apr 5, 6	Apr 19, 20, 25, 26	Apr 7, 8, 13, 14
	Nisan	Yom HaShoah	Apr 25	Apr 15	May 2	Apr 21	Apr 11	May 1	Apr 19
	Iyar	Yom HaAzma'ut	May 05	Apr 23	May 08	Apr 29	Apr 19	May 9	Apr 26
	Iyar	Lag B'Omer	May 16	May 6	May 23	May 12	May 2	May 22	May 10
	Sivan	Shavuot	June 2, 3	May 23, 24	June 9, 10	May 29, 30	May 19, 20	June 8, 9	May 27, 28
	Tammuz
	Av	Tish'a B'Av	Aug 3	July 24	Aug 10	July 30	July 20	Aug 9	July 29
	Tishri	Shimini Atzeret	Oct 14	Oct 4	Oct 21	Oct 10	Sep 30	Oct 20	Oct 8

A lunar month is 29 days, 12 hours, 793 thousandths of an hour (47.58 minutes) 7 times every 19 years a leap month is added, Adar II.

Adar is the 12^th month if Nisan, the month of Pesach (Passover), is considered the beginning of the year. It is the sixth month after Tishri, the current beginning of the calendar today. Starting with Tishri, the odd number months have 30 days and the even number months have 29 days, though there are adjustments in various years.

Festivals and Commemorations

Rosh Hashanah - Head of the Year. The only new year's day to be celebrated, though it is the 7^th month in the calendar in place since the Babylonian captivity. The world was created on this day in 3760 BCE. It is also the first of 10 holy days leading to the Day of Atonement.

Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement. The week following Rosh Hashanah is spent in soul-searching and repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur, which marks the end of the penitential period. The most significant aspect of the day is the twenty-four hour fast, in which every adult Jew is required to participate.

Sukkot - Feast of Tabernacles. Sukkot is one of the three Pilgrimage Festivals. Like Pesah and Shavuot, it was celebrated as an agricultural festival. Later the holiday obtained a historical meaning, and it became customary to build temporary quarters every year to recall the Exodus. Additional concept was later incorporated into the meaning of the holiday - thanksgiving for the bounty of nature and gratitude to God for its gifts.

Simchat Torah - Rejoicing in the Law. It celebrates the yearly beginning of the cycle of Torah readings "in order that Satan shall have no opportunity of accusing the Jews of having finished with Torah."

Chanukkah - Festival of Lights. On 25 Kislev 165 BCE, the third anniversary of the desecration of the temple by Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Judah the Macabee (Hammer) rededicated the temple. It last for 8 days, the same number of days the one-day supply of pure oil lasted until new pure oil could be prepared.

Tu B'Shvat - New Year for Trees. "For man is like the tree of the field" (Deut. 20:19). Today, it is the Israeli Arbor Day.

Purim - Feast of Lots. A festival commemorating the deliverance of the Jews of the Persian Empire from extermination during the reign of Xerxes I (485 - 465 BCE). The story is told in the book of Esther.

Pesach - Passover. Pesach is the 8 day observance commemorating the freedom and exodus of the Israelites (Jewish slaves) from Egypt during the reign of the Pharaoh Ramses II. It is a time of family gatherings and lavish meals called Seders. The story of Passover is retold through the reading of the Haggadah.

Yom HaShoah - Holocaust Memorial Day, a contemporary holy day to commemorate the Holocaust.

Yom Ha'Azma'ut - Israel Independence Day, anniversary of the proclamation of the State of Israel in 1948.

Lag B'Omer - 33^rd day of counting the Omer. The 33^rd day after the second day of Passover, 2/3 of the time between Passover and Pentecost.

Shavuot - Feast of Weeks. In Biblical days, the Hebrews counted seven weeks from Passover to Shavuot by bringing an omer (measure) of barley to the Temple for forty-nine days, starting with the second evening on Passover, to give thanks to God for their produce during the barley season. After the second Temple was destroyed, the Jews recalled the Ten Commandments given to Israel at Mount Sinai, and the religious meaning of the holiday became more important than the agricultural meaning. It is customary to read the Book of Ruth, which embraces the Jewish faith by accepting the Torah.

Tish'a B'Av - Fast commemorating the destruction of the two Temples. Though not historically accurate, the traditional day, on which the fist and second temple were destroyed. It became the principal day of mourning.

Bibliography:

1. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary.
2. McKenzies Dictionary of the Bible.
3. The Catholic Study Bible, 2^nd edition, by Scott Hahn.
4. "Faith Facts", Catholics United for The Faith (CUF).
5. Office for Catechesis of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, Chicago Catholic Scripture School.
6. Hebcal.com: Interactive Jewish Calendar Tools, http://www.hebcal.com.