People ask this every year.
You might be planning a trip. Or trying to figure out your plans and reconnect with Jewish life. Maybe all of these.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Jewish holidays in 2025–2026 — what they mean, when they happen, and what they actually feel like to experience in Israel.
2025–2026 Jewish Holiday Calendar
Tu B’Av
Saturday, August 9, 2025
The Jewish day of love. In ancient times, unmarried women dressed in white and danced in the vineyards. Today, it’s pure celebration — weddings, engagements, and connection. Think Valentine’s Day, but with thousands of years of tradition behind it.
Rosh Hashanah
Monday, September 22 – Wednesday, September 24, 2025
The Jewish New Year isn’t about resolutions. It’s about returning to your values and making things right.
You’ll hear the ancient sound of the shofar calling people to reflection. Tables overflow with apples dipped in honey, symbolizing hopes for a sweet year ahead. Families gather for long meals that stretch late into the night, sharing stories and blessings.
This is the anniversary of creation itself — the moment Adam and Eve first opened their eyes. It’s when we do the same.
Fast of Gedaliah
Thursday, September 25, 2025
A day of remembrance for Gedaliah, whose assassination marked the final Jewish exile from ancient Israel. It’s a brief but meaningful fast that connects us to one of our people’s most difficult chapters.
But honestly? After the marathon eating of Rosh Hashanah — all those honey cakes, brisket, and endless leftovers — your body might actually welcome the break.
Yom Kippur
Wednesday, October 1 – Thursday, October 2, 2025
The holiest day of the year. Twenty-five hours of fasting, prayer, and asking forgiveness — from others and from God.
In Israel, something magical happens. The entire country goes silent. No cars. No buses. No noise. Children ride bikes down empty highways. Families walk through cities that have stopped breathing. It’s the closest thing to time standing still.
Sukkot
Monday, October 6 – Monday, October 13, 2025
The harvest festival where we build temporary outdoor huts called sukkahs and eat meals under the stars. It remembers our ancestors’ journey through the desert after leaving Egypt — when home was wherever we pitched our tents.
You’ll also shake the Four Species (lulav, etrog, hadas, aravah) — each representing different types of Jews coming together in unity. The etrog smells like heaven.
Shemini Atzeret & Simchat Torah
Monday, October 13 – Wednesday, October 15, 2025
No work permitted
After seven days of Sukkot, we pause. Shemini Atzeret is that quiet moment of reflection. Then comes Simchat Torah — when we dance with Torah scrolls in our arms, completing the year’s reading cycle and immediately beginning again.
There’s something beautiful about ending and starting simultaneously.
Hanukkah
Sunday, December 14 – Monday, December 22, 2025
The miracle of lights. When a small amount of oil burned for eight nights in the rededicated Temple, defying every natural law.
Windows glow with menorahs. Kitchens smell like sufganiyot (Israeli donuts) and potato latkes. Children spin dreidels and families sing songs that echo through neighborhoods.
In Israel, the entire country becomes a menorah. Every window, every balcony, every street corner shines.
Tu B’Shevat
Monday, February 2, 2026
The New Year for Trees. We celebrate nature, growth, and our connection to the land of Israel by eating fruits and planting new trees. It’s hope taking root.
Purim
Monday, March 2 – Tuesday, March 3, 2026
Work should be avoided
The story of Queen Esther and how she saved the Jewish people in ancient Persia. It’s carnival and resistance rolled into one.
We read the Megillah, give gifts to friends, donate food to those in need, dress in costumes, and eat triangular cookies called hamantaschen.
In Israel, entire cities become street parties. Grandmothers dress as superheroes. Toddlers become pirates. Everyone becomes someone else for a day.
Passover
Wednesday, April 1 – Thursday, April 9, 2026
The story of our exodus from Egypt — the foundational narrative of freedom itself.
Families gather for the Seder, reading the Haggadah, eating matzah and bitter herbs, asking the Four Questions, and drinking four cups of wine. Homes are scrubbed clean of all leavened bread.
In Israel, supermarkets cover their bread aisles. Matzah becomes the default. The entire country lives the story together.
What Makes the Holidays Different in Israel?
In Israel, Jewish holidays aren’t just on your calendar. They’re in the air you breathe.
On Rosh Hashanah, bakeries overflow with honey cakes, round challahs, and the sound of shofars echoes from every synagogue. On Yom Kippur, you can walk down the middle of the highway in Tel Aviv because there are literally no cars. During Sukkot, restaurants build sukkahs on sidewalks and some families sleep under the stars.
On Simchat Torah, strangers pull you into street dances, Torah scrolls held high as music spills from every corner. During Hanukkah, menorahs appear in office buildings, public squares, and apartment balconies — the whole country glowing together.
On Purim, your bus driver might be wearing a Batman costume. Your professor could be dressed as Wonder Woman. The grocery store cashier? Definitely a pirate.
And during Passover, chametz (leavened bread) disappears entirely. Matzah pizza becomes normal. Even secular Israelis find themselves at Seders, retelling the story of their ancestors’ journey to freedom.
You don’t just celebrate the holidays in Israel. You live inside them.
Want to Experience This Yourself?
You can.
Masa Israel Journey offers immersive programs for Jewish young adults aged 18–40. Come for 6 weeks or stay for 10 months.
Choose your experience:
- Teach English in Israeli schools
- Volunteer with nonprofits and aid organizations
- Intern in tech, business, or healthcare
- Study at Israeli universities
- Learn Hebrew in an ulpan
- Live in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Haifa, or smaller cities
While you’re building your future, you’ll experience the Jewish calendar like never before:
Hear the shofar at the Western Wall. Light Hanukkah candles on a Tel Aviv rooftop. Dance on Simchat Torah with friends from around the world. Bike through an empty Jerusalem on Yom Kippur. Build your first sukkah with your roommates. Host or attend a Passover Seder where the story happened. Dress up and celebrate Purim in the streets where Queen Esther’s legacy lives on.
This isn’t tourism. This is Jewish life, fully lived.
Ready to Make It Real?
Thousands of young Jews choose Masa every year. They come for the experience. They stay for the meaning.
