Jewish Holidays 5781 (2020-2021) for Israel

Jewish Holidays 2020-2021 (Hebrew year 5781)

Dates of major and minor Jewish holidays, observances and customs, holiday Torah readings.

Calendar year

Show dates for

Rosh Hashana 🍏🍯

Fri, 18 Sep 2020 sunset - Sun, 20 Sep 2020 nightfall
1-2 Tishrei

The Jewish New Year. Also spelled Rosh Hashanah.

Tzom Gedaliah: Mon, 21 Sep 2020 dawn - nightfall

Jewish person in a tallit prayer shawl against dramatic sky

Yom Kippur ✡️

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 sunset - Mon, 28 Sep 2020 nightfall
10 Tishrei

Day of Atonement. The holiest day of the year in Judaism, traditionally observed with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer.

Lulav (date palm frond), hadass (myrtle), aravah (willow), and etrog (citron) on a red tablecloth

Sukkot 🌿🍋

Fri, 2 Oct 2020 sunset - Fri, 9 Oct 2020 nightfall
15-21 Tishrei

Feast of Booths. Also called the Feast of Tabernacles, the seven-day holiday is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals (Hebrew: שלוש רגלים, shalosh regalim).

Prayer shawl (tallit) with Torah scroll in a synagogue

Shmini Atzeret & Simchat Torah

Fri, 9 Oct 2020 sunset - Sat, 10 Oct 2020 nightfall
Dates listed are for Israel 🇮🇱
22 Tishrei

Eighth Day of Assembly. Immediately following Sukkot, it is observed as a separate holiday in the Diaspora and is combined with Simchat Torah in Israel.

Menorah, doughnuts, chocolate coins and wooden dreidels

Chanukah 🕎

Thu, 10 Dec 2020 sunset - Fri, 18 Dec 2020 nightfall
25 Kislev - 3 Tevet

Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of rededication. Also known as the Festival of Lights, the eight-day festival is observed by lighting the candles of a hanukkiah (menorah).

Asara B’Tevet

Fri, 25 Dec 2020 dawn - nightfall
10 Tevet

Fast commemorating the siege of Jerusalem.

Tree planting growing on soil in child’s hand

Tu BiShvat 🌳

Wed, 27 Jan 2021 sunset - Thu, 28 Jan 2021 nightfall
15 Sh’vat

New Year for Trees. Tu BiShvat is one of four “New Years” mentioned in the Mishnah.

Purim 🎭️📜

Thu, 25 Feb 2021 sunset - Fri, 26 Feb 2021 nightfall
14 Adar

Celebration of Jewish deliverance as told by Megilat Esther. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.

Ta'anit Esther: Thu, 25 Feb 2021 dawn - nightfall
Shushan Purim: Fri, 26 Feb 2021 sunset - Sat, 27 Feb 2021 nightfall

Traditional symbols on a seder plate for the Jewish festival of Passover

Pesach 🫓

Sat, 27 Mar 2021 sunset - Sat, 3 Apr 2021 nightfall
Dates listed are for Israel 🇮🇱
15-21 Nisan

Passover, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Also called Chag HaMatzot (the Festival of Matzah), it commemorates the Exodus and freedom of the Israelites from ancient Egypt.

Pesach Sheni: Sun, 25 Apr 2021 sunset - Mon, 26 Apr 2021 nightfall

Crackling bonfire on a dark background, CC0, photo by Matheus Bertelli

Lag BaOmer 🔥

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 sunset - Fri, 30 Apr 2021 nightfall
18 Iyyar

33rd day of counting the Omer. The holiday is a temporary break from the semi-mourning period the counting of the Omer. Practices include lighting bonfires, getting haircuts, and Jewish weddings.

Days of the Omer: Thu, 9 Apr 2020 sunset - Thu, 28 May 2020 nightfall

Milk, bread, fruits and dairy products on wooden table

Shavuot ⛰️🌸

Sun, 16 May 2021 sunset - Mon, 17 May 2021 nightfall
Dates listed are for Israel 🇮🇱
6 Sivan

Festival of Weeks. Commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai.

Tish’a B’Av ✡️

Sat, 17 Jul 2021 sunset - Sun, 18 Jul 2021 nightfall
9 Av

The Ninth of Av. Fast commemorating the destruction of the two Temples.

Tzom Tammuz: Sun, 27 Jun 2021 dawn - nightfall

Tu B’Av ❤️

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 sunset - Sat, 24 Jul 2021 nightfall
15 Av

Minor Jewish holiday of love. Observed on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Av.

Modern holidays 🇮🇱

Modern Israeli holidays are national holidays officially recognized by the Knesset, Israel's parliament.

Holiday	Starts	Ends	Hebrew Date
Yom HaAliyah School Observance	SundaySun, October 25Oct 25	SundaySun, October 25Oct 25	7 Cheshvan
Yitzhak Rabin Memorial Day	WednesdayWed, October 28Oct 28	ThursdayThu, October 29Oct 29	11 Cheshvan
Sigd	SundaySun, November 15Nov 15	MondayMon, November 16Nov 16	29 Cheshvan
Ben-Gurion Day	SaturdaySat, November 21Nov 21	SundaySun, November 22Nov 22	6 Kislev
Hebrew Language Day	MondayMon, January 4Jan 4	TuesdayTue, January 5Jan 5	21 Tevet
Family Day	ThursdayThu, February 11Feb 11	FridayFri, February 12Feb 12	30 Sh’vat
Yom HaAliyah	MondayMon, March 22Mar 22	TuesdayTue, March 23Mar 23	10 Nisan
Yom HaShoah	WednesdayWed, April 7Apr 7	ThursdayThu, April 8Apr 8	26 Nisan
Yom HaZikaron	TuesdayTue, April 13Apr 13	WednesdayWed, April 14Apr 14	2 Iyyar
Yom HaAtzma'ut	WednesdayWed, April 14Apr 14	ThursdayThu, April 15Apr 15	3 Iyyar
Herzl Day	WednesdayWed, April 21Apr 21	ThursdayThu, April 22Apr 22	10 Iyyar
Yom Yerushalayim	SundaySun, May 9May 9	MondayMon, May 10May 10	28 Iyyar
Jabotinsky Day	ThursdayThu, July 8Jul 8	FridayFri, July 9Jul 9	29 Tamuz

Rosh Chodesh 🌒

רֹאשׁ חוֹדֶשׁ, transliterated Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh, is a minor holiday that occurs at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar. It is marked by the birth of a new moon.

Note: the first day of Tishrei is not considered Rosh Chodesh. The holiday that occurs on the 1st day of Tishrei is called Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. For the month of Tishrei, the major holiday of Rosh Hashana takes precedence over what would be a minor holiday.

Rosh Chodesh	Starts	Ends
Cheshvan	SaturdaySat, October 17Oct 17	MondayMon, October 19Oct 19
Kislev	MondayMon, November 16Nov 16	TuesdayTue, November 17Nov 17
Tevet	TuesdayTue, December 15Dec 15	WednesdayWed, December 16Dec 16
Sh'vat	WednesdayWed, January 13Jan 13	ThursdayThu, January 14Jan 14
Adar	ThursdayThu, February 11Feb 11	SaturdaySat, February 13Feb 13
Nisan	SaturdaySat, March 13Mar 13	SundaySun, March 14Mar 14
Iyyar	SundaySun, April 11Apr 11	TuesdayTue, April 13Apr 13
Sivan	TuesdayTue, May 11May 11	WednesdayWed, May 12May 12
Tamuz	WednesdayWed, June 9Jun 9	FridayFri, June 11Jun 11
Av	FridayFri, July 9Jul 9	SaturdaySat, July 10Jul 10
Elul	SaturdaySat, August 7Aug 7	MondayMon, August 9Aug 9

Month view

Download

Perpetual calendar feed for Apple, Google, Microsoft Outlook, or to any desktop program that supports iCalendar (.ics) files

Customize

Create and download a custom calendar with event titles in different languages, candle-lighting times for Shabbat and holidays, daily learning schedules, etc

Printable PDF, one page per month, in landscape