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  "title": "How the Jewish Calendar Works",
  "summary": "Lunar months adjusted to the solar year by a leap-month every two or three years — the calendar Hillel II formalized in 358/9 CE.",
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      "title": "How the Jewish Calendar Works",
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    "article": {
      "slug": "calendar-how-the-jewish-calendar-works",
      "title": "How the Jewish Calendar Works",
      "deck": "Lunar months adjusted to the solar year by a leap-month every two or three years — the calendar Hillel II formalized in 358/9 CE.",
      "summary": "Summary. The Jewish calendar is luni-solar: the months are lunar (29 or 30 days), beginning at the new moon; the year is adjusted to the solar cycle so that Pesach always falls in the spring (Devarim 16:1). A 19-year cycle includes seven leap years, in which a second month of Adar (Adar II) is added. The current year as of fall 2025 is 5786; from Rosh Hashanah 2026 onward, 5787. Months named: Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar (Adar I and II in leap years).",
      "level": "essential",
      "sectionSlug": "calendar",
      "tags": [
        "calendar",
        "moon",
        "luach"
      ],
      "publishedAt": "2026-07-06T02:19:03.001Z",
      "wordCount": 676,
      "readMinutes": 3
    },
    "section": {
      "slug": "sacred-time",
      "title": "Sacred Time"
    },
    "image": null,
    "blocks": [
      {
        "type": "summary",
        "body": "Summary. The Jewish calendar is luni-solar: the months are lunar (29 or 30 days), beginning at the new moon; the year is adjusted to the solar cycle so that [Pesach](/glossary.json#letter-P) always falls in the spring ([Devarim 16:1](https://www.sefaria.org/Deuteronomy.16.1)). A 19-year cycle includes seven leap years, in which a second month of [Adar](/glossary.json#letter-A) ([Adar II](/glossary.json#letter-A)) is added. The current year as of fall 2025 is 5786; from [Rosh Hashanah](/glossary.json#letter-R) 2026 onward, 5787. Months named: [Nisan](/glossary.json#letter-N), [Iyar](/glossary.json#letter-I), [Sivan](/glossary.json#letter-S), [Tammuz](/glossary.json#letter-T), Av, Elul, [Tishrei](/glossary.json#letter-T), [Cheshvan](/glossary.json#letter-C), [Kislev](/glossary.json#letter-K), [Tevet](/glossary.json#letter-T), [Shevat](/glossary.json#letter-S), Adar (Adar I and II in leap years).",
        "text": "Summary. The Jewish calendar is luni-solar: the months are lunar (29 or 30 days), beginning at the new moon; the year is adjusted to the solar cycle so that Pesach always falls in the spring (Devarim 16:1). A 19-year cycle includes seven leap years, in which a second month of Adar (Adar II) is added. The current year as of fall 2025 is 5786; from Rosh Hashanah 2026 onward, 5787. Months named: Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat, Adar (Adar I and II in leap years)."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Lunar Months",
        "text": "Lunar Months"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Each Hebrew month begins at [Rosh Chodesh](/glossary.json#letter-R) — the new moon. The lunar cycle is approximately 29.5 days; months are alternately 29 and 30 days (with some variation). The lunar year of 12 months is approximately 354 days — 11 days shorter than the solar year. Without adjustment, the holidays would drift through the seasons (as they do in the Islamic Hijri calendar). The [Torah](/glossary.json#letter-T)'s commandment that Pesach fall in the spring ([chodesh ha-aviv](/glossary.json#letter-C), [Devarim](/glossary.json#letter-D) 16:1) requires adjustment.",
        "text": "Each Hebrew month begins at Rosh Chodesh — the new moon. The lunar cycle is approximately 29.5 days; months are alternately 29 and 30 days (with some variation). The lunar year of 12 months is approximately 354 days — 11 days shorter than the solar year. Without adjustment, the holidays would drift through the seasons (as they do in the Islamic Hijri calendar). The Torah's commandment that Pesach fall in the spring (chodesh ha-aviv, Devarim 16:1) requires adjustment."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "The 19-Year Cycle",
        "text": "The 19-Year Cycle"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The Metonic cycle (named after the 5th-century BCE Greek astronomer Meton) of 19 solar years is approximately equal to 235 lunar months. Seven of those 19 years are leap years, each with a second Adar (Adar I and Adar II) inserted between Shevat and Nisan. The leap years in a cycle are years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. The current year (5786) is the 10th year of the cycle — a common year, with a single Adar. The next leap year is 5787 (the 11th of the cycle), which has both Adar I and Adar II.",
        "text": "The Metonic cycle (named after the 5th-century BCE Greek astronomer Meton) of 19 solar years is approximately equal to 235 lunar months. Seven of those 19 years are leap years, each with a second Adar (Adar I and Adar II) inserted between Shevat and Nisan. The leap years in a cycle are years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19. The current year (5786) is the 10th year of the cycle — a common year, with a single Adar. The next leap year is 5787 (the 11th of the cycle), which has both Adar I and Adar II."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Months and Their Holidays",
        "text": "Months and Their Holidays"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Nisan (Mar–Apr): Pesach (15–22 Nisan).",
        "text": "Nisan (Mar–Apr): Pesach (15–22 Nisan)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Iyar (Apr–May): [Yom HaShoah](/glossary.json#letter-Y) (27 Nisan, sometimes Iyar), [Yom HaZikaron](/glossary.json#letter-Y) (4 Iyar), [Yom HaAtzmaut](/glossary.json#letter-Y) (5 Iyar), [Lag BaOmer](/glossary.json#letter-L) (18 Iyar), [Yom Yerushalayim](/glossary.json#letter-Y) (28 Iyar).",
        "text": "Iyar (Apr–May): Yom HaShoah (27 Nisan, sometimes Iyar), Yom HaZikaron (4 Iyar), Yom HaAtzmaut (5 Iyar), Lag BaOmer (18 Iyar), Yom Yerushalayim (28 Iyar)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Sivan (May–Jun): [Shavuot](/glossary.json#letter-S) (6–7 Sivan).",
        "text": "Sivan (May–Jun): Shavuot (6–7 Sivan)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Tammuz (Jun–Jul): 17th of Tammuz (fast).",
        "text": "Tammuz (Jun–Jul): 17th of Tammuz (fast)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Av (Jul–Aug): [Tisha B'Av](/glossary.json#letter-T) (9 Av), [Tu B'Av](/glossary.json#letter-T).",
        "text": "Av (Jul–Aug): Tisha B'Av (9 Av), Tu B'Av."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Elul (Aug–Sep): [Selichot](/glossary.json#letter-S) begin; preparation for the [Yamim Noraim](/glossary.json#letter-Y).",
        "text": "Elul (Aug–Sep): Selichot begin; preparation for the Yamim Noraim."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Tishrei (Sep–Oct): Rosh Hashanah (1–2), [Yom Kippur](/glossary.json#letter-Y) (10), [Sukkot](/glossary.json#letter-S) (15–21), [Shemini Atzeret](/glossary.json#letter-S)/[Simchat Torah](/glossary.json#letter-S) (22/23).",
        "text": "Tishrei (Sep–Oct): Rosh Hashanah (1–2), Yom Kippur (10), Sukkot (15–21), Shemini Atzeret/Simchat Torah (22/23)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Cheshvan (Oct–Nov): Often called '[Mar Cheshvan](/glossary.json#letter-M)' (bitter Cheshvan) because no holidays.",
        "text": "Cheshvan (Oct–Nov): Often called 'Mar Cheshvan' (bitter Cheshvan) because no holidays."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Kislev (Nov–Dec): [Hanukkah](/glossary.json#letter-H) begins (25 Kislev).",
        "text": "Kislev (Nov–Dec): Hanukkah begins (25 Kislev)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Tevet (Dec–Jan): Hanukkah continues; 10th of Tevet (fast).",
        "text": "Tevet (Dec–Jan): Hanukkah continues; 10th of Tevet (fast)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Shevat (Jan–Feb): [Tu BiShvat](/glossary.json#letter-T) (15 Shevat).",
        "text": "Shevat (Jan–Feb): Tu BiShvat (15 Shevat)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Adar (Feb–Mar): [Purim](/glossary.json#letter-P) (14 Adar; Adar II in leap years).",
        "text": "Adar (Feb–Mar): Purim (14 Adar; Adar II in leap years)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The Year Begins Where?",
        "text": "The Year Begins Where?"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Different things begin in different months. Nisan is the first month of the year for purposes of counting kings' reigns and festivals ([Shemot 12:2](https://www.sefaria.org/Exodus.12.2)). Tishrei is the first month for counting years from creation (Rosh Hashanah is in Tishrei). Elul is the first month for tithing animals. Shevat (specifically Tu BiShvat) is the new year for trees. The [Mishnah](/glossary.json#letter-M) ([Rosh Hashanah 1:1](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishnah_Rosh_Hashanah.1.1)) actually lists four new years.",
        "text": "Different things begin in different months. Nisan is the first month of the year for purposes of counting kings' reigns and festivals (Shemot 12:2). Tishrei is the first month for counting years from creation (Rosh Hashanah is in Tishrei). Elul is the first month for tithing animals. Shevat (specifically Tu BiShvat) is the new year for trees. The Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1:1) actually lists four new years."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Calendrical Tools",
        "text": "Calendrical Tools"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Hebcal.com is the standard online calendar; it provides [parshah](/glossary.json#letter-P), holiday, and [zmanim](/glossary.json#letter-Z) ([halachic](/glossary.json#letter-H) times) for any location. A printed [luach](/glossary.json#letter-L) (calendar) is the traditional tool; the Ezras Torah Luach and the OU Luach are widely used in [Orthodox](/glossary.json#letter-O) communities. Apps for iPhone and Android (Jewish Calendar, [Daf Yomi](/glossary.json#letter-D), Hebcal) integrate the Jewish calendar with iPhone or Google Calendar.",
        "text": "Hebcal.com is the standard online calendar; it provides parshah, holiday, and zmanim (halachic times) for any location. A printed luach (calendar) is the traditional tool; the Ezras Torah Luach and the OU Luach are widely used in Orthodox communities. Apps for iPhone and Android (Jewish Calendar, Daf Yomi, Hebcal) integrate the Jewish calendar with iPhone or Google Calendar."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Where Denominations Diverge",
        "text": "Where Denominations Diverge"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The calendar is universal across all denominations. The [Reform](/glossary.json#letter-R) movement has officially eliminated the extra Diaspora festival day for its U.S. congregations -- except Rosh Hashanah, which stays two days even for Reform Jews -- while Orthodox and most Conservative congregations retain the traditional two-day observance. [Sephardic](/glossary.json#letter-S) communities follow the same calendar as [Ashkenazi](/glossary.json#letter-A).",
        "text": "The calendar is universal across all denominations. The Reform movement has officially eliminated the extra Diaspora festival day for its U.S. congregations -- except Rosh Hashanah, which stays two days even for Reform Jews -- while Orthodox and most Conservative congregations retain the traditional two-day observance. Sephardic communities follow the same calendar as Ashkenazi."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Sources",
        "text": "Sources"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Torah: [Shemot](/glossary.json#letter-S) 12:2; Devarim 16:1.",
        "text": "Torah: Shemot 12:2; Devarim 16:1."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:1.",
        "text": "Mishnah, Rosh Hashanah 1:1."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Talmud](/glossary.json#letter-T) Bavli, [Rosh Hashanah 25a](https://www.sefaria.org/Rosh_Hashanah.25a) (Rabban Gamliel's authority to sanctify the new moon on disputed witness testimony).",
        "text": "Talmud Bavli, Rosh Hashanah 25a (Rabban Gamliel's authority to sanctify the new moon on disputed witness testimony)."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Rambam](/glossary.json#letter-R), [Mishneh Torah](/glossary.json#letter-M), [Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh](https://www.sefaria.org/Mishneh_Torah,_Sanctification_of_the_New_Month).",
        "text": "Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchot Kiddush HaChodesh."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[It's a Leap Year! What's the Jewish Significance?](https://reformjudaism.org/blog/its-leap-year-whats-jewish-significance) — ReformJudaism.org.",
        "text": "It's a Leap Year! What's the Jewish Significance? — ReformJudaism.org."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Should the Jewish Calendar Start in Nisan?](https://exploringjudaism.org/four-new-years-in-jewish-calendar-nisan/) — Rabbinical Assembly.",
        "text": "Should the Jewish Calendar Start in Nisan? — Rabbinical Assembly."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Do Reform Jews Celebrate One or Two Days of Rosh HaShanah?](https://reformjudaism.org/learning/answers-jewish-questions/do-reform-jews-celebrate-one-or-two-days-rosh-hashanah) — ReformJudaism.org.",
        "text": "Do Reform Jews Celebrate One or Two Days of Rosh HaShanah? — ReformJudaism.org."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "[Why do some Jews have one seder and others have two seders?](https://reformjudaism.org/learning/answers-jewish-questions/why-do-some-jews-have-one-seder-and-others-have-two-seders) — ReformJudaism.org.",
        "text": "Why do some Jews have one seder and others have two seders? — ReformJudaism.org."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Further Reading",
        "text": "Further Reading"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Arthur Spier, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar.",
        "text": "Arthur Spier, The Comprehensive Hebrew Calendar."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Sacha Stern, Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish Calendar.",
        "text": "Sacha Stern, Calendar and Community: A History of the Jewish Calendar."
      }
    ],
    "related": [
      {
        "slug": "calendar-the-parshah-cycle",
        "title": "The Parshah Cycle",
        "href": "/articles/calendar-the-parshah-cycle.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day",
        "title": "Daf Yomi: A Page a Day",
        "href": "/articles/calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "calendar-counting-the-omer-sefirat-haomer",
        "title": "Counting the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer)",
        "href": "/articles/calendar-counting-the-omer-sefirat-haomer.json"
      }
    ],
    "goDeeper": [
      {
        "slug": "calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day",
        "title": "Daf Yomi: A Page a Day",
        "level": "deeper",
        "href": "/articles/calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "holidays-fasts-the-four-minor-fasts",
        "title": "The Four Minor Fasts",
        "level": "deeper",
        "href": "/articles/holidays-fasts-the-four-minor-fasts.json"
      }
    ],
    "glossary": {
      "adar": {
        "term": "Adar",
        "hebrew": "אֲדָר",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The twelfth month of the Jewish year, falling in late winter, in which Purim is celebrated. The Talmud teaches that when Adar arrives, joy increases.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "adar-sheni": {
        "term": "Adar Sheni",
        "hebrew": "אדר ב׳",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 'second Adar' (also written Adar II) — the extra month added in Jewish leap years so the lunar months stay aligned with the solar seasons. In a leap year, Purim is celebrated in Adar Sheni.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-how-the-jewish-calendar-works"
      },
      "ashkenazi": {
        "term": "Ashkenazi",
        "hebrew": "אשכנזי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Describing Jews whose families trace to Central and Eastern Europe, and the customs, liturgy, and Hebrew pronunciation of those communities. The broad counterpart terms are Sephardi and Edot HaMizrach.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "cheshvan": {
        "term": "Cheshvan",
        "hebrew": "חֶשְׁוָן",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The fall month that follows Tishrei — the only month with no holidays or fast days at all. Its fuller name is Marcheshvan, which folk tradition reads as 'bitter Cheshvan' for that reason.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "daf-yomi": {
        "term": "Daf Yomi",
        "hebrew": "דַּף יוֹמִי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'The daily page' — the worldwide program of studying one Talmud folio each day, completing the entire Babylonian Talmud in about seven and a half years.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day"
      },
      "devarim": {
        "term": "Devarim",
        "hebrew": "דְּבָרִים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The fifth book of the Torah — Deuteronomy — consisting of Moshe's farewell addresses. The name means 'words.'",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "halacha": {
        "term": "Halacha",
        "hebrew": "הֲלָכָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Jewish law — literally \"the way one walks\" — the legal system that develops from the Torah's mitzvot through the Mishnah, Talmud, and the great codes; the movements differ on how binding it is, not on its centrality to the tradition.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-questions-what-is-halacha"
      },
      "hanukkah": {
        "term": "Hanukkah",
        "hebrew": "חֲנֻכָּה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The eight-day winter festival of lights, commemorating the Maccabees' rededication of the Temple and the oil that burned for eight days. Its central mitzvah is lighting the hanukkiah each night.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-rabbinic-festivals-hanukkah"
      },
      "iyar": {
        "term": "Iyar",
        "hebrew": "אִיָּר",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The spring month that follows Nisan in the Jewish calendar; it holds Yom HaZikaron, Yom HaAtzmaut, Lag BaOmer, and Yom Yerushalayim.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-how-the-jewish-calendar-works"
      },
      "kislev": {
        "term": "Kislev",
        "hebrew": "כִּסְלֵו",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The winter month of the Jewish calendar in which Hanukkah begins, on the 25th.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-how-the-jewish-calendar-works"
      },
      "lag-baomer": {
        "term": "Lag BaOmer",
        "hebrew": "ל\"ג בָּעוֹמֶר",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 33rd day of the Omer count (18 Iyar), when the Omer's semi-mourning lifts — celebrated with bonfires, weddings, haircuts, and the great pilgrimage to Meron.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-minor-lag-baomer"
      },
      "marcheshvan": {
        "term": "Marcheshvan",
        "hebrew": "מַרְחֶשְׁוָן",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The fall month after Tishrei, often called simply Cheshvan — the only month of the Jewish year with no holidays at all.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-how-the-jewish-calendar-works"
      },
      "mishnah": {
        "term": "Mishnah",
        "hebrew": "מִשְׁנָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The first great written compilation of the Oral Torah, organized by Rabbi Yehudah HaNasi around 200 CE into six orders; together with the Gemara it forms the Talmud.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-talmud-in-one-article"
      },
      "mishneh-torah": {
        "term": "Mishneh Torah",
        "hebrew": "מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Rambam's monumental 12th-century code of Jewish law — the first work to organize the whole of Halacha systematically, from prayer to Temple service.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "nisan": {
        "term": "Nisan",
        "hebrew": "נִיסָן",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The spring month in which Pesach falls; the Torah counts it as the first month of the year.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "orthodox-judaism": {
        "term": "Orthodox Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Orthodox Judaism holds Halacha as fully binding and the Shulchan Aruch as its canonical code; it spans Haredi and Hasidic communities as well as Modern Orthodoxy, and is the starting point from which this Field Guide is written, even as it engages seriously with other denominations.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "pesach": {
        "term": "Pesach",
        "hebrew": "פֶּסַח",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Passover — the spring festival commemorating the Exodus from Egypt, observed with the seder meal, matzah, and the removal of chametz from the home.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-pesach"
      },
      "purim": {
        "term": "Purim",
        "hebrew": "פּוּרִים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The joyous festival celebrating the rescue of Persian Jewry recounted in the book of Esther, observed with the Megillah reading, gifts of food, gifts to the poor, and a festive meal.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-rabbinic-festivals-purim"
      },
      "rambam": {
        "term": "Rambam",
        "hebrew": "רמב״ם",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon (1138–1204), known by the acronym Rambam and in the Latin West as Maimonides, was the towering rationalist codifier and philosopher of medieval Judaism — author of the legal code Mishneh Torah and the philosophical Guide for the Perplexed. His formulation of God's unity and incorporeality remains foundational to Jewish theology across denominations.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-questions-what-does-judaism-teach-about-god"
      },
      "reform-judaism": {
        "term": "Reform Judaism",
        "hebrew": null,
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Reform Judaism treats Halacha as a source of values and meaning rather than binding law, emphasizing individual autonomy, ethical monotheism, and tikkun olam; it was the first movement to fully recognize patrilineal descent and ordain women as rabbis.",
        "moreSlug": "how-to-use-this-field-guide"
      },
      "rosh-chodesh": {
        "term": "Rosh Chodesh",
        "hebrew": "רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 'head of the month' — the minor festival marking the new moon and the start of each Hebrew month, with its own additions to the liturgy.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "rosh-hashanah": {
        "term": "Rosh Hashanah",
        "hebrew": "רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Jewish New Year, observed on the 1st and 2nd of Tishrei with the sounding of the shofar; it opens the Ten Days of Repentance that culminate in Yom Kippur.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-yamim-noraim-rosh-hashanah"
      },
      "selichot": {
        "term": "Selichot",
        "hebrew": "סְלִיחוֹת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Penitential prayers asking forgiveness, recited in the lead-up to and during the High Holidays and on fast days.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "sephardi": {
        "term": "Sephardi",
        "hebrew": "סְפָרַדִּי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A Jew whose family traces to medieval Spain and Portugal — and, in common usage, to the broader communities of the Mediterranean and Middle East that follow Sephardic law and liturgy. The plural is Sephardim.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "shavuot": {
        "term": "Shavuot",
        "hebrew": "שָׁבוּעוֹת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The early-summer festival marking the giving of the Torah at Sinai, arriving at the end of the seven-week count from Pesach; customs include all-night study and dairy foods.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-shavuot"
      },
      "shemini-atzeret": {
        "term": "Shemini Atzeret",
        "hebrew": "שְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 'eighth day of assembly' — the festival immediately following Sukkot, when the prayer for rain begins; in Israel it coincides with Simchat Torah.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-yom-tov-shemini-atzeret-and-simchat-torah"
      },
      "shemot": {
        "term": "Shemot",
        "hebrew": "שְׁמוֹת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The book of Exodus — the Torah's second book, called by its opening Hebrew word, 'names'; also the name of that book's first weekly portion.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "shevat": {
        "term": "Shevat",
        "hebrew": "שְׁבָט",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The late-winter Hebrew month whose 15th day is Tu BiShvat, the New Year of the Trees.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "simchat-torah": {
        "term": "Simchat Torah",
        "hebrew": "שמחת תורה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'The joy of the Torah' — the festival on which the annual Torah-reading cycle is completed and immediately begun again, celebrated with seven circuits of dancing with the scrolls.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-yom-tov-shemini-atzeret-and-simchat-torah"
      },
      "sivan": {
        "term": "Sivan",
        "hebrew": "סיון",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The third month of the Jewish calendar counting from Nisan, falling in late spring; Shavuot falls on the 6th of Sivan.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "sukkot": {
        "term": "Sukkot",
        "hebrew": "סוכות",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The autumn Festival of Booths, one of the three pilgrimage festivals — seven days of dwelling in the sukkah and waving the four species, in 'the season of our joy.'",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-shalosh-regalim-sukkot"
      },
      "talmud": {
        "term": "Talmud",
        "hebrew": "תלמוד",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The vast rabbinic work — the Mishnah together with the Gemara's discussion of it — that develops the Oral Torah into Jewish law and thought. It is the central text of Jewish study after the Bible itself.",
        "moreSlug": "essentials-essential-facts-the-talmud-in-one-article"
      },
      "tammuz": {
        "term": "Tammuz",
        "hebrew": "תמוז",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The fourth month of the Jewish calendar, in midsummer; the fast of the 17th of Tammuz mourns the breach of Jerusalem's walls.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "tevet": {
        "term": "Tevet",
        "hebrew": "טבת",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The tenth month of the Jewish calendar, in midwinter; Hanukkah ends in early Tevet, and the fast of the 10th of Tevet recalls the siege of Jerusalem.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "tisha-bav": {
        "term": "Tisha B'Av",
        "hebrew": "תשעה באב",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 9th of Av — the year's major day of mourning, a full fast commemorating the destruction of both Temples and other catastrophes; Eichah (Lamentations) is read by candlelight.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-fasts-tisha-bav"
      },
      "tishrei": {
        "term": "Tishrei",
        "hebrew": "תשרי",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The autumn month that opens the Jewish year, dense with holy days: Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "torah": {
        "term": "Torah",
        "hebrew": "תּוֹרָה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Five Books of Moses — the scroll at the center of Jewish life — and, more broadly, the whole of Jewish teaching. 'Learning Torah' can mean anything from Chumash to Talmud.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "tu-bav": {
        "term": "Tu B'Av",
        "hebrew": "ט״ו באב",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 15th of Av — a minor festival of love and matchmaking; the Mishnah recalls the daughters of Jerusalem dancing in the vineyards, and modern Israel marks it as a day of love.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "tu-bishvat": {
        "term": "Tu BiShvat",
        "hebrew": "ט״ו בשבט",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 15th of Shevat — the 'New Year of the Trees' by which the age of fruit trees is counted, now celebrated with tree-planting, the seven species, and Kabbalistic-inspired seders.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-minor-tu-bishvat"
      },
      "yamim-noraim": {
        "term": "Yamim Noraim",
        "hebrew": "ימים נוראים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The 'Days of Awe' — Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the ten days of repentance that join them, the most solemn stretch of the Jewish year.",
        "moreSlug": null
      },
      "yom-haatzmaut": {
        "term": "Yom HaAtzmaut",
        "hebrew": "יום העצמאות",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Israel's Independence Day (5 Iyar), celebrating the establishment of the State in 1948; many communities mark it with festive prayer, including Hallel.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hazikaron-and-yom-haatzmaut"
      },
      "yom-hashoah": {
        "term": "Yom HaShoah",
        "hebrew": "יום השואה",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Holocaust Remembrance Day (27 Nisan) — formally Yom HaZikaron LaShoah V'LaGevurah, 'Holocaust and Heroism Remembrance Day' — marked by sirens and silence in Israel and memorial gatherings worldwide.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hashoah"
      },
      "yom-hazikaron": {
        "term": "Yom HaZikaron",
        "hebrew": "יום הזיכרון",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Israel's Memorial Day (4 Iyar) for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, observed the day before Yom HaAtzmaut — grief deliberately giving way to celebration.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-hazikaron-and-yom-haatzmaut"
      },
      "yom-kippur": {
        "term": "Yom Kippur",
        "hebrew": "יום כיפור",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "The Day of Atonement — the holiest day of the Jewish year, a 25-hour fast devoted to prayer, confession, and repair of one's relationships with God and with other people.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-yamim-noraim-yom-kippur"
      },
      "yom-yerushalayim": {
        "term": "Yom Yerushalayim",
        "hebrew": "יום ירושלים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Jerusalem Day (28 Iyar), commemorating the reunification of Jerusalem in the Six-Day War of 1967, when the Old City and the Western Wall returned to Jewish hands.",
        "moreSlug": "holidays-modern-observances-yom-yerushalayim"
      },
      "chodesh-ha-aviv": {
        "term": "chodesh ha-aviv",
        "hebrew": "חֹדֶשׁ הָאָבִיב",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "'The month of spring' — the Torah's name for the month of the Exodus, later called Nisan. Because Pesach must fall in the spring, the Jewish calendar adds leap months to keep the seasons in place.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-how-the-jewish-calendar-works"
      },
      "luach": {
        "term": "luach",
        "hebrew": "לוּחַ",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "A Jewish calendar — literally a \"board\" or \"tablet\" — the chart of dates, holidays, and prayer times that keeps a household or community in step with the Jewish year.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-how-the-jewish-calendar-works"
      },
      "parshah": {
        "term": "parshah",
        "hebrew": "פָּרָשָׁה",
        "translit": "parashah",
        "definition": "The weekly Torah portion — one of 54 divisions of the Torah, one (occasionally two) read each Shabbat so that the whole Torah is completed every year. The plural is parshiyot.",
        "moreSlug": "calendar-the-parshah-cycle"
      },
      "zmanim": {
        "term": "zmanim",
        "hebrew": "זמנים",
        "translit": null,
        "definition": "Halachic times of day (singular zman) — dawn, sunrise, the latest hour for the Shema, sunset, nightfall — calculated daily and by location, since prayers and observances are keyed to them.",
        "moreSlug": null
      }
    }
  },
  "links": [
    {
      "rel": "parent",
      "title": "Sacred Time",
      "href": "/sections/sacred-time.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "The Parshah Cycle",
      "href": "/articles/calendar-the-parshah-cycle.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Daf Yomi: A Page a Day",
      "href": "/articles/calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Counting the Omer (Sefirat HaOmer)",
      "href": "/articles/calendar-counting-the-omer-sefirat-haomer.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Daf Yomi: A Page a Day",
      "href": "/articles/calendar-daf-yomi-a-page-a-day.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "The Four Minor Fasts",
      "href": "/articles/holidays-fasts-the-four-minor-fasts.json"
    }
  ]
}