Jewish traditions

Jewish traditions have been kept for more than three thousand years in many lands, and include Shabbat, the festivals of Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Hanukkah, the dietary laws of kashrut, and the rites of brit milah, bar and bat mitzvah, marriage and mourning. The Jewish communities of Ashkenaz, Sepharad, Mizrahi lands, Ethiopia and India each developed their own foods, melodies and customs. These pages describe them as those who keep them do, and note the variety among communities.

Shabbat and the festivals

Shabbat, from Friday evening to Saturday night, is the weekly day of rest with candles, wine, challah and a family meal. The festivals follow the lunar calendar: the autumn High Holy Days, the harvest of Sukkot, the lights of Hanukkah, the carnival of Purim and the freedom story of Passover, with its seder. Each has special foods, readings and customs, and many involve children actively.

Many communities, many customs

Jews from Iraq, Morocco, Yemen, Poland, Ethiopia and Spain have all kept the same faith with differences in food, melody and dress. A Moroccan Mimouna celebration after Passover, a Yemenite henna party or an Ashkenazi cholent on Shabbat all belong to the tradition. The common thread is the study of text, the remembrance of history and the care of community, expressed in rites as old as the faith.

About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background on Jewish (faith). Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassoverפסח A Jewish spring festival celebrating freedom from slavery with ritual mealsSpiritual · Dinner

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHanukkahחֲנֻכָּה An eight-day Jewish festival marking the rededication of the Second Temple in Jerusalem and the miracle of a single day'Festival

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelYom Kippurיוֹם כִּפּוּר The holiest day in Judaism, dedicated to fasting, prayer and atonementSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇱 IsraelRosh Hashanahרֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה The Jewish New Year marked by shofar horn blasts, prayer and sweet foodsSpiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelSukkotסוכות A seven-day autumn Jewish festival of temporary booths, harvest prayers and hospitalitySpiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 morePurimפּוּרִים A lively Jewish festival of storytelling, shared food, masks and charityFestival · Feasts and festival meals

🇲🇦 Morocco and 5 moreAndalusi classical musicطرب أندلسي A classical suite of vocal and instrumental music shared across North AfricaPerformance

🇮🇱 IsraelMishloach manotמשלוח מנות Food parcels exchanged on Purim, so everyone has plenty for the day's festive mealSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreTzitzitצִיצִית Knotted ritual fringes worn on a four-cornered garment, a reminder of the commandmentsDress

🇮🇱 IsraelTallitטלית A four-cornered Jewish prayer shawl with ritual fringes worn during worshipSpiritual

🇲🇦 Marrakesh, Morocco and 5 moreGnawa musicڭْناوة or كْناوة A spiritual musical tradition of Morocco that blends West African rhythms with Islamic ritual to heal and connect communPerformance

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreKaddishקַדִּישׁ A Jewish hymn of sanctification recited during prayer services and mourning rituals.Spiritual

🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreHousewarming party A gathering held soon after moving into a new home to celebrate the space and welcome guests.Home

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreKol Nidreכָּל נִדְרֵי An Aramaic declaration of vow annulment that opens the Yom Kippur evening service in Jewish synagogues.Spiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreTisha B'Avתשעה באב A solemn fast day in July or August to mourn the destruction of the Jerusalem Temples and other Jewish tragedies.Spiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇱 Tiberias, Israel and 2 moreYahrzeitיאָרצײַט (yortsayt) A Jewish death anniversary marked by prayer and a burning candle to honour the departed.Rite of passage

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 2 moreMezuzahמְזוּזָה (mezuzah) A parchment scroll with Hebrew verses placed in a case on the doorposts of Jewish homes.Spiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelShavuotשבועות A late-spring Jewish festival of the wheat harvest and the giving of the TorahSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇺🇸 United States and 5 moreRite of passage A ceremony that marks leaving one group and entering another, with a new statusRite of passage

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelPassover Sederסדר פסח A ritual meal opening Passover, told over wine, matzah and symbolic foodsSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇺🇦 Kyiv, Ukraine and 14 morePysankaписанка A wax-resist egg decorating tradition kept by Slavic communities for Easter and spring renewal.Festival

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreShemini Atzeretשְׁמִינִי עֲצֶרֶת The eighth day of assembly, kept right after Sukkot with a prayer for rainSpiritual

🇺🇦 Kyiv, UkraineChristmas in UkraineРіздво (Rizdvo) A Ukrainian Christmas celebration with a twelve-dish vegan supper on Christmas Eve and observance on January 6 or DecembFestival · Supper

🇮🇱 IsraelYom HaZikaronיוֹם הַזִּכָּרוֹן Israel's national day of mourning for fallen soldiers and victims of terrorism.Ceremony

🇲🇦 Morocco and 4 moreMimounaמִימוּנָה A Maghrebi Jewish celebration marking the end of Passover with sweets and open doorsFestival · Dinner

🇪🇹 Ethiopia and 2 moreSigdስግድ An Ethiopian Jewish holiday of covenant renewal, fasting, and longing for ZionSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇱 Safed, Israel and 5 moreHakafotהַקָּפוֹת Circling the synagogue platform with the Torah scrolls, at Sukkot and Simchat TorahSpiritual

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 5 moreHarvest festival A thanks for the gathered crop, kept with church meals, songs and shared foodSeasonal · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇳 India and 4 moreProstration Bowing the whole body to the ground, in prayer and as a sign of respectSpiritual

🇩🇪 Germany and 3 moreTashlikhתשליך A Jewish new year rite of casting sins into flowing water, kept by the watersideSpiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreSimchat Torahשִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה The day Jewish communities finish the Torah reading and start it again, with dancingSpiritual · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇱 Israel and 4 moreTorah readingקריאת התורה The public reading of the Torah scroll in synagogue, chanted to a special tuneSpiritual

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreHigh Holy Daysיָמִים נוֹרָאִים The Jewish year's ten days of repentance, from Rosh Hashanah to Yom KippurSpiritual

🇮🇱 IsraelKiddushקידוש A blessing over wine or grape juice that marks Shabbat and festivals as holySpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreShofarשׁוֹפָר A ram's horn blown in synagogue to mark the Jewish new year and the end of Yom KippurSpiritual

🇮🇱 Israel and 2 moreSukkahסוכה A temporary hut with a branch roof, lived in for the seven days of SukkotSpiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelRosh Chodeshרֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ The start of each Hebrew month, marked by the new moon and kept with prayerSpiritual

🇮🇷 Iran and 5 moreWinter solstice The shortest day and longest night of the year, marked with fire, feasting and poetrySeasonal

🇬🇷 Greece and 5 moreEvil eye A belief in harm cast by envious glares, met with protective charms and spoken blessingsFolklore

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreBar and bat mitzvahבַּר מִצְוָה / בַּת מִצְוָה A Jewish rite of passage marking when youth reach adulthood and take responsibility for their own actions.Rite of passage · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreFour speciesארבעת המינים (Arba'at HaMinim) A ritual waving of four plants during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot.Spiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 3 moreHanukkah menorah A nine-branched lamp that gains one more flame on each of Hanukkah's eight nightsSpiritual

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreChallahחַלָּה A braided Jewish bread, blessed and shared at Shabbat and holiday tablesTable custom · Feasts and festival meals

🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreKashrutכַּשְׁרוּת (Hebrew) The Jewish dietary laws: what may be eaten, and how it is preparedTable custom

🇰🇪 Kenya and 5 moreBurial Placing the dead in the ground or a structure to honor them and guide their journey.Rite of passage

🇸🇬 Singapore and 3 moreMatchmaking The custom of using a trusted intermediary to introduce partners for marriageRite of passage

🇪🇬 Egypt and 5 moreLibation The ceremonial gift of drink given to deities, ancestors, and the earthSpiritual · Tea, coffee and drinking ceremonies 🇪🇬 Alexandria, Egypt and 5 moreCenobitic monasticism A communal way of monastic life where monks live, pray, and follow a shared ruleSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Christmas in Ukraine: Halyna Kuchmanych, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Harvest festival: High Contrast, CC BY 3.0 de, source
Zajal: 13th century artist, Public domain, source
Prostration: Meghan Breeze, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Yom HaZikaron: אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, source
Sigd: האגודה הישראלית למען יהודי אתיופיה, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sukkot: Zachi Evenor, CC BY 2.0, source
Mishloach manot: Yoninah, CC BY 2.5, source
Tzitzit: DRosenbach at English Wikipedia, Public domain, source
Passover Seder: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Shemini Atzeret: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Tallit: Mushki Brichta, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Tashlikh: Yaakov Saar, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Gnawa music: Lucyin, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Kaddish: Jwh, CC BY-SA 3.0 lu, source
Housewarming party: State Library of Queensland, Australia, No restrictions, source
Kol Nidre: אליעזר ב"ר רבי אליהו הלוי שבט סופר, Public domain, source
Tisha B'Av: shlomi kakon, CC BY 2.5, source
Simchat Torah: No machine-readable author provided. Merlin assumed (based on copyrigh, CC BY 2.5, source
Torah reading: Sagie Maoz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Yahrzeit: Elipongo, Public domain, source
Mezuzah: Adrian Grycuk, CC BY-SA 3.0 pl, source
High Holy Days: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Kiddush: Dimitri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Sukkah: Gilabrand, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rosh Chodesh: beth woodrum, CC BY 2.0, source
Winter solstice: Image by Przemyslaw " Blueshade " Idzkiewicz, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Kashrut: Daniel Ventura, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Evil eye: FocalPoint, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Burial: Rama , commissioned by Wikimédia France, CC BY-SA 2.0 fr, source
Matchmaking: Pavel Fedotov, Public domain, source
Libation: Arkady Zarubin ( Аркадий Зарубин ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Mimouna: U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Pysanka: Lubap, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Passover: User:RadRafe~commonswiki, Public domain, source
Hanukkah: Vyacheslav Argenberg, CC BY 4.0, source
Rosh Hashanah: N100a . The original uploader was N100a at Hebrew Wikipedia ., Attribution, source
Yom Kippur: Maurycy Gottlieb, Public domain, source
Purim: Unknown author, CC BY 2.5, source
Shavuot: https://www.flickr.com/people/69061470@N05, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Rite of passage: Rogier van der Weyden, Public domain, source
Bar and bat mitzvah: Peter van der Sluijs, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Four species: עוטה אור, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
Hakafot: Meir624, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shabbat meals: Yoninah, Public domain, source
Hanukkah menorah: Musée d'art et d'histoire du Judaïsme, CC BY-SA 4.0, source