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

🇮🇱 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

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

🇮🇱 Israel and 3 moreDreidelדרײדל (Yiddish); סביבון (Hebrew) A four-sided top spun for small stakes, most often by Jewish families at HanukkahGame

🇮🇱 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

🇮🇱 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 🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreSeharane A Kurdish Jewish festival of campfires, circle dances and shared foodFestival

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

🇮🇱 Tel Aviv, Israel and 1 moreAdloyadaעדלאידע A humorous Purim parade in Israel featuring giant puppets and satirical floats.Festival

🇮🇱 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

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 1 moreHenna ceremonyليلة الحناء A night of henna patterns on a bride's hands and feet, kept before the weddingRite of passage

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

🇮🇱 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

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

🇮🇱 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

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

🇮🇱 IsraelFast of the Firstbornתַעֲנִית בְּכוֹרוֹת A Jewish fast day kept by firstborns on the eve of PassoverSpiritual · Fasting and breaking the fast

🇮🇱 Israel and 5 moreZeved habatזֶבֶד הַבָּת A Jewish naming ceremony for newborn girls, kept by Sephardi, Mizrahi and Ashkenazi communities.Rite of passage

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 5 moreKiddush Levanahקידוש לבנה A Jewish ritual service held after the new moon to bless God for the lunar cycle and seek protection.Spiritual

🇮🇱 Israel and 1 moreIsru Chagאסרו חג A minor Jewish observance extending the joy and sanctity of major pilgrimage holidaysSpiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreSimchat Beit HaShoeivahשמחת בית השואבה Nightly music and dancing during the intermediate days of the festival of SukkotFestival · Tea-time and snacking customs

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 2 moreDough offeringHafrashat challah A Jewish ritual where a portion of bread dough is set aside for a priest.Spiritual 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelTikkun HaKlaliתיקון הכללי A set of ten Psalms recited for repentance and spiritual healing within the Breslover Hasidic tradition.Spiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelChallah cover A cloth used to cover braided bread loaves on the Shabbat table in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition.Spiritual · Dinner 🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelAliya la'regelעלייה לרגל A Jewish commandment to appear at the Temple in Jerusalem during three annual festivals.Spiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, IsraelSong of Ascentsשיר המעלות Fifteen Hebrew psalms sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem and by monks at prayerSpiritual 🇮🇱 IsraelTefillat Talתפילת טל A Jewish prayer for dew, recited on the opening morning of PassoverSpiritual

🇮🇱 Jerusalem, Israel and 1 moreHoshana Rabbahהוֹשַׁעְנָא רַבָּה The seventh and final day of Sukkot, marked by seven synagogue processions and night-long study.Festival · Dinner

Photo credits on this page

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

Yom HaZikaron: אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, source
Sukkot: Zachi Evenor, CC BY 2.0, source
Mishloach manot: Yoninah, CC BY 2.5, source
Dreidel: Adiel lo, CC BY-SA 3.0, 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
Kaddish: Jwh, CC BY-SA 3.0 lu, 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
Song of Ascents: No machine-readable author provided. Amoruso~commonswiki assumed (base, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Henna ceremony: No author provided, CC0, source
High Holy Days: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
Kiddush: Dimitri, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Hoshana Rabbah: Unknown author, Public domain, 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
Isru Chag: Jim Padgett, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fast of the Firstborn: J. M. W. Turner, Public domain, source
Kiddush Levanah: Wacław Koniuszko, Public domain, source
Simchat Beit HaShoeivah: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Zeved habat: I.am.a.qwerty, 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
Dough offering: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Adloyada: ד"ר אבישי טייכר, CC BY 2.5, 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