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Answers · High Holidays

Elul, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur and Sukkot

The season's questions, answered with their source and in plain language. Each one leads to the app that keeps the day with you.

24 answers, each with its source

Elul

What is the month of Elul, and what is done in it?Elul is the Hebrew month before Rosh Hashanah, lived as a season of teshuvah (return): the daily shofar, Psalm 27, and a heart making ready.Which Tehillim is said in Elul?In Elul the custom is Psalm 27, "LeDavid, Hashem ori" — said twice a day from Rosh Chodesh Elul through Hoshana Rabbah, the psalm of nearness in the time of judgment.When do Selichot begin?Selichot are the prayers for forgiveness before Rosh Hashanah. Sephardi custom: all of Elul, from Rosh Chodesh. Ashkenazi custom: from the Saturday night before, at least four days.Why is the shofar sounded in Elul?The Rambam (Hilchot Teshuvah 3:4) teaches the shofar cries to "those who sleep": wake from spiritual slumber and return. It is sounded each morning of Elul.What is teshuvah?Teshuvah is return, not mere regret. The Rambam sets out its steps: recognize the wrong, leave it, confess it, and resolve wholeheartedly not to repeat it.

Rosh Hashanah

When is Rosh Hashanah 2026?Rosh Hashanah 5787 begins at sunset on Friday, September 11, 2026 and ends at nightfall on Sunday, September 13. Two days, 1-2 Tishrei.What is eaten on Rosh Hashanah, and why?The Rosh Hashanah simanim — apple in honey, fish head, pomegranate, dates, gourd, leek, beets — each eaten as a good omen with a yehi ratzon.What is Tashlich?Tashlich is the Rosh Hashanah custom of going to flowing water, reciting Micah 7:19, and symbolically casting away one's wrongs into the depths.What time are the Rosh Hashanah candles lit?First-night Rosh Hashanah candles are lit 18 minutes before your city's sunset; second-night after nightfall from an existing flame.

Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur

What are the Ten Days of Repentance?The Ten Days of Repentance are the ten days from Rosh Hashanah to Yom Kippur, given to teshuvah, prayer, and tzedakah while Hashem is near.What is Shabbat Shuvah?Shabbat Shuvah is the Shabbat between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, named for the haftarah "Shuvah Yisrael" — Return, O Israel.What is the Fast of Gedaliah?The Fast of Gedaliah is a daytime fast on 3 Tishrei, the day after Rosh Hashanah, mourning the assassination that ended Jewish life in the Land after the First Temple.

Yom Kippur

What is Kol Nidrei, and what does it mean?Kol Nidrei is the Aramaic declaration opening Yom Kippur, annulling vows a person takes upon themselves before Heaven — not commitments or debts owed to other people.What are the five afflictions of Yom Kippur?The Mishnah names five afflictions of Yom Kippur: no eating or drinking, no washing, no anointing, no leather shoes, no marital relations.Who does not fast on Yom Kippur?Life overrides the fast. Those whose illness poses danger, and often those who are pregnant or nursing, do not fast; young children never do.What is Neilah?Neilah is the closing prayer of Yom Kippur at dusk — 'the gates are closing' — ending with the Shema and a single shofar blast.Are candles lit on Yom Kippur?Yes. Yom Kippur festival candles are lit before sunset with a blessing and Shehecheyanu; many also light a 24-hour ner neshamah for the departed.

Sukkot and Simchat Torah

What is Sukkot?Sukkot is a seven-day festival of joy (15-21 Tishrei) when we dwell in a sukkah, recalling the booths Israel lived in after the Exodus.What are the Four Species (arba minim)?The arba minim are lulav, etrog, hadas and aravah — palm, citron, myrtle and willow — taken together and waved each day of Sukkot with a blessing.How is a sukkah built?A kosher sukkah needs at least three walls and a roof of s'chach — cut plant material giving more shade than sun, through which the stars can be glimpsed.What is Hoshana Rabbah?Hoshana Rabbah is the seventh day of Sukkot, with seven circuits crying 'hoshana' and the striking of willow branches — seen as the final seal of judgment.What are Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah?Shemini Atzeret closes the festival season with the prayer for rain and Yizkor; Simchat Torah finishes and restarts the Torah with dancing.What are the ushpizin?The ushpizin are seven spiritual guests who, by tradition, visit the sukkah one each night: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Joseph and David.When is Kiddush Levanah said after Yom Kippur?Kiddush Levanah, the blessing over the new moon, is customarily said after Yom Kippur once the moon is visible, from about three days after the molad to mid-month.
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