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Jewish Holidays and Commemorations

Yom Kippur: (Sunset on Wed, Oct 1 to Sunset on Thu, Oct 2)  

The culmination of the Yamim Nora’im (Days of Awe) is the fast day of Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement). This is the day at the conclusion of which, according to tradition, God seals the Books of Life and Death for the coming year. The day is devoted to communal repentance for sins committed over the course of the previous year.

• 🧿 Host a peer support gathering with A Mitzvah to Eat to discuss how to make Jewish fast days meaningful to people for whom it is not safe to fast. 
• 📖 Learn about alternatives to traditional fasting 
• 🧿 Host an alternative Yom Kippur gathering, such as a contemplative hike
• 📖 Read the Book of Jonah together and discuss its compelling themes
• 🌱🧿 Host a Shabbat Shuvah Torah/Clothing Swap to renew our souls and our wardrobes for the new year ahead. 

Sukkot: (Sundown on Mon, Oct 6 to Sundown on Mon, Oct 13)  

The festival of Sukkot is one of the three great pilgrimage festivals of the Jewish year. Beginning five days after Yom Kippur, Sukkot is named after the booths or huts (sukkot in Hebrew) in which Jews are supposed to dwell during this week-long celebration. 

• 🧿 Build your own sukkah!
• 🌱 Edible Sukkah Making: Tikkun Olam Edition – Make a sukkah out of gingerbread crackers and candy and discuss the tikkun olam topics your sukkah represents
• 📖 Enjoy Sushi in the Sukkah and learn about Jewish-Japanese Fusion
• Make your own local lulav with this program  
• 📖🌱 Learn about the connection between Sukkot and social justice issues like climate change, homelessness, and refugee and immigrant rights 
• 📖 Host a breakup party! Learn a bit of “letting-go” wisdom from Kohelet and encourage participants to share and celebrate what they’re breaking up with this season

October 7^th: (Tuesday)

On October 7th, 2023, Hamas led a coordinated attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip which tragically resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli deaths and over 240 hostages being taken – the largest attack on Jews since the Holocaust. This attack initiated the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. 

• 🌱🧿 Planting seeds program gather your community for a commemorative planting
• 🧿 Explore Jewish poems and poetry written about October 7 from across the political spectrum 
• 🧿 Host a dance party / October 7 commemoration in partnership with Dancing Through Tears 
• 📖 Hold a discussion about the roles of history, memory, and commemoration in Jewish identity-making 

Hoshanah Rabbah: (Sundown on Sun, Oct 12 to Sundown on Mon, Oct 13)

Hoshanah Rabbah, the seventh day of Sukkot, is a semi-holiday in its own right. Still counted among the days of Hol Hamo’ed (intermediate festival days), it is the day during which the entire Jewish community is judged by God to be worthy or not of the seasonal rains. 

• 🌱🧿 Host an interpretive Hoshanah Rabbah service focused on climate change 
• 📖 Gather at a cemetery to learn about Hoshana Rabbah as a day of the dead 
• 🌱🧿 Host a song-circle with songs that relate to the theme of water

Shemini Atzeret: (Sundown on Mon, Oct 13 to Sundown on Wed, Oct 14)  

Shemini Atzeret is mentioned in the Bible, but its exact function is unclear. Practices include the official start to the rainy reason and praying Yizkor. Note that Reform Jews observe Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on the same day.

• 🧿 Now that the etrog is no longer being used, turn it into etrog curd or jelly and try it on some baked goods. (More ideas here.) 
• 📖 Host a final gathering in a sukkah and embrace the spirituality of just hanging out or the beauty of being in-between 
• 📖 Learn about the importance of water in the Jewish tradition 

Simchat Torah: (Sunset on Tue, Oct 14 to Sunset on Wed, Oct 15)  

Simchat Torah is a celebration of the conclusion of one and the beginning of another annual cycle of readings from the Torah. Note that Reform Jews observe Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah on the same day .

• 🧿 Attend a local synagogue’s Simchat Torah party together – you can even pregame with some Torah-themed cocktails at home before you head out (ask your JLS!) 
• 📖 Host an out-of-this world-themed Simchat Torah celebration and learn about the Torah in space 
• 🧿 Host a dance party / October 7 commemoration in partnership with Dancing Through Tears 

Anniversary of the Tree of Life Shooting in Pittsburgh: (Mon, Oct 27)

On October 27th, 2018, an extremist attacked Tree of Life – Or L’Simcha Congregation in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania during Shabbat morning services. The perpetrator was motivated by antisemitism and anti-immigrant sentiment. He killed eleven people and wounded six, in the deadliest attack on a local Jewish community in American history. 

• 🌱 Volunteer with HIAS (The shooter was partially motivated by HIAS and the congregation’s work with refugees) 
• 🌱 Learn about the Torah’s theology of border-crossing 
• 🧿 Explore the stories of the congregants who lost their lives   
• 📖 Learn about Jewish perspectives on firearms and gun violence prevention 

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Torah Portions

Saturday, October 4th: Ha’azinu – “Give Ear”

Moses recites a song to the Children of Israel that serves as testimony of their covenant with God. God tells Moses to head up Mount Nebo to find his final resting place. 

• 🧿 Host your own music program by having each participant bring their favorite Jewish song to share with the group!  
• As Moses prepares for his resting place, visit a local cemetery:
  • 📖 Learn about Jewish burial practices or do a gravestone symbol scavenger hunt
  • 🌱 Clean up a local cemetery 
• 🌱 Visit a nursing home and share songs with the residents  

Saturday, October 11th: V’Zot HaBrachah – “And This Is the Blessing” / Sukkot reading

Normally, this week’s Torah portion would be V’zot HaBrachah, the final parashah in Torah, where Moses gives the tribes of Israel a final blessing and dies at the age of 120. However, because this Shabbat falls during Sukkot, we instead do a special Sukkot Shabbat reading, consisting of parts of the Torah which discuss the holiday of Sukkot. 

• 📖 As Moses is recounting the people’s history, get together to watch the Jewiest episodes of Drunk History, or host a creative Jewish history-telling program of your own!
• 🧿 Bring together participants to write their own blessings for your community
• 📖 Listen to excerpts of a podcast on History and Memory or Jewish counter-history during a hike, craft session, or over drinks and then discuss

Saturday, October 18th: Bereishit – “In the Beginning”

God creates the world. After Adam and Eve eat the forbidden fruit, they are banished from the Garden of Eden. Later Cain kills Abel. God then considers destroying all of Creation. 

• 📖 Learn about Jewish herbalism and plant indoor-friendly herbs together in honor of day three of creation 
• 📖 Go to a planetarium and learn about the Jewish zodaic in honor of day four of creation 
• 🌱 Volunteer at a local animal shelter or make DIY animal toys in honor of days five and six of creation
• 🧿 Host a photography event exploring what it means to be created in God’s image
• 📖 What was the forbidden fruit? Sample fruits thought to be the forbidden fruit while studying the story of Bereshit
• 📖 What does it mean to be your brother’s keeper? Learn this piece of this week’s parashah, and discuss the role of the Jewish people in the world

Saturday, October 25th: Noach – “Noah”

God punishes the wicked in the world by causing a giant flood. God saves Noah and his family, who will repopulate the world. We are also introduced to Abram and his wife, Sarai. 

• 📖 Host a story slam or powerpoint party with the theme of “greatest regrets.” Make sure someone tells the stories of Creation and Noah! 
• 🧿 Gather at a local park for a paper ark building competition, with rainbow cookies to celebrate the winner
• 📖 Host a pet-friendly picnic and offer blessings to your animals 
• 🌱📖 Use resources from Dayenu – A Jewish Call to Climate Action to inspire programming that explores the climate crisis as a Jewish issue. Here is a resource on Parashat Noach that could inspire a Jewish Learning event
• 🌱🧿 Consider hosting a song circle using songs from Rising Tides, Rising Voices to educate participants on Dayenu, a Jewish call to climate action

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Secular Celebrations and Remembrances

Fair Trade Month:

• 🌱 Host a tasting & learning program focused on fruit, wine, chocolate, or tea 
• 🌱📖 Go on a Farmer’s Market Scavenger Hunt with our Farmer’s Market Program and/or resource sheet

National Economic Education Month:

• 🌱📖 Host a tzedakah circle (or giving circle) where each participant contributes $10 and you decide collectively where to donate the funds after learning about a few nonprofit organizations

October 1st (We): International Coffee Day

• 🫂 Host a coffee program making lattes, espresso and cold brew drinks while discussing the difference between what origins mean (single double) and what countries create the most coffee beans. Additionally, noting what countries are that financially benefiting from the coffee trade and who is not benefiting from the coffee trade. See article here.
• 🧿 Learn about the intersections of Coffee and Judaism.

• 🧿 Host a Pumpkin Carving and Painting event and learn about Judaism and pumpkins!  

October 1st (We): International Music Day, World Vegetarian Day

• 🧿 Host a song circle or jam session with this Moishe House Songbook 
• 📖 Host a music sharing party where each participant introduces a favorite artist to the group. Between artists, explore these Jewish sources about listening

October 1st (We): World Vegetarian Day

• 🌱 Learn about the Jewish values and the environmental impact of enjoying a vegetarian or vegan meal

October 2nd (Th): International Day of Nonviolence

• 🧿 Learn about nonviolent organizations working on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict such as Roots, Standing Together, the Parents’ Circle, and Peace Now

October 3rd (Fr): Mean Girls Day

• 🧿 Throw a watch party for the OG Mean Girls movie, the Mean Girls Musical, or Mean Girls: The Musical: The Movie and, with the help of this HeyAlma article, discuss the complicated representation of sometimes-Jewish Gretchen Weiners
• 🧿 Host a Mean Girls-themed Shabbat (On Fridays, we wear pink!) 

October 3rd (Fr): “Life of a Showgirl” Album Release

• 📖 Listen together to the new album and play Jewish Swiftie Bingo with Jewish imagery and themes you hear as you go
• 📖 Host a session of “Taylor or Torah” where participants guess whether a quote is from TS or from Jewish tradition
• 📖 Bring in a Jewish Swiftie educator like Lilyfish Gomberg (@jewishswiftie on IG) to teach about Jewish wisdom within TS’s music
• 📖 Learn about techniques of Jewish textual interpretation (e.g. gematria, PaRDeS, mashal, gezera shava) and try them out on the lyrics of the new album

October 7th (Tu): World Architecture Day

• For programs relating to 10/7/23, see the “Jewish Holidays” section above 
• 🌱 Hold a walking tour learning about adaptive reuse and the importance of protecting historic buildings without contributing to gentrification
• 🧿 Tour a local synagogue with an interesting design and discuss how the architectural choices contribute to the sense of sacred space

October 11th (Sa): National Coming Out Day

• 🌱📖 Build and display a NCOD door, decorated with Jewish wisdom on welcoming, for folks to take pictures with
• 📖 Host a queer Torah study with resources from Keshet
• 📖 Explore homoerotic poetry by Jewish writers from Medieval Spain
• 🫂📖 Read about the Torah of coming out and write letters to your younger selves

October 12th (Su): National Gumbo Day

• 📖 Learn about Jewish-Cajun culture and try out some Kosher Cajun recipes for Shabbat

October 13th (Mo): Breast Cancer Awareness Day

• 🌱 Hold an event learning about the Founder Effect and raising awareness about the prevalence of the BRCA gene mutation in the Ashkenazi community
• 🌱🧿 Partner with Sharsheret, a Jewish breast cancer org, to host a Shabbat dinner to help raise awareness about breast cancer

October 13th (Mo): Indigenous People’s Day

• 🫂📖 Watch Intersections of Identity, a 1-hour program on the Jewish Indigenous experience
• 🌱📖 Read an excerpt from “The Stolen Beam,” an essay by a South Dakotan Jew reckoning with her family’s history or listen to the audio essay.
• 🌱Learn about tribal sovereignty and indigenous governance over food ordered from a local Native-owned business
• 🌱📖 Learn about the indigenous communities in your area and reflect on the experience of exile with these program ideas.

October 16th (Th): World Food Day

• 📖 Host a watch party for your local team and include this competitive fun fact game
• 🌱 Prep food for a community fridge, host an almost-expired potluck or food swap, start a composting initiative, or reduce food waste by hosting a scrappy cooking class
• 🌱📖 Learn about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and discuss Jewish wisdom regarding the importance of food access 
• 📖 Host a Jewish cooking competition potluck where every dish must contain a different Jewish ingredient. Have chefs present what makes their ingredient Jewish! Ideas: Seven Species, holidays’ symbolic food, good-luck food puns, etc.
• 🌱🧿 Host a Community Soup Kitchen night and learn how to offer chesed (loving kindness) to your community through the making and giving of food.
• 🌱📖 Order food from a worker-owned cooperative and enjoy it while studying this intention for Jewish ethical consumption

October 16th (Th): National Sports Day

• 📖 Host a pick-up game of basketball, gaga, flag football, or pickleball and learn about Jewish connections to the sport
• 🧿 Run your own Maccabiah games in your backyard or a local park

October 17th (Fr): Black Poetry Day

• 🫂📖 Explore the poetry of Black Jewish writers like Aaron Samuels, Tovah Ricardo, Raphael “Hebro” Fulcher, Camonghne Felix, and Rhys Langston

October 20th (Mo): Diwali

• 📖 Order food from a local Indian restaurant and learn about the Bene Israel

October 21st (Tu): National Apple Day

• 🧿 Bring your community apple-picking and then make homemade applesauce

October 23rd (Th): National Horror Movie Day

• 📖 Host a screening of a Jewish horror movie and accompanying discussion

October 24th (Fr): Start of Global Media Literacy Week

• 📖 Learn about the Yala Academy for Citizen Journalism, which trains citizen journalists who engage in cross-border dialogues on issues facing young people in the MENA region today.
• 🌱 Pick an issue important to members of your community and read a handful of articles from across the political spectrum, with attention to how the same facts are framed differently depending on the writers’ perspective
• 🧿 Explore the world of Jewish newspapers and journals with a program that also offers reduced subscription prices

October 25th (Sa): Global Champagne Day

• 📖 Taste-test different champagnes while learning what makes wine kosher

October 25th (Sa): National Frankenstein Friday

• 📖 Screen Young Frankenstein along with this Jewish comedy movie program 

October 26th (Su): National Pumpkin Day

• 🧿 Carve or paint pumpkins and learn about Jewish connections to spooky symbols while enjoying related snacks. Try making pumpkin-spice challah, pumpkin rugelach, za’atar pumpkin seeds, or chershi kara’a, a Libyan pumpkin spread.

October 27th (Mo): American Beer Day

For programs relating to the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, see the “Holidays and Commemorations” section above 

• 📖 Host a tasting party with local beers and learn about the history of Jews as tavern-keepers

October 28th (Tu): National Chocolate Day

• 📖 Go on an edible tour through the Jewish history of chocolate with this Jewish learning program
• 🌱Fair Trade chocolate tasting or make your own fair trade chocolate and explore fair trade and Jewish values

October 31st (Fr): Halloween

• 📖 Learn about Jewish monsters such as the Behema, Leviathan, and Golem
• 🧿 Host a Challahween with ghost candles, candy challah, costumes, orange plates on a black tablecloth… the possibilities are endless! 
• 🧿 Host a Havdallahween (on Nov 1^st) – Separate the holy from the mundane as you tell spooky Jewish stories around the light of the havdallah candle!  

Compiled by Annie Prusky with contributions by Adena Walker, Adira Rosen, and Jessica Herrmann, and Rabbi Shari Shamah