Liberal Judaism
Navigation
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • What is Liberal Judaism?
    • Who’s Who
    • Governance
    • Work & Volunteer With Us
  • Where We Are
    • Communities
    • The Montagu Centre
  • What We Do
    • LJY-Netzer
    • Progressive Jewish Students
    • LGBTQI+ Projects
    • Fundraising
    • Education
      • Education Hub
      • The Honeycomb Project
      • Judaism in Plain Sight – Kabbalat Torah Programme
    • Social Justice
    • Chaplaincy
    • Interfaith
    • Music
    • Community Development
    • Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable People
  • Lifecycle
    • Children
    • Coming of Age
    • Marriage & Blessings
    • Divorce
    • Joining a Community
    • Jewish Status & Conversion
    • Illness & Pastoral Care
    • Death & Mourning: Funeral Services
      • Non-member Jewish funerals
  • News & Views
    • News
    • Thought for the Week
    • LJ Today
    • In The Media
    • Statements
    • Opinion & Comment
    • Sermons
    • Press Enquiries
  • What’s On
    • Calendar
    • Liberal Judaism at Home
    • Live Streamed Services
    • Biennial Weekend
    • Jewish Dates
  • Resources
    • Resource Bank
    • Lectionary
    • Archive
    • Live Streaming
    • Links
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search
  • Home
  • Who We Are
    • What is Liberal Judaism?
    • Who’s Who
    • Governance
    • Work & Volunteer With Us
  • Where We Are
    • Communities
    • The Montagu Centre
  • What We Do
    • LJY-Netzer
    • Progressive Jewish Students
    • LGBTQI+ Projects
    • Fundraising
    • Education
      • Education Hub
      • The Honeycomb Project
      • Judaism in Plain Sight – Kabbalat Torah Programme
    • Social Justice
    • Chaplaincy
    • Interfaith
    • Music
    • Community Development
    • Safeguarding Children and Vulnerable People
  • Lifecycle
    • Children
    • Coming of Age
    • Marriage & Blessings
    • Divorce
    • Joining a Community
    • Jewish Status & Conversion
    • Illness & Pastoral Care
    • Death & Mourning: Funeral Services
      • Non-member Jewish funerals
  • News & Views
    • News
    • Thought for the Week
    • LJ Today
    • In The Media
    • Statements
    • Opinion & Comment
    • Sermons
    • Press Enquiries
  • What’s On
    • Calendar
    • Liberal Judaism at Home
    • Live Streamed Services
    • Biennial Weekend
    • Jewish Dates
  • Resources
    • Resource Bank
    • Lectionary
    • Archive
    • Live Streaming
    • Links
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Search

Holidays FAQ – General

Are there any Jewish holidays that Liberal Jews don’t usually celebrate? Why?
There are a number of minor fast days that Liberal Jews tend not to observe (e.g. 17th Tammuz, 10th Tevet – fast days associated with the history of the Temple in Jerusalem. Tish’ah b’Av – another Temple-related fast day also tends not to have a place in Liberal Jewish observance. In early Liberal Judaism, Purim also tended to be ignored, because it was based on a triumphalist, violent story that almost certainly didn’t happen – though recently it has entered the Liberal Jewish calendar.
Do Liberal Jews celebrate any holidays that orthodox Jews don’t?
No
How do Liberal Jews observe Yom Tov (and Shabbat)?
The essence of Liberal Judaism is ‘informed choice’. So, in theory, every Liberal Jew observes each festival and Shabbat according to his or her own individual choices and preferences. So observance will differ from one Liberal Jew to the next as she or he chooses from the range of possibilities available at and unique to each festival (e.g. lighting candles the evening the festival commences, eating the specific food relating to that festival, attending synagogue for the services etc).
Why do Liberal Jews only observe one day of Yom Tov eg; Rosh ha-Shanah?
The festivals that have their origins in the Torah are specifically related to the phases of the moon. In particular this applies to Pesach, which falls on the first full moon of the spring, and Sukkot, which is exactly six lunar months later. The other Torah-based festivals are all connected to those two (Shavu’ot is exactly 50 days after the second day of Pesach, Rosh ha-Shanah is 15 days before Sukkot and Yom Kippur is 10 days after Rosh ha-Shanah. In order for the first day of a new lunar month to be declared, two independent witnesses had to report its sighting to the rabbinic authorities in Jerusalem. Depending how late in the day these reports were received, the first day of the new month might be 29 or 30 days after the previous one. Once Jews moved away from Jerusalem, it became impossible for that information to be relayed to distant communities in time. So a second day of each major festival was introduced – the first day was based on the assumption of when the new moon would be declared and the second just in case its sighting in Jerusalem was delayed, making everything a day later. So in the Orthodox Jewish calendar outside of Israel there are 2 days for the start of Pesach, for Shavu’ot, for the start of Sukkot and for Rosh ha-Shanah (though, thankfully, not for Yom Kippur!)

Nowadays, of course, the timing of the new moon can be calculated precisely, so Liberal Jews do not feel the need to maintain this ancient tradition. Orthodox Judaism, however, is ever reluctant to remove practices once they have been established, so two days are still observed in Orthodox communities outside of the land of Israel.

Return to Ask the Rabbi
Check the Jewish holiday dates

Liberal Judaism

Tel: +44 (0)20 7580 1663
The Montagu Centre
21 Maple Street
London
W1T 4BE

Company Reg: 08281223
Charity No: 01151090

Legal & Privacy

Click Here for Ts & Cs

Safeguarding

Click Here for our statement

Contact Us Online

Click Here to get in touch
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this. ACCEPTRejectPrivacy policy