Living in Israel means living inside a calendar that reschedules everything around it: shops, buses, schools, your dentist. The vocabulary of that calendar is small and completely regular, and once you have it you can read a notice on a door and know exactly which day it means. This page gives you the days, then the constructions that hang off them, then the greetings — which have a documented history rather than a fixed list.
The year in fourteen days
Hebrew dates run on the Hebrew calendar, whose year opens in תשרי tishréi, in the autumn. The dates below take a geresh ׳ on a single letter and gershayim ״ on two — the system on letters used as numerals.
| Day | Date | What it does to your week |
|---|---|---|
| ראש השנהrosh hashaná | א׳–ב׳ בתשרי | Two days of near-total shutdown. Greeting: שנה טובה. |
| יום כיפורyom kipúr | י׳ בתשרי | No traffic, no flights, no broadcasts. A fast: צום קל. |
| סוכותsukót | ט״ו–כ״א בתשרי | Day one closed; the rest is חול המועד, and half the country is on a trip. |
| שמחת תורהsimkhát torá | כ״ב בתשרי | The day סוכות closes; in Israel the same day as שמיני עצרת. |
| חנוכהkhanuká | כ״ה בכסלו, eight days | Schools off, offices open. Candles nightly: מדליקים נרות. |
| ט״ו בשבטtu bishvát | ט״ו בשבט | A working day, with tree-planting at school. |
| פוריםpurím | י״ד באדר | Costumes, street parties. Jerusalem keeps it a day later: שושן פורים. |
| פסחpésakh | ט״ו–כ״א בניסן | Seder night, then חול המועד. Bread leaves the shelves. |
| יום השואהyom hashoá | כ״ז בניסן | A siren, and two minutes in which the country stops. |
| יום הזיכרוןyom hazikarón | ד׳ באייר | For the fallen. Two sirens, evening and morning. |
| יום העצמאותyom ha'atsma'út | ה׳ באייר | Begins the moment יום הזיכרון ends. Everything grills. |
| ל״ג בעומרlag ba'ómer | י״ח באייר | Bonfires — מדורות — and a smoky sky next morning. |
| שבועותshavu'ót | ו׳ בסיוון | One closed day; dairy food, cheesecake in every window. |
| תשעה באבtish'á be'áv | ט׳ באב | A fast and a mourning day; entertainment venues close. |
Four of those fourteen move. יום השואה, יום הזיכרון and יום העצמאות shift by a day when the fixed date would land them next to שבת, and תשעה באב is deferred to the tenth of Av in the years when the ninth falls on שבת itself. And two of the names are read as words, not as letters: ט״ו is the letter-number fifteen and ל״ג is thirty-three, yet Israelis say tu bishvát and lag ba'ómer.
ערב, ליל, מוצאי: three windows around one day
A Hebrew day begins at nightfall, and that one fact forces the whole system. If the evening of a festival is already the festival, the phrase for the run-up has to name the daylight hours before it, and the phrase for afterwards the night it ends.
| Construction | Covers | Example |
|---|---|---|
ערב
| the whole DAY before, in daylight | ערב פסח = the 14th of Nisan, the day of scrubbing and shopping |
ליל
| the night the holiday itself opens | ליל הסדר = seder night, already Passover |
מוצאי
| the night after it ends, once the stars are out | מוצאי שבת = Saturday night |
All three are construct chains: ערב, ליל and מוצאי are the bound forms of ערב "evening", לילה "night" and מוצא "going out". מוצאי is a frozen plural bound form and never appears without a noun after it.
בערב ראש השנה כל הכבישים פקוקים, אז תצא מוקדם.
be'érev rosh hashaná kol hakvishím pkukím, az tetsé mukdám
The day before Rosh Hashanah every road is jammed, so set off early. (to a man)
ערב פסח הוא היום הכי עמוס בשנה בסופר.
érev pésakh hu hayóm hakhí amús bashaná basúper
The day before Passover is the busiest day of the year at the supermarket.
בערב שבת אנחנו קונים, ובליל שבת אוכלים אצל סבתא.
be'érev shabát anákhnu koním, uveléil shabát okhlím étsel sávta
Friday is when we do the shopping, and Friday night we eat at Grandma's.
That is the minimal pair worth memorising: ערב שבת is Friday, the whole day, and ליל שבת is Friday night. Read ערב as "evening" and you turn up a day late.
נתראה במוצאי שבת, אחרי שהילדים נרדמים.
nitra'é bemotsa'éi shabát, akharéi shehayeladím nirdamím
See you Saturday night, once the kids have gone to sleep.
השבת נכנסת ברבע לשבע, אז תסיים את הקניות מוקדם.
hashabát nikhnéset beréva leshéva, az tesayém et hakniyót mukdám
Shabbat comes in at a quarter to seven, so finish the shopping early. (to a man)
חול המועד: the middle days
חול המועד khol hamo'éd — "the weekday part of the festival" — names the intermediate days of the two long holidays, פסח and סוכות. Work is permitted, schools are shut, and the whole country goes on a trip at once.
בחול המועד כל הארץ בטיולים, ואי אפשר למצוא חנייה.
bekhól hamo'éd kol ha'árets betiyulím, ve'í efshár limtsó khanayá
During the middle days of the holiday the entire country is out on trips and there's nowhere to park.
The holiday's name is parked after the phrase with nothing joining them: חול המועד פסח, חול המועד סוכות. Do not insert a של.
The verbs that go with the days
| Collocation | Reads | Careful |
|---|---|---|
| לחגוג את | lakhgóg et — to celebrate | Holiday names are definite, so את is obligatory: חוגגים את פסח. |
| לצום | latsúm — to fast | Takes no object. The fast itself is הצום; you break it with לשבור את הצום. |
| לעשות סדר | la'asót séder — to hold a seder | The same words also mean "to tidy up". Context, not grammar, decides. |
| להדליק נרות | lehadlík nerót — to light candles | Used for שבת and for חנוכה alike. |
אנחנו חוגגים את פסח אצל ההורים שלה השנה.
anákhnu khogegím et pésakh étsel hahorím shelá hashaná
We're doing Passover at her parents' this year.
אתה צם השנה? אני מנסה, אבל בלי קפה אני לא שורד.
atá tsam hashaná? aní menasé, avál bli kafé aní lo soréd
Are you fasting this year? I try, but without coffee I don't survive. (to a man)
מי עושה סדר השנה, אתם או אחותך?
mi osé séder hashaná, atém o akhotékh?
Who's hosting the seder this year — you or your sister? (to a woman)
אנחנו מדליקים נרות בשמונה בערב, תגיעו לפני?
anákhnu madlikím nerót bishmóne ba'érev, tagí'u lifnéi?
We're lighting candles at eight — can you get here before that?
The greetings, and where they came from
Most guides print חג שמח and stop. The Academy of the Hebrew Language tells a longer story, and it explains why you will hear something else from half the people you meet. Everything below is from its article חג שמח ומועדים לשמחה (hebrew-academy.org.il, Wayback snapshot of 21 June 2025).
חג שמח is the young one. It is missing from בְּרָכוֹת וּבִטּוּיֵי נִמּוּס, the list of greetings that ועד הלשון — the Academy's predecessor — published in 1928. The Academy dates it to the modern period and puts it down, probably, to Yiddish פרעהליכן יום־טוב, comparing German Frohes Fest. It was contested when it appeared, and defended on a line in the Talmud (בבלי שבת קמה ע״ב) and on וְשָׂמַחְתָּ בְּחַגֶּךָ, Deuteronomy 16:14.
מועדים לשמחה is the older formula, used on the three pilgrimage festivals — פסח, שבועות, סוכות — in many communities, Ashkenazi and Sephardi alike. Its source is the Amidah and the festival kiddush: וַתִּתֶּן לָנוּ ה׳ אֱלֹהֵינוּ מוֹעֲדִים לְשִׂמְחָה חַגִּים וּזְמַנִּים לְשָׂשׂוֹן. In some communities the reply is the next words of that line, חגים וזמנים לששון.
מועדים לשמחה, תמסור דרישת שלום לכולם בבית.
mo'adím lesimkhá, timsór drishát shalóm lekhulám babáyit
Happy festival — say hello to everyone at home. (to a man)
תזכו לשנים רבות is the formula the Academy records for Mizrahi and Yemenite communities, each with its answer: the Mizrahi תזכו לשנים רבות ונעימות is answered תזכו ותחיו ותאריכו ימים, the Yemenite תזכו לשנים רבות ומועדים טובים is answered בחייך ובימיך הטובים.
The newcomer has already grown traditions of its own. Some speakers keep חג שמח for the three pilgrimage festivals only, because the sources call only those three a חג, and use מועדים לשמחה through חול המועד; others extend it to ראש השנה, or reserve it for days on which work is forbidden.
Three more, keyed to their occasion:
| Formula | Reads | When |
|---|---|---|
| שנה טובה | shaná tová | Around ראש השנה, often extended שנה טובה ומתוקה. |
| גמר חתימה טובה | gmar khatimá tová | Between ראש השנה and יום כיפור, and on the day itself. |
| צום קל | tsom kal | Before a fast — יום כיפור, תשעה באב. Literally "an easy fast". |
שנה טובה ומתוקה, שתהיה לכם שנה קלה יותר.
shaná tová umtuká, shetihyé lakhém shaná kalá yotér
A good and sweet year — may this one be easier on you.
גמר חתימה טובה, נדבר אחרי הצום.
gmar khatimá tová, nedabér akharéi hatsóm
May you be sealed for good — let's talk after the fast.
צום קל! אנחנו שוברים את הצום אצל שכנים.
tsom kal! anákhnu shovrím et hatsóm étsel shkhením
Have an easy fast! We're breaking the fast at some neighbours'.
Two colleagues, one holiday week
אתה עובד בחול המועד או לוקח חופש?
atá ovéd bekhól hamo'éd o lokéakh khófesh?
Are you working during the middle days or taking leave? (to a man)
לוקח. בערב פסח אני ממילא לא מגיע, ואחר כך זה שבוע אבוד.
lokéakh. be'érev pésakh aní mimeilá lo magía, ve'akhár kakh ze shavúa avúd
Taking leave. I'm not coming in the day before Passover anyway, and after that the week's a write-off.
אז נדחה את הישיבה לאחרי החג?
az nidkhé et hayeshivá le'akharéi hekhág?
So shall we push the meeting to after the holiday?
בטח. חג שמח, שיהיה לכם שבוע נעים.
bétakh. khag saméakh, sheyihyé lakhém shavúa na'ím
Sure. Happy holiday — have a good week.
Common Mistakes
1. Reading ערב as "evening". The commonest scheduling error a new arrival makes, and it costs you a day.
❌ ערב פסח
the evening of Passover
Incorrect as a reading — ערב plus a holiday name is the whole daylight day BEFORE it. The evening of Passover is already Passover, and it has its own name: ליל הסדר.
✅ בערב יום כיפור אוכלים ארוחה גדולה לפני שהצום מתחיל.
be'érev yom kipúr okhlím arukhá gdolá lifnéi shehatsóm matkhíl
On the day before Yom Kippur people eat a big meal before the fast starts.
2. Spelling ט״ו and ל״ג out as letters. Every other letter-number is read as its letter names — כיתה ז׳ is kitá záyin — so the habit is well founded and still wrong on these two names.
❌ ט״ו בשבט, ל״ג בעומר
tet-vav bishvat · lamed-gimel ba'omer
Incorrect as readings — these two festival names are said as words: tu bishvát and lag ba'ómer.
✅ בט״ו בשבט הכיתה של הבן שלי נוסעת לשתול עצים.
be-tu bishvát hakitá shel habén shelí nosá'at lishtól etsím
On Tu BiShvat my son's class goes off to plant trees.
3. Getting the adjective's gender wrong in the greeting. שנה is feminine and חג is masculine, and the two greetings sit side by side in the same fortnight — which is how they get crossed.
❌ שנה טוב, חג שמחה
Incorrect — the adjective agrees with its noun: שנה is feminine, so שנה טובה; חג is masculine, so חג שמח.
✅ שנה טובה לך ולכל המשפחה, שתהיה שנה שקטה.
shaná tová lekhá ulekhól hamishpakhá, shetihyé shaná shketá
A good year to you and the whole family — may it be a quiet one. (to a man)
4. Wishing someone a happy anything on a memorial day. Not a grammar error, so there is no wrong string to show — it is a question of which days are called חג at all. יום השואה and יום הזיכרון are not; each is marked by a siren during which the country stops, and the law behind יום השואה prescribes two minutes of national silence (חוק יום הזיכרון לשואה ולגבורה, 1959). תשעה באב is a fast and a mourning day. On a fast the greeting that fits is צום קל; on the memorial days, say nothing festive.
מחר יום הזיכרון, אז כל האירועים מבוטלים.
makhár yom hazikarón, az kol ha'eiru'ím mevutalím
Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so everything's been cancelled.
Key Takeaways
- The three windows around a holiday are ערב (the whole day before, in daylight), ליל (the night it opens) and מוצאי (the night it ends) — a division forced by the Hebrew day beginning at nightfall.
- ערב שבת is Friday; ליל שבת is Friday night; מוצאי שבת is Saturday night. Reading ערב as "evening" puts you a day out.
- חול המועד is the intermediate stretch of פסח and סוכות, with the holiday name parked after it bare: חול המועד פסח.
- ט״ו בשבט and ל״ג בעומר are read as words — tu bishvát, lag ba'ómer — never as letter names.
- לחגוג takes את, because holiday names are definite. לעשות סדר is "hold a seder" as well as "tidy up".
- The Academy dates חג שמח to the modern period, probably after Yiddish; the older מועדים לשמחה comes from the Amidah and the festival kiddush and is answered in some communities with חגים וזמנים לששון, while תזכו לשנים רבות is the Mizrahi and Yemenite formula. Neither belongs on a memorial day or a fast.
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