Dates
Rosh Hashanah 2026
Begins at sundown on September 11, 2026 and ends at nightfall on September 13, 2026.
Starts
September 11, 2026
at sundown
Ends
September 13, 2026
at nightfall
Length
2 days
work restricted
Candles, Jerusalem
18:11
on September 11, 2026
…
Israel or the diaspora?
Rosh Hashanah is two days everywhere, including Israel. It is the one major festival with no one-day-versus-two-day split.
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish new year and the start of the ten Days of Awe that end on Yom Kippur. It is a judgment day as much as a celebration: the shofar is blown, the liturgy is long, and the meals are deliberately sweet.
Candle lighting for Rosh Hashanah 2026
Times for the evening it begins, September 11, 2026. Calculated from sunset: 18 minutes before in most communities, 20 in Israel, 40 in Jerusalem and 30 in Haifa.
Your city not here? All 106 cities.
On the ground
What happens in Israel
The country closes. Shops, buses and most restaurants shut from the afternoon before, and the roads empty out. Beaches and national parks are the exception and get very busy.
Practice
How it is observed
- Hearing the shofar (ram's horn) blown in synagogue, on both mornings unless the first day falls on Shabbat, when it is sounded only on the second
- Apples dipped in honey and round challah for a sweet new year
- Tashlich: symbolically casting away sins at a body of water
- Festive meals with simanim, foods eaten as good omens
"Shanah tovah" (a good year) or "Shanah tovah u'metukah" (a good and sweet year)
Apples and honey, round challah with raisins, pomegranates, honey cake, and a new fruit on the second night.
Every year on file
Rosh Hashanah in other years
The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar, so the Gregorian date moves by up to a month from year to year but stays in the same season.
The rest of 2026
Other Jewish holidays in 2026
8 of the 14 other dates on the 2026 calendar, in the order they fall. Each has its own page for 2026.
February 2, 2026
Tu BiShvat 2026
The new year of the trees. Tree planting in Israel and eating the fruits of the land.
March 3, 2026
Purim 2026
Celebrates the rescue of the Jews of Persia as told in the Book of Esther. Megillah readings, costumes, mishloach manot and festive meals.
April 2, 2026
Passover (Pesach) 2026
The festival of freedom, marking the Exodus from Egypt. Seder nights, matzah, and no chametz for eight days (seven in Israel).
April 14, 2026
Yom HaShoah 2026
Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Israel a two-minute siren brings the country to a standstill.
April 21, 2026
Yom HaZikaron 2026
Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, the day before Independence Day.
April 22, 2026
Yom HaAtzmaut 2026
Israel's Independence Day, marking the declaration of the state in 1948.
May 5, 2026
Lag BaOmer 2026
The 33rd day of the Omer count. Bonfires, weddings and celebrations at Mount Meron.
May 22, 2026
Shavuot 2026
The festival of receiving the Torah at Sinai. All-night learning and dairy foods. Two days in the diaspora, one in Israel.
Frequently asked questions
When is Rosh Hashanah 2026?+
Rosh Hashanah 2026 begins at sundown on September 11, 2026 and ends at nightfall on September 13, 2026. Jewish days start in the evening, so the first full day is September 12, 2026.
How long is Rosh Hashanah?+
2 days. Rosh Hashanah is two days everywhere, including Israel. It is the one major festival with no one-day-versus-two-day split.
Is Rosh Hashanah different in Israel?+
Rosh Hashanah is two days everywhere, including Israel. It is the one major festival with no one-day-versus-two-day split.
What happens in Israel on Rosh Hashanah?+
The country closes. Shops, buses and most restaurants shut from the afternoon before, and the roads empty out. Beaches and national parks are the exception and get very busy.
What do you say on Rosh Hashanah?+
The standard greeting is "Shanah tovah" (a good year) or "Shanah tovah u'metukah" (a good and sweet year).