Dates
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2025
Begins at sundown on October 13, 2025 and ends at nightfall on October 15, 2025.
Starts
October 13, 2025
at sundown
Ends
October 15, 2025
at nightfall
Length
2 days
work restricted
Candles, Jerusalem
17:29
on October 13, 2025
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2025 ended on October 15, 2025. The dates, times and customs below are kept as a record.
Next: Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2026, sundown October 2, 2026 →Israel or the diaspora?
This is the sharpest Israel-diaspora split of the year. In Israel the two are a single day. In the diaspora they are two separate days, with Simchat Torah on the second.
Shemini Atzeret follows straight after Sukkot, and Simchat Torah marks the completion and immediate restart of the annual Torah reading cycle, celebrated with dancing and hakafot.
Candle lighting for Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2025
Times for the evening it begins, October 13, 2025. 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
One day, and the dancing spills into the streets outside synagogues in the evening.
Every year on file
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 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 2025
Other Jewish holidays in 2025
8 of the 14 other dates on the 2025 calendar, in the order they fall. Each has its own page for 2025.
February 13, 2025
Tu BiShvat 2025
The new year of the trees. Tree planting in Israel and eating the fruits of the land.
March 14, 2025
Purim 2025
Celebrates the rescue of the Jews of Persia as told in the Book of Esther. Megillah readings, costumes, mishloach manot and festive meals.
April 13, 2025
Passover (Pesach) 2025
The festival of freedom, marking the Exodus from Egypt. Seder nights, matzah, and no chametz for eight days (seven in Israel).
April 24, 2025
Yom HaShoah 2025
Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Israel a two-minute siren brings the country to a standstill.
April 30, 2025
Yom HaZikaron 2025
Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, the day before Independence Day.
May 1, 2025
Yom HaAtzmaut 2025
Israel's Independence Day, marking the declaration of the state in 1948.
May 16, 2025
Lag BaOmer 2025
The 33rd day of the Omer count. Bonfires, weddings and celebrations at Mount Meron.
June 2, 2025
Shavuot 2025
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 Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2025?+
Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah 2025 begins at sundown on October 13, 2025 and ends at nightfall on October 15, 2025. Jewish days start in the evening, so the first full day is October 14, 2025.
How long is Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah?+
2 days. This is the sharpest Israel-diaspora split of the year. In Israel the two are a single day. In the diaspora they are two separate days, with Simchat Torah on the second.
Is Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah different in Israel?+
This is the sharpest Israel-diaspora split of the year. In Israel the two are a single day. In the diaspora they are two separate days, with Simchat Torah on the second.
What happens in Israel on Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah?+
One day, and the dancing spills into the streets outside synagogues in the evening.