High holidays

From fake burps to reverse tashlich, new children’s books bring the High Holidays to life

The 2026 High Holiday season brings a new set of Jewish children’s books, with new stories spanning Rosh Hashanah traditions, Yom Kippur apologies and Sukkot celebrations.

|ByPENNY SCHWARTZ/ JTA
New Jewish children's books released for the High Holidays in 2026 include ones about awe, tashlich and apologizing for burping.
Margaret Island in Budapest.

Israelis return to booking vacations early: These are the destinations gaining popularity

Crete, Rhodes, Batumi, and Budapest lead bookings for the High Holy Days as average airfares remain 6% below last year, for now.

|ByMEITAL SHARABI
The largest kosher slaughterhouse in the United States is located in Postville, Iowa and has been renamed AgriStar.

Fire at kosher meat processing plant in Iowa shuts down production ahead of High Holidays

Elefant said OU Kosher was working to “find solutions for ramping up production at other plants” while warning that the crisis could fuel bad actors. 

|ByPHILISSA CRAMER/JTA
RUTH JOINS her mother-in-law, Naomi, in traveling to the Land of Israel, while Orpah turns back to Moab after accompanying them for a stretch. King David will descend from Ruth, and Goliath from her sister-in-law.

'From Alienation to Monarchy': Ruth and the architecture of loving-kindness - book review

Yael Ziegler’s 'Ruth: From Alienation to Monarchy' is a 534-page book on a four-chapter megillah.

|ByNOAH ROTHSTEIN

Isaac Herzog decries growing violence in Israeli sports

The walls of the sukkah featured prints of the images of Israeli sports champions, and the only other décor was a row of planters filled with flowers and shrubs.

OCTOBER 3, 2023ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
Adults and children, kibbutzniks, new immigrants and people with disabilities, from the Golan to the Negev and the Arabah, came and stayed in the sukkah, participated in activities and watched the various shows.

What time does Yom Kippur start?

See Yom Kippur times for your area.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Shabbat candles

Keeping the echo alive: The last of Israel’s traditional shofar makers

Shimon Keinan is one of only a handful of people in Israel still making traditional shofars, and his factory receives over 14,000 visitors a year.

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023ByAARON PORIS/THE MEDIA LINE
Shofars with silver and gold ornamentation on display at the Kol Shofar Gallery, Moshav Ramat Yoav, Israel.

Jews must prepare for High Holidays bomb threats, security experts warn

Ahead of the High Holidays, when sanctuaries see their highest attendance of the year, synagogues need to review security procedures in order to avoid panic

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023ByRON KAMPEAS/JTA, JACOB GURVIS/JTA
‘IN OSLO, Norway, it was only walking past that allowed me to see the Oslo Synagogue at all. And, merely walking by, I was approached by a security guard who wanted to know what I was doing there,’ says the writer.

High Holidays’ roll call of ruin, is heartbreakingly real for the Ukrainian Jews - opinion

For Ukrainian Jews, the terrible things we fear are an unfortunate reality.

SEPTEMBER 13, 2023ByALEX WEISLER/JTA
An ultra-Orthodox Jewish family takes part in the Tashlikh ritual, to symbolically cast away sins, ahead of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, in Ashdod, Israel, October 3, 2022.

Israelis flock to Ukraine's Uman despite concerns of Russian strikes

Ahead of Rosh Hashanah Israelis take trains from Poland to reach Uman in Ukraine.

SEPTEMBER 11, 2023ByLAURA KELLY
People line up to reach Ukraine on a train, some of them Israelis and Jews from around the world seeking to get to Uman ahead of Rosh Hashanah.

Western Wall stones undergo inspection before Rosh Hashanah

This check is conducted annually around Rosh Hashanah and Passover, to make sure that Western Wall prayer does not pose a safety risk to anyone.

AUGUST 29, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Engineers conduct their bi-annual inspection of the Western Wall in preparation for the High Holy Days on August 29, 2023.

25,000 Jews gather for Selichot prayers at Western Wall

The Western Wall Heritage Foundation planned 17 central Selichot services for the thousands of worshippers expected this year.

AUGUST 27, 2023ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Central Selichot services at the Western Wall in Jerusalem. August 24, 2023

Jewish activists support climate march scheduled for Rosh Hashanah

The march will take place days before global leaders are set to descend on the city for the United Nations’ Climate Ambition Summit.

AUGUST 22, 2023ByJACKIE HAJDENBERG/JTA
Thousands of Israeli youth protesting the climate crisis in Tel Aviv, March 19, 2021.

Grapevine: Holiday seats

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

AUGUST 4, 2023ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
Jerusalem Great Synagogue