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A bowl of honey with a dipper, surrounded by apples

Dates

Rosh Hashanah 2028

Begins at sundown on September 20, 2028 and ends at nightfall on September 22, 2028.

Igal Ness / Unsplash

Starts

September 20, 2028

at sundown

Ends

September 22, 2028

at nightfall

Length

2 days

work restricted

Candles, Jerusalem

17:59

on September 20, 2028

Counting down to sundown in Jerusalem

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 2028

Times for the evening it begins, September 20, 2028. 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.

Shoppers crowding the aisles of a Jerusalem market.

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.

A sesame-topped challah loaf, freshly baked.

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
Greeting

"Shanah tovah" (a good year) or "Shanah tovah u'metukah" (a good and sweet year)

On the table

Apples and honey, round challah with raisins, pomegranates, honey cake, and a new fruit on the second night.

The rest of 2028

Other Jewish holidays in 2028

8 of the 14 other dates on the 2028 calendar, in the order they fall. Each has its own page for 2028.

February 12, 2028

Tu BiShvat 2028

The new year of the trees. Tree planting in Israel and eating the fruits of the land.

March 12, 2028

Purim 2028

Celebrates the rescue of the Jews of Persia as told in the Book of Esther. Megillah readings, costumes, mishloach manot and festive meals.

April 11, 2028

Passover (Pesach) 2028

The festival of freedom, marking the Exodus from Egypt. Seder nights, matzah, and no chametz for eight days (seven in Israel).

April 24, 2028

Yom HaShoah 2028

Holocaust Remembrance Day. In Israel a two-minute siren brings the country to a standstill.

May 1, 2028

Yom HaZikaron 2028

Israel's Memorial Day for fallen soldiers and victims of terror, the day before Independence Day.

May 2, 2028

Yom HaAtzmaut 2028

Israel's Independence Day, marking the declaration of the state in 1948.

May 14, 2028

Lag BaOmer 2028

The 33rd day of the Omer count. Bonfires, weddings and celebrations at Mount Meron.

May 31, 2028

Shavuot 2028

The festival of receiving the Torah at Sinai. All-night learning and dairy foods. Two days in the diaspora, one in Israel.

All Jewish holidays in 2028

Frequently asked questions

When is Rosh Hashanah 2028?+

Rosh Hashanah 2028 begins at sundown on September 20, 2028 and ends at nightfall on September 22, 2028. Jewish days start in the evening, so the first full day is September 21, 2028.

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).

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