Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2025: The High Holy Days
Festival guide · 2025
Rosh Hashanah 2025 falls on Monday, September 22, 2025, with related observances on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 (Yom Kippur). Dates are astronomical estimates — confirm with your local religious authority.
Rosh Hashanah (ראש השנה — Head of the Year) and Yom Kippur (יום כיפור — Day of Atonement) are the two most solemn days in the Jewish calendar, separated by ten days known as the Days of Awe (Yamim Noraim). Rosh Hashanah falls on 1–2 Tishrei and Yom Kippur on 10 Tishrei.
Jewish tradition holds that on Rosh Hashanah, God inscribes each person's fate for the coming year in the Book of Life; on Yom Kippur, the book is sealed. The ten days between are a final opportunity for repentance, prayer, and good deeds.
When is Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2025?
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2025 falls on Monday, September 22, 2025, with related observances on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 (Yom Kippur). Dates are based on astronomical calculations and may vary by ±1 day — always confirm with your local religious authority.
| Rosh Hashanah | Monday, September 22, 2025 |
| Yom Kippur | Wednesday, October 1, 2025 |
Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2025: Planning & Key Facts
In 2025, Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur creates a natural three-day weekend for anyone taking a single day off. The Hebrew calendar is lunisolar with periodic leap months, so the Gregorian date shifts year to year within about a month. This date is confirmed — it has already passed.
| Year | Date | Shift vs. prior year |
|---|---|---|
| Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2024 | Thursday, October 3, 2024 | — |
| Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2025 | Monday, September 22, 2025 | 354 days later |
| Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2026 | Saturday, September 12, 2026 | 355 days later |
Other Jewish observances near Rosh Hashanah & Yom Kippur 2025:
- Sukkot — Tuesday, October 7, 2025 · Festival of Tabernacles
- Simchat Torah — Wednesday, October 15, 2025 · Celebrating the Torah cycle
Traditions & Observance
Rosh Hashanah — The Jewish New Year
Rosh Hashanah is observed for two days (one in Israel) with synagogue services featuring the blowing of the shofar (ram's horn) — a call to spiritual awakening and repentance. Families share a festive meal with symbolic foods: apples dipped in honey (for a sweet new year), round challah, pomegranate, and fish head (to be 'at the head, not the tail').
The Ten Days of Awe
Between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, Jews engage in cheshbon ha-nefesh (spiritual accounting) — examining their conduct over the past year, seeking forgiveness from those they have wronged, and committing to change. Selichot (penitential prayers) are recited. Shabbat Shuva — the Shabbat of Return — falls within this period.
Yom Kippur — The Day of Atonement
Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish year — a 25-hour fast during which Jews abstain from food, drink, bathing, leather shoes, and marital relations. Five prayer services fill the day. The day concludes with Neilah (the closing service) and a long shofar blast, followed by breaking the fast.
Kol Nidre
The Kol Nidre service on Yom Kippur eve is among the most powerful moments in the Jewish year. The cantor chants the Kol Nidre declaration three times — an ancient Aramaic formula annulling vows made to God. The melody, dating to medieval Europe, draws even non-observant Jews to synagogue in large numbers.
What are the five prohibitions on Yom Kippur?
On Yom Kippur, five categories of activity are prohibited in addition to eating and drinking: (1) bathing or washing for pleasure; (2) applying creams, oils, or cosmetics; (3) wearing leather shoes; (4) marital relations; and (5) eating and drinking. These restrictions apply for the full 25 hours — from before sunset to after nightfall the following day. The mood is one of solemn self-examination rather than festivity. Many wear white (kittel) to symbolise purity. Even those who do not regularly attend synagogue typically come for Kol Nidre and Neilah.
What are the symbolic foods on the Rosh Hashanah table?
The Rosh Hashanah table is rich with symbolic foods — simanim — for a sweet, prosperous new year. Apples dipped in honey are the most universal: the apple for sweetness, the honey for a sweet year. Round challah (rather than the usual braided loaf) symbolises the cycle of the year. Pomegranate seeds represent the 613 commandments of the Torah. Fish head (or ram's head) expresses the wish to be 'at the head, not the tail.' Dates (in Hebrew, tamar) are eaten with a blessing for enemies to be removed. Carrots (in Yiddish, mern — meaning 'more') symbolise increase and abundance.
Other Years
Jewish holidays begin at sundown. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur dates vary each year. Confirm with your local synagogue or rabbi.