Vida judía

Every holiday from Chanukah 2026 to Sukkot 2027 with Israel dates and Jerusalem times, which days are legal days off, the 2026–27 school breaks, and what closes on each kind of day.

Jerusalem runs on a weekly and yearly clock that stops for Shabbat and the festivals. Here is what actually closes, what stays open, how transport works, and the calendar from Rosh Hashana to Tisha B'Av as a resident lives it.

Sukkot is the week Jerusalem is at its busiest and most joyful. Here are this year's dates, the big events, and how to plan around the crowds.

Eight nights of menorahs in glass boxes along the alleys, a lighting at the Kotel every evening, and a sufganiya on every counter. Here are this year's dates and how the city runs during the holiday.

Jerusalem keeps Purim a day after everyone else. Here are the 2027 dates, what happens on each day, and how the city runs while it celebrates.

One seder, seven days, and a city that spends chol hamoed outdoors. Here are the 2027 dates and everything from selling chametz to the Mimouna picnics.

Kosher food is everywhere in Jerusalem, but the certificates are not all the same. What Rabbanut regular, mehadrin and the badatz agencies each cover, which ones match what an OU or Star-K family keeps, and how to check a certificate.

A mikvah is a pool of natural water used for ritual immersion. Here is what it is for, how it works, and how Jerusalem's mikvaot fit into daily life.

The companion to our mikvah directory: how the mikvaot in Jerusalem actually run, what a visit involves, and where to get good guidance, including the Eden Center's resources.

Jerusalem is friendly and clannish at the same time. Here is where English-speakers actually find friends: the shul, the neighbourhood group chat, the olim organisations, the volunteering and the kids' activities.