Tishrei (/ˈtɪʃreɪ/; Hebrew: תִּשְׁרֵי[tiʃˈʁej]) or Tishri (/ˈtɪʃriː/; תִּשְׁרִי [tiʃˈɾi]; from Akkadiantašrītu 'beginning') is the first month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei) and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year (which starts on 1 Nisan) in the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian. It is a month of 30 days. Tishrei usually occurs in September–October on the Gregorian calendar.
In the Hebrew Bible the month is called Ethanim (Hebrew: אֵתָנִים – 1 Kings 8:2), or simply the seventh month. In the Babylonian calendar the month is known as Araḫ Tišritum, "Month of Beginning" (of the second half-year).
Anno Mundi (from Latin 'in the year of the world'; Hebrew: לבריאת העולם, romanized: Livryat haOlam, lit.'to the creation of the world'), abbreviated as AM or A.M., or Year After Creation, is a calendar era based on biblical accounts of the creation of the world and subsequent history. Two such calendar eras of notable use are:
Since the Middle Ages, the Hebrew calendar has been based on rabbinic calculations of the year of creation from the Hebrew Masoretic Text of the Bible. This calendar is used within Jewish communities for religious purposes and is one of two official calendars in Israel. In the Hebrew calendar, the day begins at sunset. The calendar's epoch, corresponding to the calculated date of the world's creation, is equivalent to sunset on the Julian proleptic calendar date 6 October 3761 BCE. The new year begins at Rosh Hashanah, in Tishrei. Anno Mundi 5786 (meaning the 5,786th year since the creation of the world) began at sunset on September 22, 2025, according to the Gregorian calendar.
While both eras reputedly begin with the creation of the world, their disparity in epoch lies in the biblical texts chosen to infer a year of creation. According to the Septuagint, the Earth seems to have been created roughly around 5500 BCE, and about 3760 BCE based on the Hebrew Masoretic text. Most of the 1,732-year difference resides in numerical discrepancies in the genealogies of the two versions of the Book of Genesis. Patriarchs from Adam to Terah, the father of Abraham, are said to be older by 100 years or more when they begat their named son in the Septuagint than they were in the Latin Vulgate, or the Hebrew Tanakh. The net difference between the two major genealogies of Genesis is 1,466 years (ignoring the "second year after the flood" ambiguity), 85% of the total difference. (See Dating creation.)
Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelites were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem. Biblically an autumn harvest festival and a commemoration of the Exodus from Egypt, Sukkot's modern observance is characterized by festive meals in a sukkah, a temporary wood-covered hut, and the taking of the four species.
The names used in the Torah are "Festival of Ingathering" (or "Harvest Festival", Hebrew: חַג הָאָסִיף, romanized: ḥag hāʾāsif) and "Festival of Booths" (Hebrew: חג הסכות, romanized: Ḥag hasSukkōṯ). This corresponds to the double significance of Sukkot. The one mentioned in the Book of Exodus is agricultural in nature—"Festival of Ingathering at the year's end" (Exodus 34:22)—and marks the end of the harvest time and thus of the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. The more elaborate religious significance from the Book of Leviticus is that of commemorating the Exodus and the dependence of the Israelites on the will of God (Leviticus 23:42–43).
Yom Kippur (/ˌjɒmkɪˈpʊər,ˌjɔːmˈkɪpər,ˌjoʊm-/YOM kip-OOR, YAWMKIP-ər, YOHM-; Hebrew: יוֹם כִּפּוּרYōm Kippūr[ˈjomkiˈpuʁ], lit.'Day of Atonement') is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. It occurs annually on the 10th of Tishrei, corresponding to a date in late September or early October.
Rosh Hashanah (Hebrew: רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, pronounced[ˌʁoʃhaʃaˈna]; lit.'head of the year') is the New Year in Judaism. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (יוֹם תְּרוּעָה, Yōm Tərūʿā, IPA:[joːmtəruːˈʕaː]; lit.'day of blasting'). It is the first of the High Holy Days (יָמִים נוֹרָאִים, Yāmīm Nōrāʾīm; lit.'Days of Awe'), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summer/early autumn of the Northern Hemisphere. Rosh Hashanah begins the Ten Days of Repentance, culminating in Yom Kippur, the day of atonement. It is followed by the festival of Sukkot, which ends with Shemini Atzeret in Israel and Simchat Torah everywhere else.
Rosh Hashanah is a two-day observance and celebration that begins on the first day of Tishrei, which is the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year. The holiday itself follows a lunar calendar and begins the evening prior to the first day. In contrast to the ecclesiastical lunar new year on the first day of the first month Nisan, the spring Passover month which marks Israel's exodus from Egypt, Rosh Hashanah marks the beginning of the civil year, according to the teachings of Judaism, and is the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve, the first man and woman according to the Hebrew Bible, as well as the initiation of humanity's role in God's world. The Sages in the Talmud have characterized the day of Rosh Hashanah as the day that we so to speak crown God as king anew each year. This is effectuated through the Shofar blasts which symbolize the horns sounded at a coronation. It also initiates the ten days of repentance making it an opportune time for repentance.
Simchat Torah (Hebrew: שִׂמְחַת תּוֹרָה; Ashkenazi: Simchas Torah), also spelled Simhat Torah, is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simchat Torah is a component of the BiblicalJewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret ("Eighth Day of Assembly"), which follows immediately after the festival of Sukkot in the month of Tishrei (occurring in September or October on the Gregorian calendar).
Simchat Torah's main celebration occurs in the synagogue during evening services. In many Orthodox as well as many Conservative congregations, this is the only time of year at which the Torah scrolls are taken out of the ark at night and are also read at night. In the morning, the last parashah of Deuteronomy and the first parashah of Genesis are read in the synagogue. On each occasion, when the ark is opened, the worshippers leave their seats to dance and sing with the Torah scrolls in a joyous celebration that lasts several hours.