Yom tov sheni shel galuyot

Yom tov sheni shel galuyot (Hebrew: יוֹם טוֹב שֵׁנִי שֶׁל גָּלוּיוֹת), often called yom tov sheni (יוֹם טוֹב שֵׁנִי, meaning "second festival day"), is an extra day added to certain Jewish holidays when they are celebrated outside the Land of Israel. This extra day comes from a rule in Halakha, Jewish law, that was created a long time ago.

The idea of yom tov sheni started as a special rule, called a gezera (Hebrew: גְּזֵרָה, meaning ‘rabbinic decree’), made by wise leaders called rabbis during the Second Temple period. This rule is still followed today by many Jewish communities, especially those in Orthodox Judaism and Conservative Judaism.

However, not all Jewish groups keep this extra day. In Reform Judaism, the practice was stopped in 1846, and Reconstructionist Judaism also mostly does not observe it. Even so, many people in these groups still hold two special meals, called Passover Seders, during holidays like Passover.

In Jewish sources

The idea of having a second festival day started because of issues faced by Jews living outside of Israel after they were spread out during the Babylonian exile. The Jewish calendar follows the moon, with months that can be 29 or 30 days. In ancient times, people had to see the new moon and tell the Temple in Jerusalem. Only after they confirmed it could a new month begin. If people far away didn’t hear when the month started, they would celebrate holidays for two days just to make sure they got it right.

Later, a leader named Hillel II created a fixed calendar so people could figure out the months without waiting to see the moon. Even so, leaders decided that communities outside of Israel should still celebrate holidays for two days. They did this to keep their old traditions and because they were worried that local rulers might stop them from studying their teachings, making it hard to know the correct dates.

Observance

The second day is observed for all important Jewish festivals, except in special cases. For example, Shavuot is one day in the Land of Israel but two days for people living outside of Israel. Pesach is celebrated for seven days in Israel, with the first and last days as holy days and five days in between called Chol HaMoed. Outside of Israel, it is celebrated for eight days, with two holy days at the start and end, and four days of Chol HaMoed.

Sukkot is a seven-day festival in Israel, with the first day as a holy day, followed by six days of Chol Hamoed. In places outside of Israel, the first two days are holy days, followed by five days of Chol Hamoed and two holy days for Shemini Atzeret. The second day of Shemini Atzeret is called Simchat Torah. There are two exceptions: the fast day of Yom Kippur is always one day, and Rosh Hashanah is two days even in Israel because the exact start of the month can only be known after the holiday begins.

Visitors from abroad in the Land of Israel and residents of Israel visiting abroad

Jews who live outside of Israel usually celebrate an extra day of holiday called Yom Tov Sheni. This means that even if they are visiting Israel, they still follow the extra day. Because of this, when people in Israel are back to normal weekday life, visitors from other countries are still celebrating and cannot do work.

On the other hand, when people from Israel travel to places outside of Israel, they usually only celebrate one day of Yom Tov. Even though they cannot work on the second day, they do not do special prayers or ceremonies that are only for holidays. Some Jewish leaders have different ideas about these rules, but most people from outside Israel choose to celebrate two days even when they are in Israel. In some synagogues in Israel, there are special services for visitors from other countries, but there are different opinions about whether these services are allowed.