Jewish Singles Events: The Ultimate Year-Round Guide

Updated September 2026 for the Jewish year 5787 (fall 2026 through summer 2027).

If you’re single and Jewish, the calendar is quietly on your side. Every few weeks, a holiday or a long-running tradition pulls people out of their apartments and into sukkahs, seder tables, dance floors, and rooftop parties, and every one of those moments is a chance to meet someone. This guide maps a full year of Jewish dating opportunities, month by month: the holidays and their dates for the coming year, the perennial events that return every year, specific events already on the calendar, and the places where Jewish singles actually gather.

We start in September because the Jewish year does. Holiday dates are for outside Israel and come from Hebcal. Jewish holidays begin at sundown on the evening before the first full day, so a holiday listed as starting on a Friday means Friday night. When an organizer hasn’t announced next year’s date yet, we tell you when it usually happens.

Why the Jewish calendar is your best dating tool

Most Jewish adults are not in synagogue every week. Pew Research Center’s survey of Jewish Americans found that only one in five attend services at least monthly. Far more turn up for the big moments: about six in ten held or attended a Passover seder in the past year, and 46% fasted on Yom Kippur. For singles, that gap is the whole strategy. The holidays are when the people you haven’t met yet finally leave the house.

The same survey found that about four in ten U.S. Jews mark Shabbat in a way that feels meaningful to them, which is why Friday night dinners fill the weeks between holidays in this guide. Think of your year in two layers: the headline moments that draw crowds, and the weekly standbys that turn a first hello into a second conversation.

The Jewish singles year at a glance

The whole year on one screen. Screenshot it, or send it to the friend who always says nothing is going on.

September: Sukkot season and the High Holidays

In most years, September is High Holiday month, and that matters for singles more than most people admit. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur draw the biggest synagogue crowds of the year, and many communities run free or low-cost services for people in their 20s and 30s, from MJE (the Manhattan Jewish Experience) on the Upper West Side to Sixth & I in Washington, D.C. The most social moments usually happen outside the sanctuary: Tashlich on Rosh Hashanah afternoon, when people gather by a river or shoreline, and the break-fast after Yom Kippur, when everyone is hungry, relieved, and unusually friendly.

Sukkot is this month’s real opportunity. It is a holiday built around hospitality, and a sukkah is a small space by design, so conversation is hard to avoid. Look for sukkah hops, where a group moves from one sukkah to the next over an evening, and young professional dinners in synagogue and Chabad sukkahs. In New York, Lincoln Square Synagogue is screening Israeli short films in its sukkah on Monday, Sept. 28, at 7 p.m.

October: Simchat Torah and the Shabbat Project

Simchat Torah closes the holiday season with dancing, as congregations carry the Torah scrolls in joyful circles called hakafot. On Manhattan’s Upper West Side it has long doubled as the social event of the fall. Lincoln Square Synagogue’s old round sanctuary earned it the nickname “Wink and Stare,” and, as JTA recently recounted, thousands of people once danced in the streets between synagogues until security concerns after 2001 pushed the celebrations back indoors. The street parties are mostly history, but the shul crawl survives: start at one synagogue and move to the next when the dancing slows. Since 2023, the holiday also carries the memory of October 7, and many communities pair the dancing with remembrance.

At the end of the month comes the Shabbat Project, a worldwide weekend founded in South Africa in 2013 that invites Jews of every background to keep one Shabbat together. Communities host challah bakes, communal dinners, and learning sessions, which makes it one of the easiest weekends of the year to walk into a room full of strangers with something to do. That same Friday, Lincoln Square Synagogue hosts its Fall Singles Shabbat Feast (Oct. 30 at 6:45 p.m.; registration is on the synagogue’s website).

Looking ahead: in 2027 the entire fall season lands in October. Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown on Oct. 1, Yom Kippur on Oct. 10, Sukkot on Oct. 15, and Simchat Torah on the night of Oct. 23.

November: the quiet month that works in your favor

November sits in the long gap between Simchat Torah and Hanukkah, a stretch that includes Cheshvan, traditionally the only Hebrew month without a holiday. That sounds like bad news. It isn’t. With the fall rush over, regular programming settles into its rhythm: speed dating nights, lecture series, JCC sports leagues, volunteer projects, and monthly Shabbat dinners. It is also Jewish Book Month, observed in the weeks before Hanukkah, when many JCCs host book festivals and author talks that are easy evenings to attend alone.

This is the month to commit to something recurring instead of chasing one-off parties. If your local calendar looks thin, virtual speed dating keeps things moving from your couch. Thanksgiving weekend is the other opening: the Friday after Thanksgiving is Shabbat, and with everyone home for the holiday, it is a natural night for hometown young adult Shabbat dinners.

If you are eligible, fall is also the time to apply for winter Birthright Israel trips, which run roughly November through March. The free 10-day trip is generally for ages 18 to 26, though the upper age limit has been temporarily raised in some seasons, so check the current rules.

December: Hanukkah, Christmas Eve, and the MatzoBall

December is the peak of the Jewish social year. Hanukkah begins on a Friday night this year, so the first candles are lit just before Shabbat, and the biggest parties will likely land on the holiday’s two Saturday nights, Dec. 5 and Dec. 12. Expect latkes, sufganiyot, menorah lightings, and a steady stream of ugly-sweater jokes. MeetJew’s Hanukkah lineup last year included a singles soiree on Fifth Avenue with speed dating and matchmakers on hand, a sufganiyot mixer on the Upper East Side, and a two-stage Chanukah party in Encino with HAFLA LA. Watch our upcoming in-person events for this year’s dates.

Then comes Christmas Eve, the best-known Jewish singles night of the year. The MatzoBall began in Boston in 1987 and now runs in several major cities every Dec. 24, alongside Christmas Eve parties from local federations and young professional groups. Our full guide to matzo ball parties covers tickets, age ranges, and what to expect. In 2026, Christmas Eve falls on a Thursday, so there is no clash with Shabbat.

If you’d rather learn than dance, the Limmud Festival runs Dec. 25 to 30 at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole in England: six days of sessions, communal Shabbat, and late-night music, built and run largely by volunteers. Winter Birthright trips are also in full swing, and more than a few couples trace their story back to a tour bus in the Negev.

January: film festivals and Tu BiShvat

January belongs to Jewish film. The New York Jewish Film Festival, presented by the Jewish Museum and Film at Lincoln Center since 1992, fills the Walter Reade Theater with roughly 30 features, documentaries, and shorts each winter, many followed by conversations with the filmmakers. Plenty of other cities hold Jewish film festivals through the winter and spring, and about a quarter of U.S. Jews say they go to Jewish film festivals or seek out Jewish films at least sometimes. A screening is one of the best settings for meeting someone: you share an experience before you have to make conversation, and the conversation afterward writes itself.

Tu BiShvat, the New Year for Trees, begins on a Friday night this year, so expect Tu BiShvat seders (fruit, nuts, and four cups of wine) folded into Shabbat dinners on Jan. 22 or held on the weeknights around it. Winter is also Shabbaton and ski-weekend season for many young professional groups, and a weekend away with the same 40 people does more for your social circle than a dozen one-night parties.

February: Valentine’s Day and a bonus Purim

The Jewish year 5787 is a leap year, which adds an extra month of Adar. That pushes the main Purim to late March and gives February Purim Katan, the “little Purim,” a minor date some communities mark with a lighter celebration. It is not a big holiday, but it is a fine excuse for a Saturday night gathering in the middle of winter.

Valentine’s Day falls on a Sunday, and Jewish speed dating nights, singles mixers, and anti-Valentine’s parties tend to cluster on the weekend around it. Structured formats work especially well this time of year, when everyone is tired of hibernating; our roundup of the best Jewish speed dating services is a good place to start. Singles over 50 will find socials at many synagogues and JCCs, and our tips for Jewish seniors cover the rest. And save some romance for August: the Jewish calendar has its own day of love.

March: Purim, the year’s best costume party

A Talmudic saying holds that when Adar begins, joy increases, and Purim is where that joy peaks. Costumes, Megillah readings with noisemakers, and a holiday that practically requires a party make this one of the biggest social nights on the Jewish calendar. Because Purim falls on a Monday night this year, expect most of the big costume parties on the Saturday before, Mar. 20, with Megillah readings and smaller celebrations on the night itself.

Purim also comes with two built-in reasons to reach out: mishloach manot, the custom of sending gifts of food to friends, and the festive afternoon meal. Sending a small treat to the person you met at the Hanukkah party is about the most natural follow-up the Jewish calendar offers. In Israel, Shushan Purim extends the celebration by a day in Jerusalem, so some people party in Tel Aviv one night and Jerusalem the next.

April: Passover seders and Mimouna

As the chart above shows, the seder is one of the most widely observed Jewish rituals in America, which makes Passover the single best week of the year to be invited somewhere. Young adult seders hosted by synagogues, Chabad houses, and Hillel alumni groups draw big, mixed crowds, and the second seder, usually smaller and hosted by friends, is often the more social night. If you’re the one hosting, this is the one time of year when inviting someone you barely know is completely normal.

When Passover ends, many Moroccan and North African Jewish families throw Mimouna, an open-house celebration with sweets and mufleta, a thin pancake served with honey and butter. In Israel it has become a nationwide party, and Sephardic communities abroad host their own.

One calendar note for observant singles: the counting of the Omer begins on the second night of Passover, and in many Orthodox communities weddings and live music pause for part of the Omer period, traditionally lifting on Lag BaOmer. Events in this stretch lean toward dinners and learning rather than concerts; our guide to Orthodox Jewish dating explains how the dating side works.

May: Yom Ha’atzmaut, Lag BaOmer, and parade season

May opens somber and turns joyful. Yom HaShoah and Yom HaZikaron are days of remembrance, and many communities hold ceremonies that young leadership groups help organize. The moment Yom HaZikaron ends, Yom Ha’atzmaut begins, and 2027 marks Israel’s 79th birthday. Expect blue-and-white parties, Israeli music nights, and rooftop celebrations, many of them on the weekend after the date itself. In 2026, MeetJew threw a Yom Ha’atzmaut party at the Elsie Rooftop Ballroom in New York; photos from an earlier Yom Ha’atzmaut celebration give you a sense of the crowd. If the holiday gets you thinking about dating across the ocean, here is how to meet Israeli singles.

Lag BaOmer brings bonfires and barbecues, and in many observant communities it marks the end of the Omer’s pause on weddings and music, so the Orthodox singles calendar picks back up. In New York, Israel Day on Fifth, the parade formerly called the Celebrate Israel Parade, usually falls on a Sunday in late May or early June (the 2026 parade was May 31) and features more than 40,000 marchers, including young professional groups that march together. Memorial Day weekend, May 29 to 31, 2027, kicks off summer party season; in 2026, MeetJew opened the summer with mansion pool parties in Long Beach, California.

June: Shavuot all-nighters and summer kickoff

Shavuot celebrates the giving of the Torah, and its signature custom, Tikkun Leil Shavuot, is staying up all night to learn. It is more social than it sounds: synagogues and young professional communities run late-night classes with coffee and cheesecake, and anyone still awake at 3 a.m. already has something in common with you. This year Shavuot runs straight into Shabbat, giving observant communities a three-day stretch of holiday meals and a lot of tables looking for guests.

June is also Pride Month, with Pride Shabbat services and LGBTQ+ Jewish events in many cities, including at Congregation Beit Simchat Torah in Manhattan, one of the largest LGBTQ+ synagogues in the world. Tel Aviv Pride, usually held in June, draws a big international crowd. Summer Birthright trips run from May through August, and as the evenings stretch out, rooftop happy hours and outdoor Shabbat dinners take over the calendar.

July: summer Shabbat and the Three Weeks

Summer Shabbat starts late, and that changes Friday night: in much of the U.S., candle lighting lands around 8 p.m. in July, so dinners run long and often move outdoors. Look for picnic Shabbats, beach Shabbat gatherings in shore communities, and Friday night dinners through OneTable, which supports peer-hosted Shabbat meals for people in their 20s and 30s, runs a separate program for the 50-ish crowd, and counts more than 300,000 participants since 2014. July Fourth weekend adds barbecues and rooftop parties.

For observant singles, the calendar shifts on July 22. The Three Weeks, a mourning period that leads up to Tisha B’Av, traditionally mean no weddings and no live music, and the final Nine Days are stricter still. Orthodox events in this stretch lean toward lectures, learning, and quieter Shabbatons. For everyone else it’s peak summer, and the social calendar stays full.

August: Tu B’Av, the Jewish day of love

August turns quickly from mourning to romance. Tisha B’Av, the saddest day on the Jewish calendar, commemorates the destruction of both Temples. The Shabbat right after it, Shabbat Nachamu (the Shabbat of comfort), has long been a favorite weekend for singles Shabbatons, a tradition that goes back to the Catskills hotel era.

Then comes Tu B’Av, the 15th of Av and the closest thing Judaism has to Valentine’s Day. The Mishnah calls it one of the happiest days of the year in ancient Israel, when young women went out dancing in the vineyards outside Jerusalem in borrowed white clothing, so no one could tell rich from poor, and young men came looking for a match. In modern Israel it is a popular wedding date and a big night for singles parties, and it makes a natural theme for speed dating and mixers anywhere. It is also a fitting moment to fill out the MeetJew matchmaking survey or finally let a friend set you up.

Late August brings the end of summer and Labor Day weekend (Sept. 4 to 6, 2027). Rosh Chodesh Elul, Sept. 1 to 3, opens the month of reflection before the High Holidays, and the cycle starts again with Rosh Hashanah at sundown on Oct. 1, 2027.

The year-round standbys between holidays

Holidays bring the crowds, but most relationships grow in the ordinary weeks. These formats run all year:

• Shabbat dinners. Friday night is the original Jewish mixer. OneTable dinners, Chabad young professional meals, synagogue Kabbalat Shabbat services, and friends’ apartments all count, and you can always host your own.
• Moishe House. Peer-led homes where Jews in their 20s host Shabbat dinners, holiday parties, and service projects for their friends and neighbors. The first opened in Oakland in 2006, and there are now more than 100 communities in over 25 countries.
• Chabad young professionals. About one in six U.S. Jews take part in Chabad programs at least sometimes, and Pew found only about a quarter of those participants identify as Orthodox. Free Shabbat meals and holiday parties make Chabad an easy, no-membership way in.
• JCCs and synagogue young professional groups. Sports leagues, classes, lectures, and volunteer days put you in repeated contact with the same people, which is how friendships and relationships actually form.
• Speed dating. In person or online, it is the most efficient format there is: everyone is single, everyone came to meet someone, and nobody has to make the first move.
• Matchmakers. A good shadchan works year-round, not just on Tu B’Av. Our breakdown of whether to pay for a Jewish matchmaker will help you decide.
• Apps, between events. Jewish dating apps fill the gaps between events, as long as you move the conversation to a real plan quickly. If you’re new to all of this, our Jewish dating for dummies guide covers the basics.

Popular spots for Jewish singles, city by city

Events come and go, but certain neighborhoods and institutions keep showing up. For a deeper ranking, see our list of the best cities for meeting Jewish singles.

• New York: The Upper West Side is still the center of gravity, anchored by Lincoln Square Synagogue, B’nai Jeshurun, MJE, and the JCC Manhattan, with the Upper East Side, Midtown, and brownstone Brooklyn close behind. Full details are in our guide to Jewish dating in New York.
• Los Angeles: Pico-Robertson and Beverlywood on the Westside, and Encino and Sherman Oaks in the Valley. The Chai Center’s Friday night dinners and young-adult congregations like Pico Shul are longtime social hubs.
• South Florida: Miami Beach, Aventura, Boca Raton, and Fort Lauderdale, where YJP Las Olas keeps a busy young professional calendar. Winter is high season, when visitors and snowbirds swell every event.
• Chicago: Lakeview and Lincoln Park for young professionals, with Chitribe hosting events across the city.
• Washington, D.C.: Sixth & I, a historic downtown synagogue that builds much of its programming around people in their 20s and 30s.
• Atlanta: Buckhead, where CYP Buckhead (Chabad Young Professionals) runs holiday parties and Shabbat dinners.
• Boston: Brookline and Newton, plus downtown young professional events. It is also where the MatzoBall began.
• Israel: Tel Aviv for Friday afternoons, beach life, and Tu B’Av parties; Jerusalem for Shabbat meals and Shushan Purim.

Several of these organizations work with MeetJew; you can see the full list on our partners page.

How to get more out of every event

• Arrive early. The first 45 minutes are the easiest time to talk. Once the room fills, people retreat into their friend groups.
• Bring one friend, then split up. A friend gets you in the door; staying glued together keeps everyone else out.
• Volunteer. Checking coats or braiding challah next to strangers gives you a reason to talk to everyone.
• Go back. Recurring events beat one-offs. The third time you show up, you’re a regular.
• Follow up within two days. A short message that mentions something specific from your conversation is enough, and the calendar hands you easy second-date lines: “Want to come to my seder?” works surprisingly well.
• Mix big and small. Big parties give you volume; small dinners give you depth. You need both.

Plenty of the couples who met through MeetJew crossed paths at more than one event before anything clicked. Consistency is the whole game. The easiest way to start is to put three dates in your calendar today: the next Friday night dinner, the next holiday, and the next MeetJew event. Then show up.

Jewish singles events FAQ: what people ask before they go

What is the biggest Jewish singles event of the year?

Christmas Eve, anchored by the MatzoBall and similar parties in major U.S. cities. Purim and Yom Ha’atzmaut are the other big party nights, and Simchat Torah on Manhattan’s Upper West Side is the most storied.

Do I have to be religious to go to Jewish singles events?

No. Most events are social or cultural, and programs like the Shabbat Project and OneTable are built for people of every background and level of observance. When an event is designed for a specific community, such as Orthodox singles, the listing will usually say so.

Are there Jewish singles events for people over 50?

Yes. OneTable runs a program for the 50-ish crowd, and synagogues, JCCs, and federations regularly host socials, lectures, and trips for older singles. For the online side, see our guide to Jewish dating apps for singles over 50.

Which Jewish holidays are best for meeting someone?

Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Purim, and Passover draw the biggest social crowds, and Tu B’Av is the holiday actually dedicated to love. Between them, Shabbat dinner gives you a chance every single week.

Why are there fewer Orthodox singles events in spring and summer?

Two traditional mourning periods: part of the Omer between Passover and Shavuot, and the Three Weeks before Tisha B’Av. Many observant communities avoid weddings and live music during these stretches, so events shift to dinners, learning, and Shabbatons. Lag BaOmer and the Shabbat after Tisha B’Av are the traditional moments when the social calendar picks back up.

How do I find Jewish singles events near me?

Check MeetJew’s in-person and virtual events, your local federation and JCC calendars, synagogue newsletters, OneTable, and the Instagram accounts of young professional groups in your city. Pull holiday dates from Hebcal and plan a few weeks ahead, because the biggest nights sell out.

When is Tu B’Av in 2027?

Tu B’Av begins at sundown on Tuesday, Aug. 17, 2027, and ends at nightfall on Wednesday, Aug. 18.