moed

Moed is a Hebrew term meaning “appointed time” or “festival.” In biblical and rabbinic usage, it denotes the set of holy days and seasons commanded in the Jewish calendar for worship, rest, and celebration.

In the Hebrew Bible, Moedim are the appointed times designated by God. The most prominent are the three pilgrimage festivals—Pesach (Passover) with the Feast of Unleavened Bread, Shavuot (the Feast of Weeks), and Sukkot (the Feast of Tabernacles)—together known as the Shalosh Regalim, when Israelites historically came to the Temple in Jerusalem. These festivals establish the core rhythm of the biblical calendar and are observed with ritual sacrifices, prayer, and festive meals. The calendar also includes other holy days and fasts associated with these times.

In Rabbinic Judaism, the term Moed governs the tractate Moed in the Mishnah and Talmud, which collects the laws and procedures for festivals, calendar calculations, Shabbat, and related holy days. The concept expanded to include the broader cycle of festival and fast days observed throughout the year, including Chol Hamoed (the intermediate days of Pesach and Sukkot) and the High Holy Days in later rabbinic tradition.

In modern Hebrew, moed commonly means an appointment or scheduled date and is used in everyday speech to refer to planned events, as well as to the traditional sense of “appointed time” in religious contexts.