What Hebrew term collectively names Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot as pilgrimage festivals?

The Hebrew term for Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot as pilgrimage festivals is Shalosh Regalim. The phrase means the “three pilgrimage festivals,” when ancient Israelites were expected to travel to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Shalosh means “three,” while regalim is related to regel, the Hebrew word for “foot.” The name therefore evokes people making the journey on foot, even though not every pilgrim necessarily traveled literally that way. The festivals are Passover in spring, Shavuot seven weeks later, and Sukkot in autumn.

The three festivals also align with the agricultural year in the Land of Israel. Passover coincides with the barley harvest, Shavuot with the wheat harvest, and Sukkot with the conclusion of the fruit harvest. At the Temple, pilgrims joined public celebrations and worship led by the kohanim, or priests.

After the Second Temple was destroyed, the national pilgrimage requirement could no longer operate as before. The festivals remain major Jewish observances, however, and synagogue liturgy preserves readings and rituals connected with them. Rosh Chodesh means the new month, Yamim Noraim refers to the High Holy Days, and neither is the collective name for these three festivals.