Questions tagged [calendar]
Questions about calendars. The Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar that determines the dates of Jewish festivals.
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Splitting the Double Parshiyot
As far as I can remember, during the course of the year there are eight sets of parshiyot that are sometimes joined together:
תרומה תצווה
ויקהל פקודי
תזריע מצורע
אחרי מות קדושים
בהר בחקותי
חוקת בלק
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The 70 weeks in Daniel 9
How does one understand the 70 week prophecy in Daniel 9? When does the decree to rebuild Jerusalem take place, and how do you interpret the "seven weeks; and for threescore and two weeks" from that ...
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Minimum number of days in the first week of the Hebrew calendar?
Does the first week of Nissan have a minimum number of days? Or does it range from 1-7? If it does have a minimum (greater than 1 ..obviously), why?
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Selichos start: Ashkinazim vs. Sefardim
Why do Sefardim start saying Sleichos earlier than Ashkinazim?
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Climate and growing season in Iron Age Israel and Judah [closed]
Jan A Wagenaar, Origin and Transformation of the Ancient Israelite Festival Calendar, Harrassowitz Verlag, Wiesbaden 2005, proposes that the Feast of Unleavened Bread was originally in the month of ...
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Jewish and English birthdays [duplicate]
Can someone explain to me in simple language why my Jewish and English birthday are not on the same day this year. I will be 76 (4 time 19 ). My English is on Tuesday (today) and my Jewish one on ...
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Source for adjusting the calendar for Lo Ad'u Rosh rule
There are 4 rules that would cause the postponement of the 1st day of Rosh Hashanna from being on the day of the molad. One of the most commonly implemented rules is called Lo Ad'u Rosh, meaning that ...
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Personality traits of being born on certain weekdays
A few years ago I was reading that there are some teachings on the weekdays and their "personality" and also how it influences the person born on one of them.
Could anyone help me to find more ...
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Is there a pattern to whether a year is full/regular/deficient? Is there an online source that lists them?
There is a pattern for leap years that follows a 19 year cycle. Is there a similar pattern for whether a year is shleimah/kesidran/chaserah? (i.e. some function that takes the year and returns the ...
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"B'shem Hashem" for 11 Tishre
Some call the eleventh of Tishre "b'shem Hashem" ("בשם ה׳"). (I assume this is a hasidic term, since, according to what I've heard, the name comes from the Baal Shem Tov.) Why is it called that?
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Does Passover occur on the first full moon after the equinox?
Christians claim that Jesus was put to death on Passover eve Nisan 14 they make the date for easter based on the first full moon after the spring equinox(paschal full moon)
This year (2016) Passover ...
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Hebrew Calender API/Library in PHP or Javascript to add days, month or years to Julian date
I have a web project where I need a function either server-side using php or client-side using javascript where I can pass in a Georgian date and have month(s) or years added to it according to the ...
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Which days the holidays occur on
Has anyone put together a list of how often each event in the Jewish calendar occurs on a given day of the week?
For instance, Yom Kippur happens X% on Shabbat, Y% on Monday, Z% on Wednesday, etc.?
I ...
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Was Yom Kippur ever on a Sunday?
As per this answer, since the fixing of the calendar (let's say, at the time of the gemara), Yom Kippur does not fall on a Saturday night.
Leon Wieseltier, in his book "Kaddish" (page 102) tells of ...
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Donating to the poor ON Purim
In minyan this morning, the gabbai said that money given to the shul as matanot l'evyonim would be donated to a charity which will "distribute it to evyonim in Yerushalayim, on Purim."
I live in the ...
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Seeking (a) web site(s) that discuss(es) Judaic calendar statistics
I am compiling a short shiur for my shul on Rosh Hashanna. I plan on discussing some items related to the Judaic calendar, with a focus on some statistics that I can eventually put into Excel and / or ...
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Altering the Spelling out the Hebrew Year
In 1983-1984, the Hebrew year was 5744. Normally, the year would have been spelled out in Hebrew letters תשמ״ד, but according to my rabbi then, Rabbi Phillip Rabinowitz, zt'l, as pronounced the word ...
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New Moon Based on Sighting Outside of the Land of Israel
I would appreciate someone directing me to a source that states/indicates/suggests whether the visibility of the new moon outside the Land of Israel may be used to begin the Jewish month in that ...
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In which month is it impossible to become Bas Mitzva? [closed]
In which month is it impossible to become Bas Mitzva?
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Significance of Torah day starting at sunset, vs secular day starting at sunrise
This is a very general question, and I hope for some general answers. However, in order to focus it, I would like to specify one point.
In the secular world, the day starts with "waking up" ...
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How and why does a Jubilee year cause Rosh Hashanah to take place on the 10th day of the month?
How and why does a Jubilee year cause Rosh Hashanah to take place on the 10th day of the month?
Ezekiel 40:1 reads "on Rosh Hashanah, on the tenth of the month". Rashi asks and answers, &...
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Agricultural events and the Jewish calendar
There are many dates in the Jewish calendar that are connected to agricultural events. They include:
Shavuot is Chag Ha'Katzir, the Holiday of the Harvest - Shemot 23:16
Sukkot is Chag Ha'Assif, the ...
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Holocaust Rembrance Day(s)?
What is with the different Holocaust Remembrance Days?
When I was a kid, my entire community observed Yom HaShoah. This came about approximately one week after Pesaḥ. Although I'm not totally sure, I ...
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What sources are there for the meaning of Yom HaMeyuchos (2nd Sivan)?
Ohr Sameach gives the chronology according to Rashi of the giving of the Torah.
Early the following morning, the 2nd of Sivan, Moshe goes up Mt.
Sinai for the first time. He is instructed to ...
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Longest interval between readings of haftarah for Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
When Rosh Chodesh falls on Shabbat, a special haftarah (Isaiah 66) is read.
However, in our fixed calendar certain months can never have Rosh Chodesh fall on Shabbat (Kislev, Sivan). For certain other ...
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Has Elul Been Made Full Since the Time of Ezra?
In the Gemara in Rosh Hashanah (19b) it says:
והאמר רבי חיננא בר כהנא א"ר מימות עזרא ואילך לא מצינו אלול מעובר
לא מצינו דלא איצטריך הא איצטריך מעברינן ליה
Didn’t Rabbi Chinnana bar Kahana say ...
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Between Shemini Atzeres and the Shemoneh Esrei 9th blessing's prayer for rain
In the Shemoneh Esrei, the line "who makes the wind blow and the rain descend" is added to the Second Blessing from Shemini Atzeres. The request to "give dew and rain for a blessing" is not added to ...
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Was there any limit to the number of consecutive "full" (30 day) or normal (29 day) months during the time of the Sanhedrin?
When Sanhedrin existed, each month had to be sanctified by Sanhedrin after testimony of 2 witnesses (or automatically by Sanhedrin if no one appeared by the end of the 30th day.) Refer to Maimonedes ...
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Why isn't Shabat haGadol held on the 10th of Nissan?
Why is Shabat haGadol celebrated based on day of the week (Shabat) and not day of the month, if it happened on the 10th of Nissan? Most other days of commemoration in Judaism are celebrated by a day ...
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Creation of State of Israel and birth of Abraham - 1948
According to the Jewish calendar, Abraham was born on the year 1948.
The state of Israel was declared in 1948 according to the secular calendar.
Is there any significance to this or is it just ...
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Splitting Sefira Mourning Practices According to Rav Moshe Feinstein
People hold of the restrictions of the seven-week omer period (shaving and listening to music, for example) at various times: some hold approximately the first five weeks; others, approximately the ...
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Could the Hebrew calendar calculations have been know since the time of Moses?
Many years ago, I read (non-Jewish source, without explicit external references) that the calendar calculations have actually been in effect since Moses, but were kept in secret for many centuries.
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Names of mazalot in Judaism
Yesterday we discussed that during Zayin Adar we eat fish due to the constellation of Adar. Rambam lists these mazalot, and uses them extensively when discussing calendar calculations. They are also ...
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Is there any significance to someone's non-Hebrew calendar birthday?
It is believed that there is a significance to one's Hebrew calender Birthday.
Is there any significance for one's birthday on other calendars (such as the Gregorian calendar, as well as others)?
It ...
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During Purim Meshulash, why does the Seudah take place on Sunday?
When Shushan Purim falls on Shabbat, residents of Jerusalem spread the observances of Purim over three days: Megillah reading & meshloach manot on Friday, Al HaNissim and Purim Torah reading on ...
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Is a secular New Year tree considered OK?
This question presupposes that celebrating secular New Year's Eve in the first place is OK. I looked here: " Is it ok to celebrate New Years Eve? " and the answers seemed not fully resolved, ...
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Haftarah for yahrtzeit
If one's yahrtzeit falls on a day when there is a haftarah, there is a discussion about whether it's a bigger merit for the deceased to recite the haftarah on that day or before the day of the ...
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Apparent contradiction if Elul was made full when necessary
The Gemara Rosh Hashanah 19b says:
והאמר רבי חיננא בר כהנא א"ר מימות עזרא ואילך לא מצינו אלול מעובר
לא מצינו דלא איצטריך הא איצטריך מעברינן ליה
Didn’t Rabbi Chinana bar Kahana say that Rav said: ...
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Video course on Jewish Calendar
I made an (elementary) video on the Jewish Calendar, which goes through the basic principles from beginning to end, and actually uses them to calculate the full calendar for 5780. It came in just ...
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Where does Ramchal's idea of circulating calendar come from?
I am in search of any source preceding Derech Hashem, 4:7:6 (Sefaria Translation):
חגיגת החגים הזמניים: ואולם מלבד הקידוש הזה הנשער במדריגותיו כפי מדריגת קדושת הימים יש עוד ענינים פרטיים מיוחדים לכל ...
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Why are Creation and the Mabul not commemorated independently?
Our calendar marks days and dates important to our existence but they all start from the Exodus from Mitzrayim which makes sense because
A -- that's when we started fixing a calendar that related to ...
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How does the Hebrew calendar work in areas with midnight sun? [duplicate]
There are two polar circles, the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic Circle. There are days North of the Arctic Circle, and south of the Antarctic Circle where the sun never sets (summer), or never rises (...
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Difference of leining between Israel and Chutz Laaretz in 5779 [duplicate]
As anyone may know, because the last day of Pesach in chutz laarets fall out on Shabbat we read the special parsha for the 8th day of Pesach while in Israel since it wasn't Pesach anymore, they read ...
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For how long was there confusion about the date of a holiday?
The second day of Yom Tov outside of Israel was caused either by the length of time it took messengers to get to far away communities and tell them when the new month was declared or the confusion ...
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Why are agricultural requests based on holiday timing?
There are a few changes to the amida which reflect the changes in the seasons -- we add (or change to) mashiv haru'ach umorid hagashem (or geshem) at Shmini Atzeret (and back at Pesach) and switch TO ...
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On which evening should we start saying "V'tein tal u'matar li'vrachah"? (The ArtScroll siddur disagrees with The Book of Our Heritage.) [duplicate]
If a Jew lives outside of Israel, they should start saying "וְתֵן טַל וּמָטָר לִבְרָכָה" ("And give dew and rain for a blessing") during evening prayers on a certain evening in December.
Various ...
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Why are those parshios in particular combined? [duplicate]
The Tur (OC 428), as explained by the Tiferes Yisrael (Shevili d'Rakia 15), lists four dates that must fall out at certain points in the leining cycle:
Pesach must fall out after Tzav in a non-leap ...
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Does the proclamation of the New Moon by Beis Din have an effect on nature?
I found in this celebratory volume, p 172 (haoros.com/download.asp?kovetzID=1086&ext=pdf)
והנה הרא"ה בספר בדק הבית שלו הובא בש"ך יור"ד סי' קפ"ט סקי"ג
הסכים עם קושיית הרמב"ן, ולפיכך כתב שיש ...
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"Early" leap years [duplicate]
Mishneh Torah, Sanctification of the New Month 4:2 (Sefaria English translation with my modification on the word "Aviv"):
עַל שְׁלֹשָׁה סִימָנִין מְעַבְּרִין אֶת הַשָּׁנָה. עַל הַתְּקוּפָה
וְעַל ...
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Why are the rules for parsha "catch up" different for leap vs. non-leap years? [duplicate]
When Pesach is on Shabbat, as it is this year and next, the Torah reading in Diaspora is a week behind the reading in Israel for a few weeks. This is because on the 8th day of Pesach which is on ...
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