Questions tagged [calendar]
Questions about calendars. The Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar that determines the dates of Jewish festivals.
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Is there a reference that explains the literal meaning and etymology of the names of the Hebrew months?
Is there a reference that explains the literal meaning and etymology of the names of the Hebrew months? I am looking for something that explains both the common Babylonian names as well as the Tana"ch ...
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Why isn't Hallel recited on VE Day?
There is a good deal of controversy about reciting Hallel on days not ordained by ancient tradition. But there are at least some opinions that Hallel should be recited to commemorate dates of ...
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Page numbers in sefarim
Is there a reason for pages in sefarim being numbered using Arabic numerals (e.g. 1, 2, 3…) in comparison with the Hebrew numeration using letters?
What is the earliest source for Arabic numerals ...
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Where and when did the numerical time units (hours) originate? [duplicate]
The Torah states no numerical divisions for the day. The closest numeric we find is that there are 7 days in the week, and that the start of the "day" begins with "erev" (and there are debates on when ...
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Why can the 1st day of Pesach never occur on Sunday in 2 consecutive years?
I am doing a lecture on the math of the Jewish calendar. I understand the concepts of the 3 types of year lengths - maleh, chaser and kesidrah - "full", "regular" and "deficient" years. I also ...
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Why is Adar 1 30 days long?
The Talmud Ta'anit 6b says אין בין אדר הראשון לאדר השני אלא קריאת המגילה ומתנות לאביונים
"There is no difference between the 1st Adar and 2nd Adar except for reading the Megillah and giving presents ...
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In a leap year, is the extra month Adar I or Adar II?
I'm implementing support for the Hebrew calendar in Noda Time, my date/time library for .NET. I think I'm mostly there aside from text support (although beta testers would be very welcome!) but one ...
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The Book of Numbers and Passover
Why is LORD'S passover (Numbers 28:16) on the fourteenth day of the first month?
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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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Why do we abbreviate the Jewish year to the hundreds column?
The current Jewish year is 5774 however it is popularly abbreviated as 774 - תשע״ד.
I would like to know why this abbreviation was adopted. I realize that to write out the number 5,000 would require ...
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If Yom Kippur hypothetically fell on Sunday, would you make havdalah?
I was curious about this hypothetical situation.
If Yom Kippur would fall on Sunday, Motzei Shabbat, so immediately when Shabbat ends, Yom Kippur starts. Would there be some sort of separation, בין ...
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Where does 5774 fall in the 19-year cycle?
We are in a leap year, as indicated by the presence of Adar Bet. Leap years occur every third, sixth, eighth, eleventh, fourteenth, seventeenth and nineteenth years in the cycle. So how to tell ...
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"לְחֹדֶשׁ שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר" in the Megillah and Al Hanisim
As I was reading Al Hanisim this year, something odd struck me "לְחֹדֶשׁ שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר" - the 12th month. What struck me was that this year is a leap year so we actually celebrated Purim in the ...
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What are the months of Jewish civil and religious calendar?
I understand that Jewish religion has two calendars; one is Civil for Kings, childbirth, contracts etc. and second for festivals.
what are the months of these calendars and how they are related ...
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Why did Hashem create the world in such a way that a leap year is needed?
I understand why we have a leap year; to keep the sun and moon cycles in sync, so that Pessach is always in the spring.
That's all technical, as a result of the moon orbiting too slowly - or the sun ...
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Why is Purim on Adar II during a leap year?
On a leap year, when a second Adar is added, we celebrate Purim on the second Adar. I would think it should be celebrated on the first Adar, since the Megillah goes out of its way in several places to ...
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Time Parameters of Mishenichnas Adar Marbin B'Simcha
Is "Mishenichnas Adar Marbin B'Simcha" just for the month of Adar, and then you take a step down in simcha for Nisan? Or are you supposed to raise your level of simcha and stay there until Av, when ...
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When does the year start in terms of saying "Ulichaporas Pasha" for a leap year?
When we add the words "Ulichaporas Pasha" during Musaf of Rosh Chodesh when it's a leap year, when is the year determined - Nisan or Tishrei?
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"When Adar Comes We Increase in Joy" - already from Adar I?
Does the Talmudic dictum
משנכנס אדר מרבין בשמחה (When Adar comes we increase in joy)
start even in אדר ראשון (Adar I) in a leap year?
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Is Jewish birthday the same every lunar year
I understand the Jewish birthday is calculated on the lunar year, which could cause the birthday to drift back and fourth along the lunar calendar. But supposing the child was born, say, first day of ...
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Parshas Zachor before Purim?
Prior to the story of Purim was there a special yearly reading of Parshas Zachor? At which point in history was it instituted to read Parshas Zachor before Purim?
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What calendar-dependent laws must non-Jews follow?
While the calendar is vastly important in Judaism, it seems like it is barely applicable to non-Jews. The "big seven" Noahide laws seem to be perenially applicable; they dictate general rules for life ...
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Can one say kaddish for a gentile?
We are inclined to say kaddish on the yahrzeit of a very dear friend who was not Jewish, just as we would for a relative. Is there a reason not to? I am also interested to hear reasons why this is a ...
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Counting years according to the solar calendar
I once heard there is an opinion in Rishonim (maybe Gaonim?) that says we count ones years of life according to the solar calender. So for example a boy would become bar mitzvah when he would turn 13 ...
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Making up a synagogue calendar manually is tedious work. Which software can do the calculations automatically?
Lots of synagogues print up a customized calendar every year. (Sample.) Such a calendar includes shul-specific information (e.g. service times and maybe a weekly class or two) and general information (...
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Yakkov living in Egypt 17 years - connection to 210 years of servitude
Parshas Vayechi starts off that Yaakov lived in Egypt for 17 years. I was thinking that 17 years x 12 months = 204 months. Usually in 17 years there are 6 leap years which would increase the total ...
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Why announce Mashiv Haruach and not Vtein Tal?
When we start saying mashiv haruach there is an important requirement of announcing the liturgical change. If one does not hear the announcement, one does not say mashiv until the community would have ...
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Ulchaparat pasha in Chazarat haShatz
When "ulchaparat pasha" is said in the Chazarat haShatz of Rosh Chodesh, how should the amein of the tzibbur be handled? Should the amein from "velislichat avon" be deferred until after "pasha," or ...
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How often does chanukah start before v'tain tal?
Outside of Israel, we start saying "v'tain tal oomatar livrachah" ("and provide dew and rain for a blessing") in the amida on the evening of December 4th or 5th (depending on the year). Chanukah ...
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Google says it is the Jewish Year 5774. The wiki says Judaism is 3000 years old. How is this discrepancy reconciled?
Google says it is the Jewish Year 5774. The wiki and other sources say Judaism is 3000 years old and suggest Abraham was born 4000 years ago. Where is the discrepancy?
I am perhaps looking for an ...
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What is a ger's birthday in terms of Jewish astrology? conversion date or birth date?
In terms of Jewish astrological signs and influences on people, per Kabbalah, would a ger use their actual 'birth' date or their date of conversion which is considered a rebirth?
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Did Brit with rainbow happen in Kislev?
I read on torahvort.com in their article on Kislev that the Brit with Noach about the rainbow happened in Kislev. We know from the end of Ber 8:27 that Noach left the ark on the 27th of the 2nd month, ...
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Why does the Torah give us exact dates for the flood?
This question asks why the flood didn't end on the 18th of Cheshvan (one year after the start). My question is more basic: why does the torah give us precise dates here at all? Bereishit 7:11 tells ...
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What will happen when our set calendar ends?
In a recent conversation I was told that the current Jewish calendar was only set till the year 6,000. There was conjecture as to what will happen after that time (assuming Moshiach has not yet ...
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Is there proof that we never skipped a day of the week? [duplicate]
Bereshit begins with the first 6 days and the Shabbat. The assumption is then that after that day, Mankind kept track of the day of the week all by themselves until today.
Are we sure that no one ...
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Historical Calendar Records
Are there any records of the Beis Din's decisions regarding the Hebrew Calendar (e.g. to add months, how long the month would be), before Hillel Hakatan established the fixed calendar?
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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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Acronym for ה׳תש״ע [closed]
I know that every Hebrew year has one or more acronym for it. What acronyms do we use for the year ה׳תש״ע?
Google is not helping me.
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When exactly should an avel (mourner) not be davening before the amud?
An avel (mourner) if possible should also daven before the amud (be the chazan) on weekdays. But certain times of the year especially when tachanun is not said (but not every time) he should not be ...
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Why is Vayelech read twice in a year?
It is mechanically possible, like this year, that parshas Vayelech is actually read twice in one year - last year it was after Rosh haShanah on Shabbos Shuvah, and this year - together with Nitzavim, ...
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Why can we do Tashlich until Hoshana Rabba
One of the reasons to do Tashlich, according to Chabad.org is: "Another reason for saying Tashlich next to a river is because Rosh Hashanah is the day when we coronate G‑d as King of the Universe. ...
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Why do we say Yizkor when we say it?
In the diaspora, we say Yizkor on:
The last day of Passover
The second day of Shavuot
Yom Kippur
The first day of Shemini Atzeret
Why do we always say Yizkor on these days in particular? If it's ...
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Why are the daily tehilim divided as they are?
How were the daily starting and ending points for weekly and monthly readings of all of tehilim chosen? Are they just chosen to make them all approximately the same length, or are there specific ...
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Why do we celebrate the 15th of Av?
The Talmud (Bab. Ta'anith 26b) tells us that the 15 of Av was a fantastically happy time celebrated with joyous festivals. Why?
One reason given is that the traveling Israelites who left Egypt ...
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S'feika D'yoma in Niddah
There are several types of vestos (patterns in menstrual cycles) that a woman is able to aquire. One such vesses is the vesses hachodesh, which relies on the day of the (Jewish) month. So for instance,...
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Why did people date divorce documents according to the Greeks?
According to this article on Jewish Encyclopedia, the conventional Jewish system of dating documents in the Middle Ages (a system called "מנין שטרות") was related to the accession of Seleucus I, the ...
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Significance of number 613 regarding the mitzvot
According to the Talmud (Makos 23b) "Moshe received 613 Mitzvos. They are 365 Lavim (negative commandments), corresponding to the days of the (solar) year, and 248 Mitzvos Aseh (positive commandments),...
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What date was Kibrot Hattaavah?
Are there any sources that give the date for the incident in Kibroth Hattaavah recorded in B'Midbar Chapter 11? I am trying to figure out if it happened on a particular mo'ed or any significant date.
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Not making a wedding on the first 3 days of a month
I've heard there is a custom (practiced in various kehillas, I heard Belz is one of them) to not make a wedding on the first 3 days of a month (meaning alef, beis, or gimmel of a particular month.) ...
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Why do Israelis keep one day of Yom Tov?
From what I understand, we outside of Eretz Yisrael we keep two days of Yom Tov as a continuation of the minhag that evolved from the time of the Bais Hamikdash when we would not necessarily know when ...