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 any (relatively) simple way to calculate when/how often the Daf Yomi cycle will finish a tractate on Erev Pesach?
Shulchan Aruch O.C. 470:1 codifies that firstborns fast on Erev Pesach. In my experience, the widespread practice is for firstborns to attend a siyum of the completion of a tractate of Talmud, usually ...
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Veset Hachodesh when months are fixed following callendar
Nowadays we follow a calendar for month. Sometimes the Molad is Friday and they are 2 days of Rosh Chodesh Shabbat and Sunday. The dates are far from the astronomic dates. I am curious to know if ...
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2answers
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Which event is more infrequent?
This year, we have a couple of infrequent events, and I'm trying to figure out which is less frequent, considering a 19 year cycle (which, I think, is the best time unit to use). Some of the data ...
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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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Torah confusion between “daylight” and “a day”
The Torah uses the same word יום in the same verse to denote both "daylight" and "24 hours":
וַיִּקְרָא אֱלֹהִים לָאוֹר יוֹם וְלַחֹשֶׁךְ קָרָא לָיְלָה
וַיְהִי־עֶרֶב וַיְהִי־בֹקֶר יוֹם אֶחָד׃
...
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Importance of “Days” in the process of Creation
Why is it important that the Creation process is divided into 6 "days", as opposed to "parts" or "stages" or even presented in simple succession without mentioning "units"?
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Holy days on the weekend [duplicate]
There are 13 holy days per year on which we must not work (outside of Israel): 2 Rosh Hashanah, 1 Yom Kippur, 4 Sukkot, 4 Pessah, 2 Shavuot. What are the minimum and maximum numbers of these days that ...
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1answer
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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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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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Why were Mishmarot a concern in the Qumran calendar?
I'm researching various sources regarding the Qumran calendar. I don't understand why there was a concern for incorporating the 24 priestly "watches" (mishmarot) (Refer to I Chronicles 4 for the names....
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“Hanukkah 8th day/Tevet 3/New Years Day” triple coincidences - What makes them so Rare?
I very recently became aware that Hanukkah 8th day sometimes (but rarely) falls on Tevet 3. What causes this to happen? At the same time, I also noticed that when Hanukkah 8th day/Tevet 3 happen ...
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Are there any halachic sources that discuss the Qumran calendar?
As a Torah reader, I was fascinated when I visited Heichal Hasefer - "Shrine of the Book" and read about the Qumran society and their calendar. As far as I know, there doesn't seem to be much, if ...
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Time as a Spiral
@PixelArtDragon asked what rabbi originated the idea that time is a spiral. @PixelArtDragon said that the earliest they've found is Rav Natan Breslov who lived from 1780-1844 - can anyone locate that ...
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Historical Daf Yomi calendar
Is there a website that allows you to find what Daf was studied on the a particular date as part of the Daf Yomi cycle?
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Adopting idolatrous Babylonian name of Month Tamuz
Jerusalem Rosh Hashana 6a
דא"ר חנינה שמות חדשים עלו בידם מבבל
R'Hanina said: the names of the Months were brought with them from Babylon
The Gemmorah explains the process of adopting the ...
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What verses in Na"ch describe the details of Jewish calendar like Kidush HaChodesh and Ibbur Hashanah?
The Gemmorah in Jerusalem Rosh Hashana 6a explains the process of adopting the Babylonian names instead of Biblical ones.
דא"ר חנינה שמות חדשים עלו בידם מבבל
R'Hanina said: the names of the ...
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1answer
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How can I calculate the number of days in a Hebrew month in a given year [closed]
Shalom, I am creating some pastoral care software for synagogues. One feature is the tracking of anniversary dates of life events - simchas, yahrzeits, etc. For this, I allow the user to set a ...
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Is there a book or online source explaining Jewish year-“type” sequences?
The current Judaic calendar allows for three types of year lengths:
Chaser ("missing") - 353 days
Kesidra ("in order") - 354 days
Shalem ("full") - 355 days
(Add 30 to each of the above for leap ...
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1answer
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Idolatrous origin of the name TAMMUZ
The Gemmorah in [Jerusalem Rosh Hashana 6a][1]
explains the process of adopting the Babylonian names on Months instead of Biblical ones.
דא"ר חנינה שמות חדשים עלו בידם מבבל
R'Hanina said: the ...
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What did people say in Shemoneh Esrei and Kiddush of Shavuos when it didn't fall out on the 6th of Sivan?
During Shemoneh Esrei and Kiddush of Shavuos, we describe the Yom Tov as "this day of the holiday of Shavuos, the time of giving our Torah" (יום חג השבועות הזה זמן מתן תורתינו).
Before we had a fixed ...
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Why was the calendar not arranged so that Yom Kippur never falls on Shabbat?
Our Sources give the impression that Shabbat is the holiest of the yamim tovim. On Shabbat, we rest, eat and drink of the best, sleep, rejoice, have sex with the spouse, wear nice clothes, etc. It ...
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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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Did R' Akiva's students die in one year?
שנים עשר אלף זוגים תלמידים היו לו לרבי עקיבא מגבת עד אנטיפרס וכולן מתו בפרק אחד מפני שלא נהגו כבוד זה לזה
Rabbi Akiva had twelve thousand pairs of students in an area of land that stretched from ...
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1answer
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Yahrzeit in different time zone
If a person passes away in one place but [some] relatives live in another place in which, due to time zone differences, it is already the next day (or still the previous), do those relatives establish ...
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1answer
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Why is Pesach sheni one month after Pesach rishon?
Bamidbar 9:11 tells us that Pesach sheni happens a month after Pesach rishon.
Pesach sheni was for the unclean or people on a long journey, who couldn't bring Pesach at its appointed time. Did they ...
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What was done with the orders of the cohanim during a leap year?
In 1 Chronicles chapter 24 David set out orders for the cohanim to serve in the Beis Hamikdash. What he established is intuitive for a 12 month year, but what was done in a 13 month year? If possible, ...
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Sources for how many days of holidays are there per year?
Specifically, I am looking for a traditional source like the Baal Haturim. I overheard that a number that I don't remember, but basically like 49 days out of the year are holy days. Is there a mesorah ...
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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 Kaddish for a parent is said for eleven months?
This answer cites a source which explains that Kaddish for a parent is customarily not said for 12 months so as not to imply a parent's status as that of "wicked."
Not wanting to label a parent ...
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Will the day of the final salvation be celebrated every year in the days of the Moshiach?
Following "what-berachos-should-be-made-when-moshiach-comes", I wondered, for all the great events that G-d did to us we set (in the Torah or Rabbinically) a yearly festive - celebrating the date - ...
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Colours for months
According inner.org, each month of the year has a corresponding colour to it. This does not seem to be in Sefer Yetzirah. What is the source for this and what is the significance with regards to each ...
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The date of Amalek fighting Moses and Israel in the wilderness [duplicate]
וַיָּבֹא עֲמָלֵק וַיִּלָּחֶם עִם־יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּרְפִידִם׃
Amalek came and fought with Israel at Rephidim. (Ex 17:8)
When exactly was it, what day was chosen to fight the Israelites and why that ...
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Is there a limit to the number of consecutive leap years?
The Rambam in Hilchot Kiddush Hachodesh 4:5 (Thanks @DonielF) states that Sanhedrin was allowed to declare a leap year not just based on "seasonal alignment' (I.e. 16 Nissan should be after the spring ...
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What exactly do we celebrate on Purim - the 14th of Adar?
In the Purim timeline, we can see a series of beneficial events:
the King couldn't sleep and remembered Mordechai (the turn of the story)
Hanging of Haman with his sons and Appointing of Mordechai ...
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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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Are anniversaries celebrated in Adar I or Adar II?
For those who celebrate anniversaries, or for calculating the end of Shanah Rishonah, if a couple gets married in Adar of a non-leap-year, when is the anniversary celebrated in a leap year? Is it in ...
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Longest Jewish year
This year, 5779, is the longest possible year on the Jewish calendar. Not only is it a leap year, but Cheshvan and Kislev both have 30 days, for a total of 385 days. How often does that happen?
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Is there any situation when the haftarah of Tetzaveh might be read during a non-leap year?
This past Shabbat, we read the haftarah of Tetzaveh. If I have calculated correctly, I don't think there is any situation where this haftarah would be read during a non-leap year. I think that ...
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Why do we have Adar I & Adar II- why don't we give the additional month a new name?
Building off the question of why Adar is chosen as the month to be doubled, why in a leap year do we have an Adar I and Adar II?
Why wasn't the additional month given a brand new name?
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Jewish and Gregorian year's last digit
I've noticed that outside of the period between Rosh ha-Shana and 31 of December (included) the last digit of the current year in both systems is always the same, e.g. 5779 - 2019
What are the ...
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Why does the date for the prayer for rain change from one century to the next?
My due diligence:
Praying for rain in the Diaspora
How to calculate 60 days from tekufat tishri for any given year?
On which evening should we start saying “V'tein tal u'matar li'vrachah”?
I see ...
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0answers
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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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Is there a difference between ירחים and חדשים?
As a word meaning "months," the word חדשים is used in Ber. 38:24 and then multiple locations after Sh'mot 12:2.
יְרָחִים appears in Sh'mot 2:2, then (possibly) in Dev 33:14 and twice in Iyov.
When ...
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1answer
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What does “in the month of Nissan” mean for postexilic Jews?
In Nehemiah 2:1 we read:
"And it came to pass in the month of Nissan, in the twentieth year of
King Artaxerxes..."
What did the Jews in the postexilic era mean when they only mentioned the ...
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System of counting months in Noach
Going through Noach with the help of Rashi, there are 3 different systems of counting months.
From (Tishrei|Nisan) 1 2 3
From (Kisleiv|Sivan) when the rain stopped
From (Cheshvan|Iyar) when the rain ...
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Why the Second day of Rosh Hashanah isn't בל תוסיף? [duplicate]
Rosh-Hashanah is clearly one day from the Torah.
As it falls on the first day of the month, in the days of keeping the Real New Moon, there's no way of informing the other places outside Jerusalem, so ...
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1answer
62 views
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 ...
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1answer
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Date of the Akeida?
Are there sources in our tradition which discuss the Hebrew date of Akeidas Yitzchak? The fact that we read the Akeida on Rosh Hashana or, properly, every day suggests to me that the "real" date is ...
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3answers
216 views
How do religious Orthodox Jews reconcile their calendar with the Darwinian theory of evolution? [duplicate]
This is a genuine question. I'm curious because I read somewhere that even the most religious Orthodox Jews accept the Darwinian theory of evolution, and that even they don't believe dinosaurs lived ...
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1answer
54 views
Does week starting on monday reflect in Sabbath? [duplicate]
Some countries do adopt weeks starting in Monday, whereas the weekend (Saturday followed by Sunday) is at the end of the week, making Sunday the seventh day.
In Brazil, where I am from, weeks start ...
