Questions tagged [calendar]

Questions about calendars. The Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar that determines the dates of Jewish festivals.

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Bracha on Kiddush Hachodesh

Did the beit din make a bracha each month on the mitzvah of kiddush hachodesh in the times of the Sanhedrin? If yes, what was the language of the bracha?
2 votes
2 answers
100 views

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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Are there any opinions of a deadline for Moshiach later than the year 6000?

As discussed on this question, there are Talmudic opinions (e.g. in Rosh Hashana 31a and Sanhedrin 97a) that Moshiach must be here by the year 6000 AM (whether stated explicitly about Moshiach or ...
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4 votes
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July 4th in relation to the Jewish calendar

I was wondering if anyone has any sources that discuss the fact that July 4th, 1776 was 17 Tamuz 5536. Is there any correlation between the Declaration of Independence and the Destruction of Jerusalem?...
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1 answer
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Concurrent calender or timing of Passover in the time of the late 2nd temple

I have read in secondary literature that the calendar or the regulations, in particular on the celebration of Pesach found in the rolls of Qumran differ from the Rabbinic tradition that is observed ...
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Does a formalized date system exist for Judaism?

I am a software engineer and currently thinking about dates/times. In programming, all dates are in the Gregorian calendar system, and things start to break down when you get to dealing with CE/BCE. ...
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When do we read Shir ha-Shirim if the 1st day of Pesach is Shabbat? [duplicate]

According to the OU: On "Shabbat Chol HaMoed," the Shabbat that occurs during the Intermediate Days of the Holiday, or on the Seventh Day of that Holiday when Shabbat coincides with that ...
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4 votes
3 answers
283 views

Making my own Jewish calendar with paper and pencil

I would like to make my own Jewish calendar on paper with pencil ( using the help of programming for the more difficult calculations, ofcourse). How and where do I begin. Who makes the annual Jewish ...
3 votes
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Could the Jewish Calendar be changed because of climate change?

It seems that certain parts of the Jewish calendar are based on specific observations. I found this on Wikipedia, about the old observational methods to adding leap months and it made me wonder if ...
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2 votes
2 answers
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Why is there no Ta'anit Esther Katan?

In a leap year, Purim is marked in the second Adar. In the first Adar, the 14th is noted as Purim Katan and the day after, as Shushan Purim Katan. The implications are limited (basically) to slight ...
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4 votes
1 answer
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Is the TorahCalc Molad Calculator accurate?

I have been making an excel spreadsheet that calculates molads. I started from the Molad for Tishrei in Year 1 Anno Mundi. Based on various websites (including TorahCalc), the Molad was on Tuesday at ...
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When was the first Jewish leap year?

What number year within the 19-year cycle was the year of Yetziyat Mitzrayim -- if that was the mechanism used in the midbar to keep Pesach in the Spring and alternatively, if the cycle wasn't what ...
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3 votes
1 answer
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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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1 answer
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What is my Zodiac sign? [closed]

I was born on the 25 of Tishrei 1981 at approx. 5:30 PM. According to most secular astrologers I am considered to be a Libra/Scorpio cusp sun sign (Oct. 19-25). Tishrei is considered the month of ...
3 votes
2 answers
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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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1 answer
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How does one write Hebrew dates in short?

I'm trying to write down some of my friends' Hebrew birthdates, and because there's a bunch of them, I'm doing it in short. So 8 Tishrei 5763 would convert to 1/8/63 or ח׳ א׳ תשס״ג. (I think; I'm not ...
0 votes
2 answers
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Looking for the source that connects the days of the week to the sefirot

I found a picture of it, but I absolutely cannot find the title. I remember reading about certain months correlating to din, some rachamim, the rest judgment is pending. So, I'm hoping this book has ...
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1 answer
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Zodiac of Adar I

The zodiac sign of the month Adar in a non-leap year is Pisces (Dagim). But what kind of Adar I, which is in a leap year? Two months cannot have the same zodiac sign.
1 vote
1 answer
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When did the Cutheans undermine the lighting of signal fires to announce the new moon?

Back when the months of the Jewish calendar were determined by observations of the new crescent moon, eyewitnesses would bring their testimony to the rabbinical court in Jerusalem, and the court would ...
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3 votes
2 answers
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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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Is there somewhere I can find a list of just Rosh Chodesh for the year in Gregorian with one and two-day RC?

It would be convenient if I could find a list of RC for the year, such as 5781 2020/2021: Rosh Chodesh Sh'vat 1/14 Th Rosh Chodesh Adar 2/12-13 F S ... But this is what I've found: https://...
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Date/Week of Creation off by a day?

Question: If we believe that Sunday is Yom Rishon of Creation, then what do we do with the given date of Creation being Monday, October 7, 3761 B.C.E. according to our current calendar? Are there ...
5 votes
1 answer
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Sources for Rav Saddia Goan on set days for Pesach

Rashi in Pesachim 58b mentions and rejects an opinion that in the days of the Tannaim the rules for which day of the week Pesach and (Rosh Hashana) can fall out, לא בד"ו פסח, were already in ...
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What is the relation between the month Nisan and the spring equinox?

I'm searching for the relation between Nisan and the spring equinox according to Scripture. I know of the texts Genesis 1:14, Exodus 12:2-3, Leviticus 23:15 and Deuteronomy 16:1. I find multiple ...
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Finding the daf for a day in history [duplicate]

Is there any online app (or simple process of calculation) that can indicate which daf was studied for any calendar day in Daf Yomi history?
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What is the original source for Yahrtzeit customs?

There are various customs and even halachot associated with yahrtzeits, such as saying kaddish, getting called to Torah, lighting candles, fasting, serving as a prayer leader, giving charity, ...
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0 votes
2 answers
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The New Year in Tishrei?

Why does this Gregorian to Hebrew calendar converter show Elul 29 as the first day of the new Jewish year? I have not ticked the "After Sunset" box. It converts September 8, 2018, to Elul 28,...
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Why aren't the two days of Rosh Hashannah structured as every other Rosh Hodesh? [duplicate]

I don't recall the exact location Rambam's Mishneh Torah, but he discusses that during the time of Sanhedrin, if witnesses came before sundown of the 30th day, then that day was considered Rosh Hodesh,...
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5 votes
1 answer
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What is the א"ת ב"ש ג"ר calendar mnemonic?

The Gemara Arakhin 9b discusses certain rules of the calendar. Specifically, it mentions that Rosh Hashana will always be on the same day of the week as the day of the Omer (the 2nd day of Pesach), or ...
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1 answer
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Confuse about the date

From this website, I get: 14th of Nisan, 3793 = Fri, 1 April 0033 To make easier, assumed that the sunset is always exactly on 6.00 pm. So, 14th of Nisan duration is from 6.01 pm to 6.00 pm and 1 ...
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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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2 answers
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How to determine Sabbath day in the Jewish calendar?

I'm trying hard to understand it by reading the internet, but still I fail to elaborate what is in my mind as I am still unable to understand it. First, I would like to propose the things I know about ...
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3 votes
3 answers
204 views

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. ...
2 votes
1 answer
107 views

How many days are there in each year of the 304th Metonic cycle? [closed]

I need the number of days per year for my continuous Hebrew calender.
1 vote
1 answer
269 views

What is the starting date of the current Metonic cycle? [closed]

I am setting up an extensive hebrew calendar from hebrew year 3000.
4 votes
1 answer
187 views

How difficult would it be to make a simple Hebrew/Jewish Calendar covering the last 25 years with no access to the Internet?

How difficult would it be to make a simple Hebrew/Jewish Calendar covering the last 25 years using paper and pencils (including days of the week and corresponding Gregorian dates), with no access to ...
0 votes
0 answers
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Why not say Shir Shel Yom in the evening?

I took a look at two questions: One, which focused on WHY we say Shir Shel Yom included the claim of the Chashukei Chemed in the answer, that "אבל הוא הדבר אשר דברתי דמה שאנו אומרים שיר של יום אינו ...
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3 votes
0 answers
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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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6 votes
2 answers
385 views

All explicit dates in Tanakh

What are all the dates mentioned in Tanakh? This question seeks all dates that are explicitly mentioned in the verses. No chronological extrapolation or exposition allowed here. The date could be ...
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3 votes
0 answers
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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 ...
12 votes
2 answers
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Declare a leap year due to coronavirus?

Today (23 March 2020) Israel's Supreme Court rejected a petition to declare this year a leap year so Pessah can be postponed for a month, and the seders don't have to occur during a lockdown (...
5 votes
1 answer
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How is the week referred when there is no parsha read that Shabbat?

Frequently, I have seen on wedding invitations and other correspondences that refer to a date using the parsha name for that week. E.g. an invitation to a wedding may say יום שני בשבת פרשת בא - The ...
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3 votes
1 answer
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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 ...
4 votes
2 answers
57 views

Why does Adar signal additional joy?

There is an idea that once Adar comes in, we increase in joy. Why is this so? Nisan signals the Exodus and our establishing as a people. Sivan has the giving of the Torah. Kislev has the story of ...
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2 votes
1 answer
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Is there any research available for the original 'Hebrew' 3rd & 5th month names?

I'm looking at a question that was posted here 7 years ago about the original name of the months. First-Temple-Era names of the Hebrew months? There is mention of a possible month called, "Tzach."...
2 votes
1 answer
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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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3 votes
2 answers
264 views

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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3 votes
0 answers
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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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1 vote
0 answers
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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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2 answers
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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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