Questions tagged [calendar]
Questions about calendars. The Jewish calendar is a lunisolar calendar that determines the dates of Jewish festivals.
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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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1answer
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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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1answer
495 views
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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1answer
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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
41 views
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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0answers
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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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0answers
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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 ...
3
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1answer
52 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
173 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 ...
2
votes
1answer
50 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 ...
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1answer
472 views
Changing the day of Shabbos?
There are many arguments for calendar reform, one of which argues that we should set up the calendar so that every date always falls on the same day (Invariable Calendar) .
If this Invariable ...
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0answers
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Why doesn't our decrease of joy extend beyond Tish'a B'Av?
Citing from here
There is a famous Mishnah that is cited towards the end of Masechet
Ta’anit (4:6) that states:
“Mishenichnas Av, Mema’atin Besimcha”
“When the month of Av arrives, we ...
2
votes
1answer
138 views
Does Kaddish for a Yahrzeit follow the day or the date?
Assuming a community where all who are eligible to say kaddish say it together:
The anniversary of a relative's passing is on the 16th of Av which happens to fall out on Shabbat, which begins at 7:59....
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0answers
48 views
What is the significance of the fact that every month that has a Biblical holiday in it is a 30-day month?
Rosh HaShanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkos are all in Tishrei, which has 30 days.
Pesach is in Nissan, which has 30 days.
Shavuos is in Sivan, which has 30 days.
What is the significance of this fact,...
7
votes
1answer
104 views
Tisha b Av calendar confusion
I don’t understand the calendar this holiday:
iOS says today is 10 Av
hebcal.com says 10 Av as well
but:
google says Tisha b Av is today
chabad.org says Tisha b Av is today (https://www.chabad.org/...
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votes
1answer
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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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2answers
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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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3answers
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What is the source for Hillel’s having included an expiration date in the calendar?
It’s often said that when Hillel instituted the current calendar, he set an “expiration date” of 6000 AM; at that point the calendar would be invalid. Since Mashiach presumably will come by then (as ...
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0answers
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Can you have a new year w/o a halachic Rosh Hashana? [duplicate]
Rabbi Breitowitz raised this point (listen for approx 2-3 min from here, the point starts at 22:30m) Since the Jewish calendar was not sanctified (with a Rosh Hashana) beyond the year 5999, is it even ...
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1answer
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Salutations or greetings for the various Jewish holidays
Is it right to, and is there a particular salutation for most of the major holidays in the Jewish calendar?
I have a couple of new friends who celebrate their Jewish faith, I was wondering if there ...
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2answers
55 views
Is there a book that lists major Jewish events that occurred on each day (Judaic calendar)?
A few months ago, I attended a shul on Shabbat that had a list of "notable" historic events that occurred on each Judaic date that was to occur in the following week. (E.g., if the week following was ...
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votes
2answers
48 views
Why is there never a break between parshiot Parah and Hachodesh?
I think Talmud Megillah mentions the various arrangements for the 4 parshiot. This year, and next, we find a break between Sheqalim and Zachor as well as a 2nd one between Zachor and Parah. I ...
2
votes
1answer
299 views
Must the first day of Nisan follow spring equinox
Looking for clarification on how ancient timekeepers set the day of Passover. I understand that it would begin on the 14th of first month of new year. I’m not clear if the new moon that starts the ...
2
votes
1answer
50 views
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 ...
3
votes
1answer
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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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1answer
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Purim and Pesach in the same month
This year, Purim and Pesach occur in the same Gregorian month.
Has this occurred previously? If so, when?
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0answers
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Why Counting Months (first, second) is not a Mitzvah from Torah? [duplicate]
This is not a duplicate, the other question asks about adopting the Babylonian calendar system, please remove the notice.
The original names for Hebrew months, as they appear in Torah - are just ...
2
votes
1answer
79 views
Known birthdays
In the season of my birthday, I was wondering:
Which figures, from Tanach and Sha"s, do we know the exact birthday of? I am aware of Moshe's birthday being identified as the 7th of Adar. Which other ...
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vote
3answers
383 views
Which Brachas are said only once a year?
I am looking for a list of Berachos/blessings that are recited a maximum of once per year.
Which blessings (from prayer, Jewish rituals, or otherwise, by men or women) are recited only once per year?...
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1answer
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Questions about the 7000-year shmita cycles
The (currently) top rated answer to this other question says that:
R' Aryeh Kaplan z'l teaches as follows:
R' Nehunia ben Hakana brings in Sefer Temuna that there are larger
shmita cycles of ...
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1answer
54 views
Where do we see the months corresponding to the Shvatim?
I saw in Pri Tzaddik of R' Tzadok that it's written in sefer of the Arizal that the months are keneged (corresponding) to the Shvatim (tribes), according to how they were encamped in the Midbar (...
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1answer
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Av HaRachamim on Shabbat Isru Chag Pesach in Israel?
This year (5778) the 22rd of Nisan falls on Shabbat. In Israel this day is Isru Chag Pesach (as opposed to the diaspora, where it is Acharon Shel Pesach).
Does one say Av HaRachamim?
On the one hand,...
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3answers
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Which verse is correct? Genesis 1:14 or Leviticus 23:27? [duplicate]
Genesis 1:14 says that all Appointed Times (מועדים) are determined by the Sun and the Moon Phases. For example, all Holy Meetings (מקרא קדש) in the 1st or 7th months fall on moon phases.
However, ...
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1answer
102 views
Where do we first see Cheshvan (as opposed to Marcheshvan)?
The correct name for the eighth month of the Hebrew calendar is Marcheshvan. (See here and here.) This is how the name of the month appears throughout the Talmud (to the best of my knowledge) see e.g. ...
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vote
2answers
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Looking for a web site that displays list of specific dates that Jewish holidays occurred
I am looking for a web site that can shows some statistics such as the last time that the 1st day of Chanukah was on Friday, or even a list of when such occurrences were in the past several centuries, ...
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2answers
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Is the year “5778” that will come into effect on 1 Tishrei (tomorrow), six months early or six months late? [closed]
Is the world at least six months older or younger than 5,778 Years?
Is the year "5778" that will come into effect on 1 Tishrei (tomorrow), six months early or six months late, knowing that the New ...
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votes
1answer
98 views
(How) is Chai Elul observed in Chassidic communities?
I have a wall calendar (source forgotten) that, as is typical for Jewish calendars, marks the parshiyot for each Shabbat. Next week, instead of giving the name of the parsha (Ki Tavo) it says "Chai ...
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1answer
115 views
How to calculate exact Gregorian dates of the past Jewish festivals?
I'm reading a book by a Christian author which purports to illuminate some miraculous coincidence between blood moon tetrads and Jewish festivals. One thing that he does without any explanation is ...
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1answer
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Is the Samaritan Sabbath Year Concurrent with the Shmita?
Samaritan literature claim they observe a Sabbatical Year, and presumably a cycle of sevens in their calendar. However it is difficult to find actual years that this was practiced. The only concrete ...
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1answer
895 views
When is a convert's Hebrew birthday?
Is it their conversion date, the Hebrew date on which they were biologically born, or something else? (For questions of halachic age as well as mystical significance)
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2answers
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When exactly in history did the Sages adopt the 24 hour day?
When exactly in history did the Chachamim adopt the 24 hour day?
Our calendar goes by chalakim (which are sections of the amount of daylight), but when it comes to waiting a certain amount of hours ...
3
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1answer
115 views
Why are some dates off by one day?
The Hebrew calendar works on a 19-year cycle of leap years and a 247-year cycle of varying types of years. This is discussed more fully in Shvili d'Rakia, printed in all Mishnayos containing Tiferes ...
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3answers
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Gezer Calendar and Lunar calendar
Do the paleo-Hebrew inscriptions of the Gezer calendar, dated around the 10th century BCE, suggest that at one time the ancient Israelites used a strictly lunar calendar?
The calendar is written ...
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votes
1answer
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Jewish calendar and the measured time of a year
I'm aware that the Hebrew calendar is lunar based, normally consisting of 12 lunar months and 354.37 days. I'm aware that, to keep the 3 festivals in sync with the seasons, an extra month is added ...
4
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1answer
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Maleh month with Rosh Chodesh on Shabbos
Does our Jewish calendar contain a Maleh month with its first day starting on Shabbos (contain parts of six calendar weeks), and if yes, how often does it occur?
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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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3answers
238 views
How was Rosh Chodesh determined, if a New Moon Cannot be Seen?
1. Question / Issue :
If a New Moon cannot be seen, then it seems that the first visible confirmation of a New Moon is actually the Waxing Crescent Moon, which can only be observed after the New Moon ...
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0answers
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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 ...
