Judaism's Ancient Hebrew Calendar
Using the Lunar Solar Calendar to track Jewish Holidays and Events
Jewish holidays often seem confusing to North Americans who are used to the Gregorian calendar. While holidays in Judaism generally occur around the same time each year, celebrations and other traditions rarely appear to fall on the same date. Hanukkah can occur days before Christmas, or it can fall weeks ahead of time. Passover can occur in March, or take place in April.
The reason for this variation has to do with the difference between the rotational cycle that is used in the Hebrew calendar, which uses a combination between a lunar calendar and a solar calendar, and the Gregorian system; most North American and Western European timekeeping is based on the latter system.
The Hebrew calendar takes into account three distinct astronomical happenings: the rotation of the earth on its own axis; the rotation of the moon around the sun (approximately every 29.5 days); and the rotation of the earth around the sun (what comes out to be 12 or 13 months, or an average of 12.4 months per lunar calendar).
In contrast, the Gregorian calendar is an arithmetical calendar that is grouped in allocations of 365-366 days and is adjusted periodically over a span of 400 years.
Thus, the Hebrew and Gregorian calendars often vary when compared.
The Importance of the Hebrew Calendar in Judaism
At one time the Hebrew calendar governed every aspect of civil and religious life. These days, Jews still rely upon the calendar to determine when holidays will occur, as well as to schedule Torah readings.
The Hebrew calendar also plays a role in how long and when a Jew says Kaddish, the mourner’s prayer. and when weddings and other joyous events are organized during the year.
Hebrew Calendar Days and Months
The Hebrew day begins at sundown and extends to the following sundown when the observer can see three stars in the sky. As a result, Shabbat and Jewish holidays always begin the night before the actual day of observance. It is for this reason that the Sabbath candles are always lit on Friday night.
The Hebrew calendar has been said to have two new year months. In reality, it has only one, the Jewish month of Nissan in which Pesach (Passover) occurs. However, the official month in which the New Year is celebrated is the month of Tishri, six months later, and it is at this time that the Hebrew calendar officially turns to a new year. Jews celebrate the event at this time with Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur services and traditions.
Since there is an inexact number of lunar months to a solar year, there is a gradual “drift” of months each year of approximately 11 days. An additional 13th month is salted into the year every three or four years to compensate for this drift. During the leap year, Jews observe a second month of Adar (which falls directly after the first month of Adar at the end of the year).
The Hebrew Months in Sequence
- Nissan
- Iyar
- Sivan
- Tammuz
- Av
- Elul
- Tishri
- Cheshvan
- Kislev
- Tevet
- Shevat
- Adar (Adar Alef in leap years)
- Adar Bet (in leap years only)
The Hebrew Calendar Year
Jews record time as beginning with the date of the earth’s creation, rather than the birth of Christ. Thus, 2009 by the Gregorian calendar is recorded as 5768/5769 (the Jewish New Year begins in September or October of the Gregorian calendar). Events are referred to as Before the Common Era (BCE) or Common Era (CE).
Readers may also enjoy Belief and Controversy in Judaism and Judaism's Ancient Text, the Talmud.
Sources:
- JewFAQ.org
- Science.co.il
- AbsoluteAstronomy.com
Timekeeping Plays an Important Role in Judaism
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