By Barry Rosenfeld
‘Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will frown on you no longer, for I am faithful,’ declares the Lord, ‘I will not be angry forever.” (Jeremiah 3:12)
The month of September coincides with the Hebrew month of Elul on the Jewish calendar. This is a special month of spiritual reflection that precedes the Jewish High Holy Days. It is a time to think about our actions during the prior year and to formulate sincere resolutions that will make our coming year better. The month of Elul is therefore a time each year to prepare for the Yamim Nora’im, the Days of Awe, a time to get our spiritual house in order.
The Jewish calendar (הַלּוּחַ הָעִבְרִי, ha’luach ha’ivri) is a lunisolar calendar. It is used predominantly for religious observances. This calendar is used for determining the dates of Jewish holidays, and among many other ceremonial applications, for the fixed readings of the Torah or Books of Moses in the synagogue, deciding on the dates for commemorating the death of a relative, or yahrzeits, and for the readings of the Psalms. In Israel it is used as an official calendar for civil purposes. According to the Jewish calendar, the current year (5 September 2013 to 24 September 2014) is 5774. This year appears on marriage certificates in Israel and other official documents.
Until the Tannaitic period (10-220 AD) also referred to as the Mishnaic period when rabbinical oral teachings of the Bible were set down, a month began at the appearance of the new or crescent moon. To compensate for the differences between lunar months and the annual solar cycle, an additional month was added every two or three years. This made it possible to always celebrate the Passover in the spring. Other factors also led to the addition of the additional month such as the observation of natural events such as the ripening of the barley crop, the ages of farm animals such as kids and lambs, and the perceived ripening of fruit trees. Another reason was the relation of the date to the four seasons. In future years this system was replaced through the use of mathematical rules. It appears that whatever rules were formed were decided upon by the time that the famous Jewish scholar and astronomer, Maimonides, wrote his Mishneh Torah (“Repetition of the Torah”) in the 12th century. The Jewish calendar which is based on lunar months, varies roughly 11 days each year with the solar year calendar.
Consequently, an additional intercalary month is added every two to three years. It is referred to as Adar Rishon (first Adar) making the regular month of Adar, Adar Sheni (second Adar).
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