Archive for the ‘Rosh Hashanah’ Category
L’shanah tovah
That’s a big Happy Head of the Year.
Actually, Biblically speaking, there at least TWO New Years every year.
Rosh Hashanah is the first day of the secular calender. The first day of the sacred calender is in the spring, about two weeks before Passover.
Because the ancient Jewish Calender is a lunar calender, as opposed to our Europeaen Solar/Gregorian calender, the actual dates for these Holidays vary according to our perception.
Also happening in the world of Orthodox Judaism right now is the beginning of the “Days of Awe,” ten (count ‘em!10!) High Holy Days, Starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur. I had thought it also included Tisha B’Av, which is silly of me because I knew the name of that Holiday even meant “The Ninth of Av,” a totally different month. (Tisha B’Av commemorates the Distruction of the Temple, first by the Babylonians (The Temple of Solomon), later by the Romans (Herod’s Temple, or the Second Temple.) Both These events happened on the ninth of Av.
Now, if you’re not feeling creeped out yet, then add this: The Alhambra Decree, issued March 31, 1492, ordered all Jews to leave Spain by the end of July 1492. July 31, 1492 was Tisha B’Av. Note that if you use a Jewish calendar converter to check this, it may show July 31 as the 27th of Tammuz. If so, the converter has failed to take into account the Gregorian Reformation, which skipped 11 days on the calendar. If you add the 11 missing days and convert August 11 instead of July 31, you will see that “August 11″ 1492 is 9 Av.
more than one person has observed “There are no coincidences.” Maybe we should watch that day a little more closely, nez pas?
BTW, a big Bavakasha v’Toda to Tracey Rich at Judaism 101 for putting the faqs out there in a format that even a nebish like myself can grasp.
