The Jewish Calendar - Hacking the Universe

(2) Let the Israelite people offer the passover sacrifice at its set time: (3) you shall offer it on the fourteenth day of this month, at twilight, at its set time; you shall offer it in accordance with all its rules and rites. (4) Moses instructed the Israelites to offer the passover sacrifice; (5) and they offered the passover sacrifice in the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai. Just as the LORD had commanded Moses, so the Israelites did. (6) But there were some men who were unclean by reason of a corpse and could not offer the passover sacrifice on that day. Appearing that same day before Moses and Aaron, (7) those men said to them, “Unclean though we are by reason of a corpse, why must we be debarred from presenting the LORD’s offering at its set time with the rest of the Israelites?” (8) Moses said to them, “Stand by, and let me hear what instructions the LORD gives about you.” (9) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: (10) Speak to the Israelite people, saying: When any of you or of your posterity who are defiled by a corpse or are on a long journey would offer a passover sacrifice to the LORD, (11) they shall offer it in the second month, on the fourteenth day of the month, at twilight. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, (12) and they shall not leave any of it over until morning. They shall not break a bone of it. They shall offer it in strict accord with the law of the passover sacrifice. (13) But if a man who is clean and not on a journey refrains from offering the passover sacrifice, that person shall be cut off from his kin, for he did not present the LORD’s offering at its set time; that man shall bear his guilt.

(18) In the first month, from the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread until the twenty-first day of the month at evening.

(1) Hezekiah sent word to all Israel and Judah; he also wrote letters to Ephraim and Manasseh to come to the House of the LORD in Jerusalem to keep the Passover for the LORD God of Israel. (2) The king and his officers and the congregation in Jerusalem had agreed to keep the Passover in the second month, (3) for at the time, they were unable to keep it, for not enough priests had sanctified themselves, nor had the people assembled in Jerusalem. (4) The king and the whole congregation thought it proper (5) to issue a decree and proclaim throughout all Israel from Beer-sheba to Dan that they come and keep the Passover for the LORD God of Israel in Jerusalem—not often did they act in accord with what was written. (6) The couriers went out with the letters from the king and his officers through all Israel and Judah, by order of the king, proclaiming, “O you Israelites! Return to the LORD God of your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and He will return to the remnant of you who escaped from the hand of the kings of Assyria. (7) Do not be like your fathers and brothers who trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers and He turned them into a horror, as you see. (8) Now do not be stiffnecked like your fathers; submit yourselves to the LORD and come to His sanctuary, which He consecrated forever, and serve the LORD your God so that His anger may turn back from you. (9) If you return to the LORD, your brothers and children will be regarded with compassion by their captors, and will return to this land; for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful; He will not turn His face from you if you return to Him.” (10) As the couriers passed from town to town in the land of Ephraim and Manasseh till they reached Zebulun, they were laughed at and mocked. (11) Some of the people of Asher and Manasseh and Zebulun, however, were contrite, and came to Jerusalem. (12) The hand of God was on Judah, too, making them of a single mind to carry out the command of the king and officers concerning the ordinance of the LORD. (13) A great crowd assembled at Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the second month, a very great congregation. (14) They set to and removed the altars that were in Jerusalem, and they removed all the incense stands and threw them into Wadi Kidron. (15) They slaughtered the paschal sacrifice on the fourteenth of the second month. The priests and Levites were ashamed, and they sanctified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the House of the LORD. (16) They took their stations, as was their rule according to the Teaching of Moses, man of God. The priests dashed the blood [which they received] from the Levites. (17) Since many in the congregation had not sanctified themselves, the Levites were in charge of slaughtering the paschal sacrifice for everyone who was not clean, so as to consecrate them to the LORD. (18) For most of the people—many from Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun—had not purified themselves, yet they ate the paschal sacrifice in violation of what was written. Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “The good LORD will provide atonement for (19) everyone who set his mind on worshiping God, the LORD God of his fathers, even if he is not purified for the sanctuary.” (20) The LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people. (21) The Israelites who were in Jerusalem kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread seven days, with great rejoicing, the Levites and the priests praising the LORD daily with powerful instruments for the LORD. (22) Hezekiah persuaded all the Levites who performed skillfully for the LORD to spend the seven days of the festival making offerings of well-being, and confessing to the LORD God of their fathers. (23) All the congregation resolved to keep seven more days, so they kept seven more days of rejoicing. (24) King Hezekiah of Judah contributed to the congregation 1,000 bulls and 7,000 sheep. And the officers contributed to the congregation 1,000 bulls and 10,000 sheep. And the priests sanctified themselves in large numbers. (25) All the congregation of Judah and the priests and the Levites and all the congregation that came from Israel, and the resident aliens who came from the land of Israel and who lived in Judah, rejoiced. (26) There was great rejoicing in Jerusalem, for since the time of King Solomon son of David of Israel nothing like it had happened in Jerusalem. (27) The Levite priests rose and blessed the people, and their voice was heard, and their prayer went up to His holy abode, to heaven.

The priests and Levites were ashamed. Because they delayed purification until then and their account the year was intercalated (leap year).

§ The Sages taught in a baraita (Tosefta 2:10): The court may not intercalate the year due to ritual impurity, i.e., in the event that most of the Jewish people are in a state of impurity, to give them enough time to become ritually pure before Passover. Rabbi Yehuda says: The court may intercalate the year due to ritual impurity. Rabbi Yehuda said: There was an incident involving Hezekiah, king of Judea, who intercalated the year due to ritual impurity (II Chronicles 30:2). And after doing so, he requested compassion for himself, as it is written: “For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim and Manasseh, Issachar and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, [12b] yet they ate the Paschal lamb not as is written. For Hezekiah had prayed for them, saying: May the good Lord pardon everyone who sets his heart to seek God…though he not be cleansed according to the purification that pertains to sacred items” (II Chronicles 30:18–19). Rabbi Shimon says: If the court intercalated the year due to ritual impurity, it is indeed intercalated. But if ritual impurity is ultimately a legitimate reason for intercalating the year, for what reason did Hezekiah request compassion for himself? Because the court may intercalate only the month of Adar, and he intercalated the month of Nisan during the month of Nisan itself. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Shimon: The incident did not involve the intercalation of the year; rather he appealed for mercy because he encouraged the Jewish people to bypass the standard first Pesaḥ and instead to perform the second Pesaḥ.

§ The Gemara returns to the discussion about intercalation of the year. The Sages taught: The year may be intercalated only if the Nasi of the Sanhedrin wants to intercalate it. And there was once an incident involving Rabban Gamliel, who went to ask permission for some communal matter from an officer [hegmon] in Syria, and he tarried in returning until after it was too late to intercalate the year. And because they did not know what his opinion on the matter was, they intercalated the year on the condition that Rabban Gamliel would want to do so. And when Rabban Gamliel came back and said: I want to intercalate the year, the year was found to be retroactively intercalated. The Sages taught: The year may be intercalated only if it is necessary due to damage to the roads, if the rain has damaged them in such a way that they are inaccessible for those ascending to Jerusalem for Passover; or due to the bridges that are likewise in disrepair; or due to the ovens for the Paschal offerings that are damaged and unfit for roasting the offerings; or due to the Diaspora Jews who have left their homes and still have not arrived due to delays in travel. But the year may not be intercalated due to the snow, and not due to the cold, and not due to the Diaspora Jews who have not yet left from their homes, even if they no longer have enough time to reach Jerusalem for the Festival. The Sages taught: The year may not be intercalated due to the young goats and not due to the lambs, to allow them to grow larger before they are to be sacrificed as Paschal offerings; and not due to the fledgling doves who have not yet developed sufficiently to fly, so that there won’t be enough of them to supply all those who wish to bring bird offerings at the Festival. But all these considerations may be made supporting factors in the decision to intercalate the year.