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Link to Transcript here: https://madlik.com/2025/01/31/solaluna/
והתנו שניהם על נפשם שיהיו בלב שלם ונפש חפצה ודרך ישרה וינהגו על מנהג בני מקרא השומרים את המועדים המקודשים על ראיית הירח ומציאת אביב בארץ ישראל ושלא יצאו אל משפטי הגוים להחליף משפטי התורה
They both [an intermarried Karaite and Rabbinic marrige] take it upon themselves to be together with full resolve, willingness and honesty, and to behave according to the custom of the Qaraites who observe the holy festivals according to the sighting of the moon and the finding of the barley crop in the land of Israel, and not to appeal to gentile courts to change the laws of the Torah.
a ketubah dated to 1117 C.E., Rayyisa, a Karaite woman, and Yehya ben Abraham, a Rabbanite man, agree to respect each other’s calendrical and festival practices.. the
Princeton Geniza Project
See: Control the Calendar, Control Judaism by Dr. Sarit Kattan Gribetz in thetorah.com
(א) וַיֹּ֤אמֶר ה׳ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן בְּאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לֵאמֹֽר׃ (ב) הַחֹ֧דֶשׁ הַזֶּ֛ה לָכֶ֖ם רֹ֣אשׁ חֳדָשִׁ֑ים רִאשׁ֥וֹן הוּא֙ לָכֶ֔ם לְחׇדְשֵׁ֖י הַשָּׁנָֽה׃
(1) ה׳ said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: (2) This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.
(א) בראשית. אָמַר רַבִּי יִצְחָק לֹֹֹֹֹא הָיָה צָרִיךְ לְהַתְחִיל אֶת הַתּוֹרָה אֶלָּא מֵהַחֹדֶשׁ הַזֶּה לָכֶם, שֶׁהִיא מִצְוָה רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁנִּצְטַוּוּ בָּהּ יִשׂרָאֵל
(1) בראשית IN THE BEGINNING — Rabbi Isaac said: The Torah which is the Law book of Israel should have commenced with the verse (Exodus 12:2) “This month shall be unto you the first of the months” which is the first commandment given to Israel.
ויאמר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרן. בִּשְׁבִיל שֶׁאַהֲרֹן עָשָׂה וְטָרַח בַּמּוֹפְתִים כְּמֹשֶׁה, חָלַק לוֹ כָּבוֹד זֶה בְּמִצְוָה רִאשׁוֹנָה, שֶׁכְּלָלוֹ עִם מֹשֶׁה בַּדִּבּוּר:
ויאמר ה׳ אל משה ואל אהרן AND THE LORD SPAKE UNTO MOSES AND AARON — Because Aaron had worked and toiled in performing the wonders just the same as Moses He paid him this honour at the first command by including him with Moses in the communication (Tanchuma Yahshan 2:3:8).
החדש הזה. הֶרְאָהוּ לְבָנָה בְּחִדּוּשָׁהּ וְאָמַר לוֹ כְּשֶׁהַיָּרֵחַ מִתְחַדֵּשׁ יִהְיֶה לְךָ רֹאשׁ חֹדֶשׁ (מכילתא).
החדש הזה — He showed him the moon in the first stage of its renewal, and He said to him, “The time when the moon renews itself thus, shall be unto you the beginning of the month”. (The translation therefore is: “This stage of renewal (חדש) shall be the moment of beginning the months”; cf. Mekhilta).
פרשה שביעית: יציאת מצרים (י"ב, א'–מ"ב)פיסקה ראשונה: הוראות לפסח מצרים (פס' א'–י"ג)אחר סיומה של הפרשה הקודמת באה הַפְסָקה. ואחר ההַפְסָקה משתנה, כאמור, תיאור המאורעות: הסיפור פושט צורה ולובש צורה חדשה. פרעה נשכח, עבדיו נשכחים, היכלו של פרעה וכל הסביבה שעמדנו בה במשך כל הפרשה הקודמת כאילו נעלמו מנגד עינינו מרכז העלילה נמצא עכשיו בקרב עם ישראל, והפקודות הנמסרות למשה ולאהרן מכוונת כלפי עם ישראל. מה שיש לעשות כלפי פרעה, ה׳ יעשהו. אין להם, למשה ולאהרן, אלא לדאוג לעמם. והפקודה הראשונה הניתנת להם היא פקודת ההכנות ליום הגאולה, העתיד לבוא בקרוב. באחד לחודש הראשון של השנה החדשה, כלומר בהתחלת פרק זמן חדש בחיי בני אדם, פונה אליהם הדיבור האלקי ומבשר להם בשורה משמחת: הפרק החדש בזמן יציין התחלת תקופה חדשה בחיי ישראל.
After the end of the previous episode comes a break. And after the pause, as mentioned, the description of the events changes: the story takes on a new form. Pharaoh is forgotten, his servants are forgotten, Pharaoh's palace and the entire environment in which we stood during the entire previous episode seem to have disappeared before our eyes. The center of the plot is now in the midst of the people of Israel, And the commands given to Moses and Aaron are directed towards the people of Israel. Whatever needs to be done towards Pharaoh, God will do it. They, Moshe and Aharon, have nothing but to take care of their people. And the first command given to them is the command to prepare for the day of redemption, which will come soon. On one of the first months of the new year, that is, at the beginning of a new period in people's lives, they are addressed The divine speech and announces to them happy news: the new chapter in time will mark the beginning of a new period in the life of Israel.
(ג) וַיֹּ֨אמֶר מֹשֶׁ֜ה אֶל־הָעָ֗ם זָכ֞וֹר אֶת־הַיּ֤וֹם הַזֶּה֙ אֲשֶׁ֨ר יְצָאתֶ֤ם מִמִּצְרַ֙יִם֙ מִבֵּ֣ית עֲבָדִ֔ים כִּ֚י בְּחֹ֣זֶק יָ֔ד הוֹצִ֧יא ה׳ אֶתְכֶ֖ם מִזֶּ֑ה וְלֹ֥א יֵאָכֵ֖ל חָמֵֽץ׃ (ד) הַיּ֖וֹם אַתֶּ֣ם יֹצְאִ֑ים בְּחֹ֖דֶשׁ הָאָבִֽיב׃ (ה) וְהָיָ֣ה כִֽי־יְבִיאֲךָ֣ ה׳ אֶל־אֶ֣רֶץ הַֽ֠כְּנַעֲנִ֠י וְהַחִתִּ֨י וְהָאֱמֹרִ֜י וְהַחִוִּ֣י וְהַיְבוּסִ֗י אֲשֶׁ֨ר נִשְׁבַּ֤ע לַאֲבֹתֶ֙יךָ֙ לָ֣תֶת לָ֔ךְ אֶ֛רֶץ זָבַ֥ת חָלָ֖ב וּדְבָ֑שׁ וְעָבַדְתָּ֛ אֶת־הָעֲבֹדָ֥ה הַזֹּ֖את בַּחֹ֥דֶשׁ הַזֶּֽה׃
Moshe said to the people:Remember this day in mind,on which you went out from Egypt, from a house of serfs, for by strength of hand YHWH brought you out from here:no fermentation is to be eaten.
Today you are going out, in the month of Ripe-Grain. *Ripe-Grain: Heb. aviv. The month later took on a Babylonian name (Nisan), as did all the months of the Jewish calendar.
And it shall be, when YHWH brings you to the land of the Canaanite, of the Hittite, of the Amorite, of the Hivvite and of the Yevusite, which he swore to your fathers to give you, a land flowing with milk and honey, you are to serve this service, in this month: for seven days you are to eat matzot,
(א) בחדש האביב. וְכִי לֹא הָיִינוּ יוֹדְעִין בְּאֵיזֶה חֹדֶשׁ? אֶלָּא כָּךְ אָמַר לָהֶם, רְאוּ חֶסֶד שֶׁגְּמַלְכֶם, שֶׁהוֹצִיא אֶתְכֶם בְּחֹדֶשׁ שֶׁהוּא כָשֵׁר לָצֵאת, לֹא חַמָּה וְלֹא צִנָּה וְלֹא גְּשָׁמִים, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר, "מוֹצִיא אֲסִירִים בַּכּוֹשָׁרוֹת" (תהלים ס"ח) – חֹדֶשׁ שֶׁהוּא כָשֵׁר לָצֵאת (מכילתא):
(1) בחדש האביב IN THE MONTH ABIB — But would we not know in which month they went out (even though it were not stated here)? But Moses spake to them as follows: See the kindness which God has bestowed on you — that He brought you forth in a month that is fitted for going out, not hot, nor cold nor rainy. In the same sense it says (Psalms 68:7) “He bringeth forth the prisoners בכשרות” i. e. in a month that is fitted (כשר) for going out (Mekhilta).
היום אתם יוצאים, בחדש האביב, המחדש את חייכם כשם שהוא מחדש את חיי הטבע כולו, ואתם יוצאים כדי לבוא אל ארץ היעוד;
Who renews your life just as He renews the life of all nature, and you leave to come to the land of destiny;
בחדש האביב. קבעה תורה חג פסח בזמן האביב שהוא זמן קציר שעורים שהרי קנה השבלת נקרא אביב מלשון אב כי הוא המוליד גרגירי החטה וידוע כי כל מועדי התורה תלויים בזמנים חג הפסח בזמן האביב, חג שבועות בזמן הקציר והוא קציר חטים שנאמר (שמות כ״ג:ט״ז) וחג הקציר בכורי מעשיך, חג הסכות בזמן האסיף,
לכך תקנו לנו ז"ל בתפלה ובברכות לומר מקדש ישראל והזמנים ולא המועדים כלשון הכתוב לפי שכל המועדים תלוים בזמן.
ועוד נקרא ניסן אביב לפי שהוא אב לי"ב חדשים, ובו מזל טלה אב ובכור לי"ב מזלות. ובמדרש בחדש האביב חדש שהוא כשר לכל לא חמה ולא צנה ולא גשמים וכן הוא אומר (תהילים ס״ח:ז׳) מוציא אסירים בכושרות, בחדש כשר.
בחודש האביב, “in the month of spring.” The Torah determined here that the festival of Passover must always occur in the spring, i.e. the time of the barley harvest [in those parts of the world. Ed.]; the stalk of the barley is known as אביב, derived from the word אב, “father.” It is so called as it “begets” the kernels of grain we calll wheat.
It is well known that all the festivals mentioned in the Torah are related to certain seasons. Shavuot, Pentecost, is to occur during the season when wheat is harvested as the Torah writes: “and the festival of cutting when you reap the first of your labors” (Exodus 23,16). Tabernacles is to occur as a harvest festival, “the time of ingathering,” i.e. at the end of the summer.
This is also the reason the sages decreed that when concluding the benediction dealing with the respective pilgrimage festivals we sign with the words: “Who sanctifies Israel and the seasons.” We might have expected the formula to be “Who sanctifies Israel and the festivals,” paraphrasing the wording in the Torah where these festivals are all called מועדי ה׳ “the festivals of the Lord.” The reason the sages changed the formula was to remind us that the dates of these festivals are all dependent on certain seasons.
Another reason we call the month of Nissan “spring” is because spring is the “father” of the 12 months in the calendar. It is also dominated by the zodiac sign of the ram, the “father” of all the twelve zodiac signs. According to Mechilta (Pisscha 16) the month of spring is the one in which מוציא אסירים בכושרות, “G’d releases prisoners when they are in chains.” (Psalms 68,7) The word בכושרות may be understood as “in a suitable (כשר) month.”
(ד) אֵ֚לֶּה מוֹעֲדֵ֣י ה׳ מִקְרָאֵ֖י קֹ֑דֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר־תִּקְרְא֥וּ אֹתָ֖ם בְּמוֹעֲדָֽם׃
(4) These are the set times of ה׳, the sacred occasions, which you shall celebrate each at its appointed time:
(יד) וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֱלֹקִ֗ים יְהִ֤י מְאֹרֹת֙ בִּרְקִ֣יעַ הַשָּׁמַ֔יִם לְהַבְדִּ֕יל בֵּ֥ין הַיּ֖וֹם וּבֵ֣ין הַלָּ֑יְלָה וְהָי֤וּ לְאֹתֹת֙ וּלְמ֣וֹעֲדִ֔ים וּלְיָמִ֖ים וְשָׁנִֽים׃
(14) God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate day from night; they shall serve as signs for the set times—the days and the years;
(ה) ולמועדים. עַל שֵׁם הֶעָתִיד, שֶׁעֲתִידִים יִשְׂרָאֵל לְהִצְטַוּוֹת עַל הַמּוֹעֲדוֹת וְהֵם נִמְנִים לְמוֹלַד הַלְּבָנָה:
(5) ולמועדים AND FOR SEASONS (FESTIVALS) — This is written with a view to the future when Israel would receive command regarding the festivals which would be calculated from the time of the lunar conjunction (Genesis Rabbah 6:1).
It has long been argued that the main Biblical Hebrew term for month, חֹדֶשׁ (chodesh), indicates a lunar calendar. The related term חָדָשׁ means “new,” and newness cannot apply to the sun, but only to the moon, which disappears and renews itself every month. Likewise, the less common Hebrew word for month, יֶרַח, is derived from the term יָרֵח, “moon,” proving, some state, that the biblical calendar was lunar.
See: What Is the Bible’s Calendar?, Prof. Sacha Stern in thetorah.com
הָלַךְ וּמְצָאוֹ רַבִּי עֲקִיבָא מֵיצֵר, אָמַר לוֹ: יֵשׁ לִי לִלְמוֹד שֶׁכׇּל מַה שֶּׁעָשָׂה רַבָּן גַּמְלִיאֵל עָשׂוּי, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר: ״אֵלֶּה מוֹעֲדֵי ה׳ מִקְרָאֵי קֹדֶשׁ אֲשֶׁר תִּקְרְאוּ אֹתָם״, בֵּין בִּזְמַנָּן בֵּין שֶׁלֹּא בִּזְמַנָּן — אֵין לִי מוֹעֲדוֹת אֶלָּא אֵלּוּ.
Rabbi Akiva went and found Rabbi Yehoshua distressed that the head of the Great Sanhedrin was forcing him to desecrate the day that he maintained was Yom Kippur. In an attempt to console him, Rabbi Akiva said to Rabbi Yehoshua: I can learn from a verse that everything that Rabban Gamliel did in sanctifying the month is done, i.e., it is valid. As it is stated: “These are the appointed seasons of the Lord, sacred convocations, which you shall proclaim in their season” (Leviticus 23:4).
This verse indicates that whether you have proclaimed them at their proper time or whether you have declared them not at their proper time, I have only these Festivals as established by the representatives of the Jewish people.
(מז) ואתה צו את בני ישראל ושמרו את השנים על פי המספר הזה, ארבעה ושישים יום ושלוש מאות יום:
(מח) והיה שנה תמימה, ומספר מפקד ימי השנה ומועדיה לא ישחת:
(מט) כי הכל בוא יבוא בה כפי אשר הועד עליו, ולא יעברו כל יום ולא יחללו כל מועד:
(47) And command thou the children of Israel that they observe the years according to this reckoning-three hundred and sixty-four days,
(48) and (these) will constitute a complete year, and they will not disturb its time from its days and from its feasts;
(49) for everything will fall out in them according to their testimony, and they will not leave out any day nor disturb any feasts.
(נג) כי ידעתי את הדבר וכהיום הזה אגידהו לך, ולא אל בינתי אשען כי כן כתוב לפני על הספר ועל לוחות השמים מיוסדת חלוקת הימים:
(נד) ולא ישכחו את מועדי הברית, ולא ילכו במועדי הגויים לפי תעתועיהם ולפי דעתם:
(נה) והיו אנשים אשר יביטו יראו בירח, הוא המשחית את הזמנים ויקדים עשרת ימים בכל שנה ושנה:
(נו) ולכן ישחיתו את השנים בימים הבאים, ועשו יום שוא ליום העדות ויום בלתי טהור ליום המועד:
(נז) וכל איש לא יבדיל בין ימי קודש ובין ימי חול, כי יתעו בחודשים ובשבתות ובמועדים ובשנות היובל:
(53) For I know and from henceforth shall I declare it unto thee, and it is not of my own devising; for the book (lieth) written before me, and on the heavenly tables the division of days is ordained,
(54) lest they forget the feasts of the covenant and walk according to the feasts of the Gentiles after their error and after their ignorance.
(55) For there will be those who will assuredly make observations of the moon--now (it) disturbeth the seasons and cometh in from year to year ten days too soon.
(56) For this reason the years will come upon them when they will disturb (the order), and make an abominable (day) the day of testimony, and an unclean day a feast day,
(57) and they will confound all the days, the holy with the unclean, and the unclean day with the holy; for they will go wrong as to the months and sabbaths and feasts and jubilees.
Composed: c.460 BCE – c.140 CE
The Book of Jubilees is an apocryphal retelling of events from the Books of Genesis and Exodus, presented as an angel’s revelation to Moses as Moses ascends Mount Sinai. Composed in the 2nd century BCE, it divides history into periods of 49 years (hence the title “Jubilees,” which in a biblical context refers to the end of a 49 year period) and provides dates for biblical events. While parts of the book are in line with biblical narrative, much of it contains additions, gaps, or alternative explanations to biblical stories and laws.
Heavenly Calendar and an Earthly Calendar
In the minds of the authors, the Enochic calendar and the 4Q317 lunisolar calendar represent a heavenly-based system that operates independently of the earthly sphere (cf. the Astronomical Book where the two legitimate systems merely need to be synchronized). Time in heaven is precise and unchanging while time on earth is warped and inexact. Time in heaven is base-60,280 with which time on earth does not agree. In heaven, the calendar makes sense. It hasn't changed and the perceived incongruences with any earthly calendar are merely coincidental due to earth's imperfections (caused by the sins of the watchers, mankind and the giants).
A Reassessment of Qumran’s Calendars, Stephen Pfann, University of the Holy Land
A 364-day calendar is useful from the perspective that the number of days in a year is divisible by 7 (52 weeks = 364 days). Every date in the calendar is therefore anchored to a specific day of the week, and does not change from year to year.
The Jubilees calendar is further divided into four quarters, each of which consists of 91 days (13 weeks of 7 days), and since this number is also divisible by 7, each date in the quarter falls out on set day of the week, without any shifts from quarter-to-quarter or year-to-year. Each quarter in the calendar begins on Wednesday, the day of the creation of the heavenly bodies relevant to time keeping (1:14-19). Every quarter throughout history is identical, consisting of two months of 30 days and third day of 31.
Since the calendar is fixed from the time of creation, there is no human involvement in the setting of time – it is divinely mandated for all of eternity. This stands in stark contrast to the rabbinic halacha as described e.g. in m. Rosh Hashanah, in which witnesses and the beit din,the rabbinic court, played an integral role in declaring the new month, and thus the length of the previous month.
See: The Jewish Calendar in Jubilees, A 364 Day Solar Year, Prof. Michael Segal, thetorah.com
דָּרַשׁ רַבִּי שִׂמְלַאי: שֵׁשׁ מֵאוֹת וּשְׁלֹשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה מִצְוֹת נֶאֶמְרוּ לוֹ לְמֹשֶׁה, שְׁלֹשׁ מֵאוֹת וְשִׁשִּׁים וְחָמֵשׁ לָאוִין כְּמִנְיַן יְמוֹת הַחַמָּה, וּמָאתַיִם וְאַרְבָּעִים וּשְׁמוֹנָה עֲשֵׂה כְּנֶגֶד אֵיבָרָיו שֶׁל אָדָם. אָמַר רַב הַמְנוּנָא: מַאי קְרָא – ״תּוֹרָה צִוָּה לָנוּ מֹשֶׁה מוֹרָשָׁה״, ״תּוֹרָה״ בְּגִימַטְרִיָּא
§ Rabbi Simlai taught: There were 613 mitzvot stated to Moses in the Torah, consisting of 365 prohibitions corresponding to the number of days in the solar year, and 248 positive mitzvot corresponding to the number of a person’s limbs. Rav Hamnuna said: What is the verse that alludes to this? It is written: “Moses commanded to us the Torah, an inheritance of the congregation of Jacob” (Deuteronomy 33:4). The word Torah, in terms of its numerical value [gimatriyya],
In ancient times, all lunar calendars used intercalation to adjust the lunar calendar to the seasons and stars. Purely lunar calendars (i.e., without intercalation) are not attested in antiquity before the institution of the Islamic calendar in the seventh century C.E.
See: Prof Sacha Stern ibid note 14
A Muslim Perspective
Before Islam, Pagan Arabs used a lunisolar calendar system to calculate their month and years. The months were calculated according to the lunar cycle; however, they would add 10-11 days to the lunar calendar to align with the solar calendar. Hence, the pre-Islamic Arabian calendar started and ended in the fall of each year.
The pre-Islamic Arabic months’ names are the same as the one we use in the Islamic calendar, and some scholars note that the Arabs inherited this calendar system from Prophet Abraham and his son Prophet Ismaeel when they settled in Arabia. The proof for this is that the Arabs had the same four sacred months in their calendar as those in the Islamic calendar with very similar rituals, e.g., Hajj would be in Dhul-Hijja, and fighting was prohibited during the sacred months.
However, the Pagan Arabs manipulated these 12 months and each sacred month’s position to align with business and political interests. This manipulation of the months of the year was what Islam referred to as Al-Nasi’ (or in English intercalation) and was forbidden in the Quran. Allah says in the Quran:
إِنَّمَا النَّسِيءُ زِيَادَةٌ فِي الْكُفْرِ ۖ يُضَلُّ بِهِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا يُحِلُّونَهُ عَامًا وَيُحَرِّمُونَهُ عَامًا لِّيُوَاطِئُوا عِدَّةَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ فَيُحِلُّوا مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ ۚ زُيِّنَ لَهُمْ سُوءُ أَعْمَالِهِمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْكَافِرِينَ
“Indeed, the (nasi’) – postponing [of restriction within sacred months]- is an increase in disbelief by which those who have disbelieved are led [further] astray. They make it lawful one year and unlawful another year to correspond to the number made unlawful by Allah and [thus] make lawful what Allah has made unlawful. Made pleasing to them is the evil of their deeds, and Allah does not guide the disbelieving people.” [Quran 9: 37]
According to Tafseer Maududi: “The pagan Arabs practiced nasi’ in two ways:
- Whenever it suited them, they would declare a sacred month to be an ordinary month in which fighting, robbery, and murder in retaliation were lawful for them. Then they would declare an ordinary month to be a sacred month in order to make up for the missed sacred month.
- The other way of nasi’ was the addition of a month in order to harmonize the lunar with the solar year so that the Hajj would always fall in the same season and they would be saved from the inconvenience of the shifting Hajj seasons that are experienced by its observance according to the lunar year.”
Why The Islamic Calendar Matters More Than You Think, Mohammed Faris, Mon 6 Dhul Hijjah 1441AH 27-7-2020AD
The Arabs, according to one explanation mentioned by Abu Ma'shar, learned of this type of intercalation from the Hebrew calendar used by the Jews, since intercalation was announced by the Nasi, meaning "prince", or "ruler".[10] The Hebrew calendar commanded by Moses son of Amram, Mūsā bin ʿImrān, in Exodus 12, is necessarily lunisolar, because the lunar new year is fixed to the month of Aviv, or spring, and cannot rotate through the year. See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasi%27#cite_ref-10
The first commandment given to the Jewish people was to construct their own calendar. What resulted was one of the most precise calendars ever produced. What makes the Hebrew calendar one the most precise calendars ever produced by any civilization? The Hebrew calendar (along with the Chinese, Tibetan and Hindu calendars) is a lunisolar calendar; it functions in harmony with both the solar and lunar cycles, whereas, our current (Christian) Gregorian calendar is purely a solar calendar. A solar calendar is very effective in keeping holidays in prescribed seasons; Easter in the spring and Christmas in the winter. However, the Gregorian calendar makes no attempt to harmonize with the lunar cycle. As a result, New Year's Day or any month of the year can and does appear during any phase of the moon. On the other hand, the Islamic calendar is purely a lunar calendar and is very effective at beginning each and every month with a new moon. However, the Islamic calendar makes no attempt to harmonize with the solar cycle. As a result, Islamic holidays can and do appear in all different seasons from year to year.
The Hebrew calendar (along with the Tibetan, Hindu and Chinese calendars), in comparison, is far more complicated and maintains harmony with both the solar and lunar cycles. The Hebrew months always begin with the new moon and the holidays always occur in a prescribed season. Passover is always in the spring, Rosh Hashana always in the fall, and Hanukkah is always in the winter. Therefore, from this calendric perspective, Judaism and Christianity share the love of holidays occurring in prescribed seasons. In the winter, while Christians celebrate Christmas, Jews celebrate Hanukkah. In the spring when Christians celebrate Easter, Jews celebrate Passover. Likewise from this calendric perspective, Judaism and Islam share an appreciation of the moon's phases. For Jews and Muslims, looking at the moon is like looking at a calendar. If it's a full moon, it's always the 15th of the month. If it's a quarter moon, it is either the seventh or the 21st of the month, depending on whether the moon is waning or waxing.
I believe these calendric aspects reflect a unique philosophy and general disposition of Judaism and the Jewish people. Jewish life perspectives train Jews to be open-minded, eclectic and always willing to regard and learn from others. The Bible calls Jews "the children of Israel."Jews are encouraged to maintain a fresh, childlike curiosity and thirst for knowledge. Moreover, the ability to establish harmony with the celestial bodies above and harmony with the civilizations below is a life skill Jews acquire from their unique heritage. Whether one is a Christian existing in harmony with the sun, or a Muslim existing in harmony with the moon, the essence of all worthy religions is existing in harmony with one another. May we all live in harmony and be worthy before God. Amen!
Hebrew calendar is one of the most accurate on earth News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), Rabbi Shaul Marshall Praver May 7, 2005Updated: Nov. 15, 2009 2:55 p.m.
“If God had consulted me before embarking on the Creation, I would have suggested something simpler.”
The theories of my predecessors were like a human figure in which the arms, legs, and head were put together in the form of a disorderly monster..
Nicolous Copernicus, In the preface to De revolutionibus
We know of one group of ancient Jews who withdrew to the Judean desert rather than abide by the errant calendar of the larger community. Among the scrolls they deposited in the caves at Qumran is a Community Rule requiring the sect’s members to take an oath not to advance or delay the dates of the festivals, as well as writings that assume an invariant 52-week calendar established by God at the time of creation. In short, late ancient calendrical disputes were serious business and Rabban Gamliel’s insistence on establishing the calendar on the basis of false testimony threatens to divide the community.
https://www.sourcesjournal.org/articles/shaming-disagreement-purposeful-difference
Unlike calendars of the ancient world that were based on nature and couched in pagan myth and ritual drama (cf. the Assyro-Babylonian akitu festival), the Hebrew calendar marks the beginning of the year as rooted in an historiographical event - the Exodus from Egypt. In other words, it marks an event in the “history of the people” as opposed to something that happened only in the realm of the gods.
This first commandment thus charts a new and original understanding of time, measured from a point that characterizes and emphasizes the identity of the people of Israel as a free nation. A slave does not control his time, and therefore the commandment to establish a calendar can be understood as a sort of declaration of independence for the people who had just won their freedom.
See: The Essence of the Hebrew Calendar Prof. Aaron Demsky thetorah.com