In Biblical Times there were "watchers" who announced the first sightings of the "new moon." That news quickly spread in the Land of Israel, so people knew when holidays would fall. That's why both Succot and Passover begin on the fifteenth of the month. And periodically an extra month would be added in the winter, when it was clear that spring was still far off.
Jewish Holidays must occur in the right seasons, because our Jewish religion is Land-based. It's further proof that we are connected to the Land of Israel, because those seasonal aspects of Judaism only work here. In contrast the Muslim Calendar is nomadic. Holidays move around the seasons; they aren't rooted in any land. It's a strictly lunar calendar.
For the past two thousand years, we have been following a "fixed" calendar that, due to advanced calculations done by some brilliant mathematical Jewish thinkers, we are no longer dependent on the "moon watchers" to spot the "new moon" and announce the next month.
Jewish and non-Jewish calendar dates coincide in the most amazing ways.
Mazal Tov and a Long, Healthy and Productive Life to All!
4 comments:
The State of Israel came into being in non-Jewish year 1948. What happened in Jewish year 1948? Avraham Avinu was born!
yes, quite a coincidence....
The Xian (solar) calendar, which most of the world follows, is strictly solar-based, without any consideration of the monthly lunar cycle. Thus a New, quarter, half and full moon can come out on any day of the month.
The Muslim calendar is strictly lunar-based, which completely ignores the solar cycle. Which means that the month of Ramadan, for example, can come out in any season (winter, spring, summer or fall).
It is ONLY the Jewish calendar which takes both the solar and lunar cycles into consideration. Thus the full moon, for example, is always on the 15th of the Jewish month, etc. And by the "interpolation" of a "leap-month" (Adar Sheni) 7 times in 19 years, this insures that Nisan & Pesach will always come out in the Spring. (The simple, but not exact math is: the difference between the solar & our system is generally 11 days per year. So 19X11=209 days, and 7X30=210 days. Obviously, there are other factors like the solar calendar "leap year" and our Malei and Chaseir months that have to be taken into consideration).
Thanks gor the infotmatoon
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