Here’s a mindbender for you: Rosh Hashanah begins the new year, but Pesach falls in the first month! The best way to understand Judaism’s marking of the seasons of the year is to think of the start of the fiscal year versus the start of the calendar year—July and January—except inverted. Rosh Hashanah is on the first of Tishri (like January, it marks the calendar year change; but for Judaism, it’s the seventh month), Pesach falls in the middle of Nisan (like July, it starts a yearly cycle, but for Judaism, it’s the first month). Like I said: inverted! Each of the 29(!) Jewish holy days each year has its assigned time. Nearly all of them invoke some remembrance of historical events (or events remembered). They are all framed by Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot; holidays that are closely associated with the seasons, rainfall, and the harvest in the land of [...]

One of the great controversies in Jewish history was the setting of the calendar. Though the Bible declared that certain holy days were associated with certain times of the year and particular months, it often referenced Babylonian months (Aviv) or times (count seven weeks from the first day of Passover to reach Shavuot). How would the months be determined? The first attempt at setting standardized times for observance came with the rise of the rabbis around the beginning of the common era. The high court—or Sanhedrin—would declare the new moon. Signal fires would be set on hilltops (and messengers would be sent) to announce the beginning of the month. As Jews spread throughout the world, the limitations of this system quickly became apparent. So, in about 350 C.E., the rabbis learned from the Greeks and Romans and used the science and math of their day to calculate the calendar. However, a [...]

While inventing the week would have certainly ranked among early Judaism’s greatest gifts to the world, the Shabbat is the crowning glory. So much a part of our own division of time, we can easily assume that humanity always knew there were seven days to a week and 52 weeks to a year, but in truth, the Bible’s account of creation—which assigns specific acts of creation to specific days—solidified that notion for humanity. Our Biblical ancestors imagined a symmetry to the days of creation best captured in this graphic. The colors reveal the connection between each of the days. Day 1: MAKE: Light created and divided from Darkness. Day 2: MAKE: Atmosphere created and divided from Oceans. Day 3: MAKE: Land created and divided from water. Vegetation created. Day 4: FILL DAY 1: Sun, moon, stars created to light and fill the heavens. Day 5: FILL DAY 2: Creatures created [...]