Jewish Calendar Sacred and Civil Years includes the Star of David
and Feast Table. Jewish Calendar fundamental concepts highlight
other lunar/solar calendars. The 19-year lunar/solar Metonic cycle
adds a final Veadar lunar month, or Second Adar, to intercalate some
209-days of lunar/solar separation time. Dating from 3,761 BCE, the
Jewish year calculates to be one of six different lengths of days.
Sacred years have a different meaning from Mesoamerican 260-day
sacred years.
Jewish Calendar Sacred and Civil Years
The Jewish calendar is the most widely known lunar/solar calendar
still in continuous use in our modern times. The Jewish Calendar
applies the oldest calendar mechanics in existence. The present
Jewish Calendar consists of two basic types of years, the sacred and
the civil year. The sacred year comes from original directives given
to Moses and is the official calendar year of the religious
festivals. The national calendar at the time of Moses began in the
spring or the month of Abib. The Star of David or Shield of David is
an accepted symbol that recognizes Jewish character. National use of
the Magen David sign reflects the supposition that it once adorned
the Shield of David (figure 1). The symbol appears on the state flag
for the nation of Israel. Some think the intertwined equilateral
triangles have deeper theological meaning. Jewish synagogues have
used the symbol to identify them as houses of worship.
Star of David Figure 1
Old Testament scriptures in
the left column of figure 2 specifically reference Hebrew months.
The civil year is the later instituted version of the Jewish
calendar. Both types of years contain twelve lunar months for
354-and-one-quarter days until the Jewish leap year adds a
thirteenth "Veadar" intercalary month. There are seven leap years in
every 19-year cycle. The focus of the Jewish calendar rests with the
19-year Metonic cycle. Developed in 432 B.C. and named after
Athenian astronomer Meton, seven-extra-months are spread over
19-years. Approximately 209-days of lunar/solar separation time
accumulate through close observation of the moon, sun and stars
during the 19-year lunar/solar cycle. These extra 209-days divide
into seven-intercalary-months to reinforce the sacred seven-day week
and they usually alternate between 29-days and 30-days each in the
Jewish calendar.
One extra Veadar month inserts seven different times during
19-years. The Veadar intercalary month is included seven different
times and every two or three years within the 19-year lunar/solar
Metonic cycle of the Jewish calendar. The intercalary month of
Veadar, also called Second Adar, adds between the months of Adar and
Nisan. Adar is the sixth month of the civil year and the twelfth
month of the sacred ecclesiastic year in the Jewish calendar. Second
Adar (Adar II) adds to the end of the 12-lunar-month year. Every two
or three years, the Jewish calendar has 13-lunar-months. The Jewish
Calendar year has six possible lengths. The 12-month lunar year is
called a common year with 353-days, 354-days or 355-days. The Jewish
calendar Veadar Year (Jewish Leap Year) adds one-lunar-month. Jewish
leap years have 383, 384 or 385-days that furnish 13-months.
Adjustment of the Jewish leap year within the 19-year Metonic cycle
becomes complex. Seven times in a 19-year Metonic cycle result in
the required 209-days of lunar/solar separation time.
The Bible imparts the
calendar's lengthy development in a kind of diary fashion for the
Jewish people. Adjustments to Rosh Hashanah and the resultant
celebrations of the sacred festival year influence modern study of New Testament events. Perhaps
the most well known tie between contemporary Christianity and use of
the Jewish calendar is the Passover Sabbath. In celebration of the
Exodus from Egypt (circa 1,250 B.C.E.), the Jewish Rosh Hashanah
precedes the sacred Passover festival in the month of Abib (Exodus 13:4). To obey the will
of God, the Passover
commemoration must be recognized every year forever (Exodus 12:14-15).
The sacred feast and festival calendar year has origins dating from
the Exodus. Leviticus 23
details when and how to observe the Day of Atonement, Passover, and
the Feast of Weeks or Shavu’ot. Today, Judaism observes these
celebrations the world over. Placement within the Jewish Calendar
year held significance for the Holy Convocations. Feasts and
festivals have served to sustain Jewish culture.
Holy Bible Jewish Sacred Festival Calendar Figure 2
Holy Bible Jewish Sacred Festival Calendar Figure
2
The Jubilee year is the Sabbatic
Year that follows seven successive Sabbatic years (Leviticus 25:8-54). The
numerical matching of seven days to seven years was elementary
to counting the 50-year Jubilee cycle. After six years, the
seventh year was a Sabbatic year. Groups of 7-year-weeks were
often used to describe ancient Jewish time. Seven multiples of
seven years are 49 years that result in a 50-year Jubilee cycle.
Culminating the fiftieth year of the l/s calendar as a Sabbatic
year included Hebrew custom. The Jubilee year gave rest to the
soil, reverted landed property back to original owners and freed
Israelites that were formerly slaves. Traditions reinforce the
appointed feasts of HaShem.
The Passover Sabbath begins a 50-day countdown to the feast of
first fruits or feast of weeks. Seven multiples of a Sabbath was
either 49-days or 49-years. The feast of weeks closes the
harvest with Shav’ot by usually celebrating a two-day festival
on the 6th and 7th of Sivan. Christians assign Pentecost to be
50-days after Nisan 16, or the second day following Passover
Sabbath. For many, the giving of the Law to Israel is synonymous
with the gift of the Holy Spirit to the Apostles. Lunar/solar
origins of the Jewish calendar combine with threads from other
agricultural calendars. Observance kept the Jewish lunar/solar
calendar on track year after year.
Dating from 3,761 BCE, the Jewish year calculates to be one of
six different lengths of days. Intercalary months add with
354-days or 355-days to give 383, 384 or 385-days in the Jewish
leap year (Eqn. 4a-d). Precise calculations of Jewish calendar
science are elaborate. Other cultures worldwide, such as the
ancient Greek, Chinese, Babylonian and Mesoamerican of Central
and South America all used similar methods of lunar/solar
observation and intercalation.
Equation
1. a-d.
a. 29 Days per Jewish Veadar Intercalary Month
+ 354 Days per Jewish Lunar Year
= 383 Days per Jewish calendar Leap Year
b. 29 Days per Jewish Veadar Intercalary Month
+ 355 Days per Jewish Lunar Year
= 384 Days per Jewish calendar Leap Year
c. 30 Days per Jewish Veadar Intercalary Month
+ 354 Days per Jewish Lunar Year
= 384 Days per Jewish calendar Leap Year
d. 30 Days per Jewish Veadar Intercalary Month
+ 355 Days per Jewish Lunar Year
= 385 Days per Jewish calendar Leap Year
Passover
Passover symbolizes deliverance and remembrance of the departure
from Egypt. The fourteenth day of Nisan - Abib begins the Lord's
Passover. A seven day holiday commences on the next day.
Also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread, God is
thanked for the gift of freedom (Exodus 12:17-20). Seven
days of celebration are the Jewish week of Hag Hamatzot . The
first day, or the second evening of the festival week of
unleavened bread starts a forty-nine day countdown that includes
the 29 day month of Ivar, or Zif, and asserts true principles
found in the calendar of Moses.
Rosh Hashanah
Rosh Hashanah is the Jewish New Year. Rosh Hashanah is now
celebrated to begin the month of Tishri, on the first and second
days outside Israel. All religious holidays begin slightly
before sunset of the daytime prior to the holiday, and continue
until the sunset ending of the Holy Day. Tishri
corresponds to the September - early October time frame in the
common calendar. The last month of the old year is a time of
preparation known as the High Holidays. This month is a
period of penitence through known guilts toward the family of God.
God stands in judgement, presiding over the transgressions
by mankind. Judaism perceives the New Year as the anniversary of
Creation.
Rosh Hashanah was formerly held during the spring at the start
of the month Nisan, or Abib. English varies the spelling as Aviv
in some cases. Sometimes written as Nisan - Abib, this month
corresponds to the present months of March and April. Nisan -
Abib is the seventh month of the modern Jewish civil year. Rosh,
means in Hebrew: head of, and Hashanah means: New Year. In
celebration of the Exodus from Egypt (circa 1,250 BCE), the
Jewish Rosh Hashanah precedes the sacred Passover festival in
the month of Abib (Exodus 13:4). To obey the will of God,
the passover commemoration must be recognized every year forever
(Exodus 12:14-15).
Yom Kippur - Day of Atonement
The Jewish day of Atonement was ordained by God to be
used in the lunar calendar of Moses. Also called Yom Kippur, the
Day of Atonement is the most solemn of Jewish fast days. Yom
means in Hebrew: Day, and Kippur: of Atonement. The Day of
Atonement sets aside a major holiday to acknowledge the sins of
mankind to God. Atonement implies sincere repayment for
wrongdoing. Neither repentance, nor forgiveness is an issue.
Rather, the occasion requires fasting from just before sunset,
until twilight of the next holiday. The purpose is spiritual
renovation, by avoiding the demands of the physical body through
deprivation. Afflicting the soul concentrates on the spiritual,
God determined qualities in place of humanistic needs.
The calendar passed to Moses specifies the Day of Atonement.
Leviticus 23:24
"Speak unto the children of Israel,
saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month,
shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets,
an holy convocation."
Feast of Tabernacles
The fifteenth day of the month celebrates the festival called
Sukkoth. Seven days commemorate the forty years that the
children of Israel wandered in the desert following the Exodus
from Egypt. A second harvest season that began with Shavu'ot is
usually ended on the 191st day of the 354 day lunar length of
year at the time of Sukkoth. The Feast of Booths, or Feast of
Tabernacles, is sometimes called the Festival of Ingathering to
signify the second harvest is over. The temporal nature of life
gives reason to erect temporary shelters, wherein eating at
least one meal per day in the Sukkah honors God's
provisions. The Sukkoth is a seven day period, and ends on the
198th day of the lunar year. Seven days follow the anniversary
interval to end the month of Tishri on the 205th day of the
year. The 30 day month of Heshvan, or Bul, plus 24 days follow
to reach the next holiday period on the 259th day. Kislev
follows Heshvan to be the third month of the civil year, and the
ninth month of the sacred year. Dual naming for the months shows
Babylonian influence.
Hanukkah
The 25th day of the month of Kislev begins the 8 day festival of
Hanukkah. The reign of the Greek-Syrian king, Antiochus
Epiphanes IV, forbade regular worship by Jewish people. They
were not permitted to read the Torah, and were ordered to
sacrifice unclean animals. Only the worship of the Greek gods
was allowed in the Kingdom. The Maccabees (Hasmonean family)
revolted against these decrees. They sought refuge in the
mountains, and waged armed resistance for the freedom to worship
as they chose. The Maccabees regained control of the Temple and
rededicated it in 165 BCE after more than three years of
conflict according to tradition. Only enough undefiled oil was
found to light the eternal Temple Menorah for one day. A single
cruse of oil burned the seven candles in the Temple Menorah
candelabra miraculously for eight days. More ritually pure oil
had been prepared during this period to continue the Menorah.
Hanukkah remembers the dedication of the Temple after rebellion
of the Maccabees.
A candle is lit in the special Hanukkah Menorah that has nine
candles on the first night of the festival. The Shamash candle
is lit without a blessing, and is used to kindle the next candle
on the first night. An additional candle is lit along with
candles from the proceeding evenings on each of the following
nights. The last evening of the festival lights the eighth
candle, representing the total days that the Temple Menorah
continued to burn. Since Kislev can have either 29 or 30 days,
Hanukkah ends on the 266th day, or the 267th day of the Jewish
lunar year, or the 3rd or 4th day of the month of Tebeth.
Another 26 days in the month of Tebeth, plus the 30 day month of
Shebat, add for the 322nd or 323rd day at the end of Shebat.
Although the winter solstice is coincidental near the same time
of year there is no bearing on the Feast of Dedication for the
Temple.
The legend of Hanukkah also includes the story of a Jewish widow
in Antioch. Her name was Hannah, from which the festival name
was derived. Hannah and her seven sons refused to worship the
Greek god, Zeus. The mother disobeyed the king by dissenting,
and her sons were executed. Finally, Hannah clung to the baby
that was left. Choosing death before a life of dishonor to God,
she jumped from the roof of a building, holding her child
beneath. Possibly, these eight martyrs aided introduction of the
eight day festival. Although gift giving is a common practice
during the Hanukkah period, these gifts relate to the Purim
festival custom of giving presents to everyone, including
children. Observing Hanukkah continues Jewish lore and should
not be confused with the Christian Christmas holiday. Hanukkah
represents victory over the strife of persecution.
Shav'ot
Fifty days after the passover anniversary celebrating the night
of the Exodus is the festival of spring. Known as the springtime
feast holiday Shavu'ot, the festival occurs during the Jewish
month of Sivan (Esther 8:9). English translation adapts
the word sometimes to Shav'ot, Sabbouth, or Shabout. Sivan is
the third month of the sacred festival year, and the ninth month
of the civil calendar year. Sivan corresponds to the May - June
period of the western calendar year. The sixth of Sivan honors
Shavu'ot for a single day only in Israel. Due to calendar
definitions, the day is remembered on the sixth and seventh days
of the Sivan month elsewhere. The 50-day lapse between the two
festivals represents the complete 50-year lunar calendar of
Moses. God ordained Shavu'ot to celebrate the revelation
at Mt. Sinai. This holiday marks the anniversary of giving God's
teachings to Moses. God gave the Hebrews the first Five
Books of Moses, which are called the Torah in Judaism,
or the Pentateuch by Greek terminology. Shavu'ot emphasizes the
Torah with the use of dairy products.
Another reason is evident for keeping this Feast of First Fruits
(Numbers 28:26). The early agricultural society ended the
waiting period for the harvest. Most likely predating the
Exodus, Counting the Sheaves for fifty days culminated with the
first fruits of spring. Farmers brought the first fruits of the
land to the Temple. Rejoicing in the bounty of the grain harvest
marked the end of the fifty day interval. A new harvest season
was begun on the 65th day of the lunar calendar year. Decorating
with flowers, green plants, fruits, and vegetables are part of
the tradition for the spring season. Avoiding meat and the use
of leather goods reminds Jewish people to preserve living things
during Shavu'ot. With the destruction of the second Temple in 70
BCE, the agricultural ritual of the first fruits could no longer
be observed. The encounter at Mt. Sinai became the focus of the
festival.
Jewish_Calendar_Sacred_and_Civil_Years
highlights fundamental concepts involving the Jewish
Calendar. The 19-year lunar/solar Metonic cycle adds a
final Veadar lunar month or Second Adar, to intercalate some
209-days of lunar/solar separation time. Dating from
3,761 B.C.E., the Jewish year calculates to be one of six
different lengths of days. One of our more popular articles.
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Seven weeks of seven days determines the name Feast of Weeks for
same festival and the transition day from the sixth to the
seventh day in the month of Sivan. Counting seven weeks for
forty-nine more days, and the transition day from the sixth to
the seventh day in the month of Sivan, are symbolic of the
complete 50-year Jubilee cycle. The fiftieth Jubilee year capped
the lunar calendar of Moses. To maintain the covenant, for six
years the land was to be worked (Leviticus 25:3).
Reminiscent of the seven day week, the fields were allowed to
lay fallow in the seventh year (Leviticus 25:4f). Seven
Sabbaths of years, or seven times seven years, counts forty-nine
years. The Day of Atonement, or the tenth day of the seventh
month in the forty-ninth year, was meant to declare onset of the
fiftieth year. The fiftieth year was deemed sacred. The Jubilee
Cycle terminated with the hallowed year of letting the land lie
fallow again. Possessions were to be returned during the Jubilee
year. Oppression toward one another was forbidden and liberty
was proclaimed throughout the land for all inhabitants. The
Jubilee year was the 50-year climax of the calendar and social
rules for ancient Jewry.
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tags Jewish, Veadar, Second Adar, Moses, feast, festival, Old
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