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  • From: "Yigal Levin" <leviny1 AT mail.biu.ac.il>
  • To: "b-hebrew" <b-hebrew AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [b-hebrew] Jewish Calendar
  • Date: Mon, 30 Aug 2004 14:38:41 +0200

As long as we're on the subject of the Jewish calendar, I thought I would
share what is known as the "ATBASH" principle of calculating which holiday
falls on what day. I'm sure that some of you are familiar with it, but it's
cute enough to be worth repeating (and please excuse the cross-posting).

"ATBASH" means arranging something in such a way, so that the first letter of
the alphabet, Aleph, corresponds to the last, Tav, then Bet to Shin and so
on. Many of the Medieval Hebrew poets used it.

Now in the fixed Jewish calendar, which has been in use since the 5th century
or so, it ALWAYS works out that the first day of Passover ("Aleph") is on the
same day of the week as the following Tish'ah BeAv ("Tav") - the Ta'anit
(fast - also with a Tav) of the 9th of Av on which the destruction of both
Temples is mourned (though in practice, if the 9th of Av is on a Sabbath, the
fast is held on Sunday).
The second day of Passover ("Bet") is always on the same day of the week as
Shavu'ot (Shin) - the festival of Weeks (Pentecost), on the 6th of Sivan,
exactly seven weeks and a day after the "Sabbath" of the first day of
Passover (not necessarily the actual Sabbath - we've already discussed that).
The third day ("Gimel") is on the same day of the week as the following Rosh
Hashanah (Resh), the New Year on the first of Tishri. The first day of
Sukkot, on the 15th of Tishri, and the "Eight Day of Assembly" (Shemini
Atseret) are also on the same day of the week.
Day "Dalet" corresponds to Qeri'ah (Qoph), "reading", the day on which
"Simhat Torah" (a late rabbinic holiday on which the annual Torah-reading
cycle is completed and started again) is observed outside of Israel (within
the Land it is observed together with Shemini Atseret).
Day "He" matches Tsom (Sade), the fast par excellence of Yom Kippur.
Day "Vav" always falls on the same day as did the previous Purim.
And Day "Zayin", the last day of Passover, is always on the same day of the
week as will be the following Yom ha'Atsmaut ('Ayin) - modern Israel's
Independence Day, on the 5th of Iyyar (although, once again, if the actual
date is on a Friday or Sabbath, the holiday is celebrated on the preceding
Thursday).

So how's that?

Yigal Levin


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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  • [b-hebrew] Jewish Calendar, Yigal Levin, 08/30/2004

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