THE HEBREW CALENDAR
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Mosaic pavement of a 6th century synagogue at Beit Alpha, Israel. Signs of the zodiac surround the central chariot of the Sun (a Greek motif), while the corners depict the 4 "turning points" ("tekufot") of the year, solstices and equinoxes, each named for the month in which it occurs--tekufah of [Tishrey|Tishrei], (tekufah of Tevet), tekufah of Ni(san), tekufah of Tamuz. |
Source: WIKIPEDIA
The Hebrew calendar (Hebrew: הלוח העברי) or Jewish calendar is the annual calendar used in Judaism. It determines the dates of the Jewish holidays, the appropriate Torah portions for public reading, Yahrzeits (the date to commemorate the death of a relative), and the specific daily Psalms which some customarily read. Two major forms of the calendar have been used: an observational form used prior to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, and based on witnesses observing the phase of the moon, and a rule-based form first fully described by Maimonides in 1178 CE, which was adopted over a transition period between 70 and 1178.
The "modern" form is a rule-based lunisolar calendar, akin to the Chinese calendar, measuring months defined in lunar cycles as well as years measured in solar cycles, and distinct from the purely lunar Islamic calendar and the almost entirely solar Gregorian calendar. Because of the roughly 11 day difference between twelve lunar months and one solar year, the calendar repeats in a Metonic 19-year cycle of 235 lunar months, with an extra lunar month added once every two or three years, for a total of seven times every nineteen years. As the Hebrew calendar was developed in the region east of the Mediterranean Sea, references to seasons reflect the times and climate of the Northern Hemisphere.
When does the year begin?
According to the Mishnah (Rosh Hashanah 1:1), there are four days which mark the beginning of the year, for different purposes:
Months are numbered from Nisan, reflecting the injunction in Exodus 12:2, "This month shall be to you the beginning of months," and Nisan marks the new year for civil purposes.
The day which is most often referred to as the "New Year" is observed on the first of Tishri, when the year number increases by 1 and the formal new year festival Rosh Hashana is celebrated. It also marks the new year for certain agricultural laws.
The month of Elul is the New Year for certain matters connected with animals.
Tu Bishvat ("the 15th of Shevat (ט"ו בשבט),") marks the new year for trees.
There may be an echo here of a controversy in the Talmud about whether the world was created in Tishri or Nisan; it was decided that the answer is Tishri.
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FURTHER ASTONOUSHING DETAILS AT
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_calendar
Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Beit_Alpha.jpg
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