The Moon as a Guide:

The month of Nisan is considered to be God’s first month on His calendar. In Exodus 12:1-2 (NIV), God spoke to Moses, saying,

“The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in Egypt, ‘This month is to be for you the first month, the first month of your year.’”

Now, how do you know it’s the first of the month? You need to look for a new moon.

The most practical way, with no help from any other means, is to use your eyes and look up at the sky at night. First, you are looking for a full moon to help you navigate the middle of the month. Once you pass through seeing a complete moon phase—which lasts about three days to the naked eye—then roughly 14 days later, the new moon will arrive, and this represents the first of the month. This moon will not be as bright as a full moon; it will be wholly round but pale in comparison. That is the easiest most natural means for daily calendar readers to use.

IMAGE: Diagram – The Jewish Calendar (or Hebrew Calendar). Credit: https://21stcenturyrevelation.com/Jewish_Calendar.html

DIAGRAM: Jewish Endsolar Calendar.

IMAGE: A fun image of the Hebrew Calendar (Jewish). Credit: AI-inspired image. Midjourney/Discord. Oct 2024. Prompt: Hebrew Calendar, Jewish.

The Jewish (Hebrew) calendar, sometimes called the Hebrew calendar, is lunisolar, meaning it is based on both the cycles of the moon and the sun.

Here’s how it works:

1. Months (Lunar Cycle)

The Jewish calendar primarily follows the lunar cycle, with months beginning when the new moon is sighted. A month lasts about 29.5 days, meaning the Jewish year normally consists of 12 months, alternating between 29 and 30 days.

The months are:

Nisan (30 days)
Iyar (29 days)
Sivan (30 days)
Tammuz (29 days)
Av (30 days)
Elul (29 days)
Tishrei (30 days)
Cheshvan (29 or 30 days)
Kislev (29 or 30 days)
Tevet (29 days)
Shevat (30 days)
Adar (29 days) (or Adar I in leap years)

In a leap year, an additional month, Adar II, is added after Adar I.

2. Leap Year (Solar Adjustment)

Since 12 lunar months equal approximately 354 days, but a solar year (the cycle of the sun) is about 365 days, the calendar must occasionally be adjusted to stay in sync with the seasons. This is done by adding an extra month every two to three years (seven times in a 19-year cycle). The leap year consists of 13 months, with the additional month being Adar II.

This leap-year system aims to ensure that Jewish holidays, many of which are tied to agricultural seasons, occur in their proper times.

For example, Passover (Pesach) must always fall in the spring.

3. Years

The Jewish calendar counts years from what is believed to be the date of Creation (Anno Mundi, “Year of the World”). As mentioned, the current year (as of 2024) is 5784. The years are counted from Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year), which falls in the month of Tishrei.

4. Holidays

Jewish holidays and events are tied to specific dates on the Hebrew calendar. Some essential holidays include:

Rosh Hashanah (New Year): 1st of Tishrei
Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement): 10th of Tishrei
Passover (Pesach): 15th of Nisan
Shavuot: 6th of Sivan
Sukkot: 15th of Tishrei
Hanukkah: 25th of Kislev

Because the Jewish calendar differs from the Gregorian calendar (purely solar), these holidays fall on different Gregorian dates each year.

5. Weekdays

The Jewish week has seven days, with the Sabbath (Shabbat) on the seventh day (Saturday). The day begins at sunset and ends at sunset the following day, so Jewish days run from evening to evening, not midnight to midnight, as in the Gregorian calendar.

In summary, the Jewish calendar balances the lunar months with solar years by using leap years with an extra month. This keeps religious holidays in sync with their agricultural or seasonal significance.