Shalom (a traditional Jewish greeting) cgeorge-ga,
This Fact Monster article by David Johnson tells us about this year's Jewish,
or Hebrew New Year, known as Rosh Hashanah.
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/roshhashanah1.html
"On Wednesday night, Sept. 15, 2004, Jews will begin celebrating one of their
most important religious holidays, Rosh Hashanah. It remembers the creation of
the world. In Hebrew, Rosh Hashanah means the 'head of the year.'"
The article goes on to explain that for some Jews Rosh Hashanah is for one day,
while others celebrate for two days.
"Rosh Hashanah observances vary. Orthodox Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah for two
days. Reform Jews often observe it for only one day."
The phrase "creation of the world" in that article is the key to the dating
system of the Hebrew calendar.
From the Los Gatos, California based Congregation Shir Hadash's web site.
http://www.shirhadash.org/calendar/abouthcal.html
"The Biblical date of creation is used as the basis for the Hebrew calendar."
To fill in some of the history of this, we have to ask why the Hebrew calendar
was established in the first place. Probably for the same reasons all other
calendars were established, which was to track important dates.
Claus Tondering's web site gives us the who and when.
http://www.tondering.dk/claus/cal/node4.html
"The current definition of the Hebrew calendar is generally said to have been
set down by the Sanhedrin president Hillel II in approximately AD 359. The
original details of his calendar are, however, uncertain."
The Meaningful Life Center web page fills in some of the why.
http://www.meaningfullife.com/torah/holidays/1a/3_Times_3_-_When_Shabbat_follows_Rosh_Hashanah.php
"... Hillel II, the president of the Sanhedrin, recognized that the days of the
Sanhedrin were numbered and that soon the dispersion of the Jewish people would
reach a point where it would be impossible to maintain contact between all the
communities of the Diaspora. He therefore established a calendar system by
which the years and months could be calculated in advance."
We go back to Claus Tondering's web site for some of the calculations.
"Years are counted since the creation of the world, which is assumed to have
taken place in 3761 BC. In that year, AM 1 started (AM = Anno Mundi = year of
the world)."
So, to get the Hebrew year, you just add 3761 to the current "modern" year.
This web page by Elimelech David Ha-Levi goes into more detail.
http://www.angelfire.com/pa2/passover/jewishcalendar.html
"The answer is that the year number in the Hebrew calendar represents in the
number of years since the beginning of the Creation of the world (Genesis 1:1).
This number is determined by adding up the ages of people in the Hebrew Bible
since Creation. More specifically, the birth of Adam on the 6th day of Creation
is the actual starting point for counting the years in the Hebrew calendar."
As with all things that have their roots this far in the past, some of the
dates and origins above vary from source to source, but for the most part,
the above is what is generally stated.
If you need any clarification, feel free to ask.
Search strategy:
Google search on: year 1 Hebrew calendar
://www.google.com/search?q=year+1+Hebrew+calendar
Google search on: Hebrew calendar creation date determined
://www.google.com/search?q=Hebrew+calendar+creation+date+determined
Google search on: Rosh Hashanah
://www.google.com/search?q=Rosh+Hashanah
Looking Forward, denco-ga - Google Answers Researcher |
