The Jewish Calendar, somtimes called the Hebrew Calendar is used by the Jewish people to determine the dates of Jewish Festivals, the Torah portion to be read publicly in Synagogue each week, dates to commemorate the passing of a relative and more. For those not in the know, it can be daunting, but this short guide should help you understand how it works!
The Hebrew/Jewish Calendar is a lunisolar calendar (a combination of lunar and solar calendars). It’s the result of many years of development through the Babylonian, Tannaitic, Amoriac and Geonic periods with the rules being firmly codified by Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Commonly known as “Maimonodies” or “Rambam”) in the 12th Century. The Jewish Calendar is approximately 11 days shorter than the Solar year and uses a 19 year cycles to bring it into line with the solar year, with the addition of a “Leap month” every two or three years for a total of 7 times per 19 years. Learn More: Wikipedia
Q: Why do Jewish Calendar Days start in the evening? A: Based on the classic rabbinic interpretation of Genesis 1:5 (“There was evening and there was morning, one day”), a day in the Jewish calendar runs from sunset (the start of “the evening”) to the next sunset. The same definition appears in the Bible in Leviticus 23:32, where the holiday of Yom Kippur is defined as lasting “from evening to evening”.
According to Jewish Law (Halakha), the previous day ends and a new one starts when three stars are visible in the sky.
There is no clock system in the Jewish calendar, so that the local civil clock is used. Although the civil clock, incorporates local adoptions of various conventions such as time zones, standard times and daylight saving, these have no place in the Jewish scheme. The civil clock is used only as a reference point—in expressions such as: “Shabbat starts at …”. The steady progression of sunset around the world and seasonal changes results in gradual civil time changes from one day to the next based on observable astronomical phenomena (the sunset) and not on man-made laws and conventions.
Q: When are the Jewish Holidays and will me Jewish colleagues be at work during them? A: Great Question! The Jewish Holidays move around the gregorian calendar and during some holidays Jews are not permitted to work or use electricity so may be totally off the grid!
This guide from the UK’s ‘Board of Deputies of British Jews’ gives you the dates of Jewish festivals between 2023 and 2028 and tells when work is prohibited! (As well as some other information about the Jewish calendar!)
Remember: The Jewish people are not a monolith and many will observe these holidays in different ways. However we reccomend to ensure inclusion, that you don’t schedule events marked as “Work Prohibited” on the guide linked above.
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