The Hebrew calendar is based on the movement of the moon, and is therefore called a lunar calendar. The calendar begins keeping time with the year of biblical creation, thus we add 3760 years to the civil year to arrive at the Hebrew year.
The cycle of the Jewish year begins with the appearance of the new moon.
There are 12 months in each year, and each month begins with the new moon. The day begins at sunset.
It takes the earth 365 days to rotate around the sun, but the moon makes this trip in only 354 days. To balance the Hebrew calendar to the civil calendar, we add a leap month every 2.5 years. Jewish holidays are based around the seasons of the year and this assures that each holiday occurs in the correct season.
This month makes up for the 11 day difference in the length of time it takes the moon to cycle the earth as compared to the sun. We give this month the name, Adar II. |
