Today marks the beginning of the 5787th year since the creation of the world. This date was calculated in the 2nd century AD by Rabbi Yose ben Chalfat based on the text of the Tanakh. Today, Jews celebrate Rosh Hashanah («head of the year»)—the New Year arrives, even though the current month, Tishrei, is not the first month of the Jewish calendar. The Torah states that the first month of the year is Nisan, when a completely different event is celebrated—the Exodus from Egypt. This is just one of many peculiarities of the Jewish dating system. The fun calendar I prepared for the holiday can be the start of a journey into the world of ancient and wonderfully interesting Jewish tradition.
The Jewish calendar, in its current form, is nearly two thousand years old, and it integrates several rhythms: the Sun dictates the seasons, the Moon defines the months, and the Sabbath maintains a continuous rhythm. However, alongside these familiar ways of measuring time, the Torah plays a crucial role—as it does in Jewish life in principle. In the 4th century CE, the Synecdic head Gillel II developed the system underlying the Jewish calendar based on astronomical observations. Its primary purpose is to enable Jews, no matter where they live, to correctly observe the significant dates mandated by the Bible for celebration on specific days.
However, the Jewish calendar is very accurate in its calculations. As is known, the lunar year is about 11 days shorter than the solar year. To prevent holidays from shifting seasonally, the calendar uses 19-year cycles: during each cycle, the second month, Adar, is added seven times. This compensates for the difference between the lunar and solar years. The coming year is a leap year—it will have two Adars.
Of course, in this day and age, many Jewish people need the calendar for its most basic, everyday function, and religious holidays may be less important to them than other dates—such as Israel’s Independence Day or personal and family celebrations. Therefore, among the characters illustrating the calendar, there is the prophet Moses, the founding fathers of the State of Israel, its residents, their families, and even symbols that remind us of our culture. The calendar is also accompanied by mazalot, which are zodiac signs widely used in Jewish tradition. After all, despite all our differences, we live another year under the same stars, all together.
Even young Jewish people know how the Almighty created the world—what He created on the first day, what He created on the second, and how many years have passed since the Creation of the World.