Hebrew Calendar Basics

The Hebrew calendar is both solar and lunar, comprising twelve months. The lunar calendar is approximately eleven days shorter than twelve months, thus, every few years a leap month is added.

The day begins at sunset, the week begins on Saturday night, the month begins with the new moon, and the New Year, Rosh Hashanah, is in autumn.

There are twelve months in the Jewish calendar. The numbering of years is calculated from the biblical account of creation, which is traditionally understood to coincide with 3760 BCE.

The Hebrew calendar serves the religious and cultural purpose of keeping track of Holy Days, marriages, and the anniversaries of deaths. As a result of the discrepancy in days between the Jewish calendar year and the Gregorian calendar year, the date of each Holy Day will shift each year. However, the difference from year to year is usually minor and each Holy Day will occur during the same season every year (e.g. Rosh Hashanah in the fall, Pesach in the spring, etc.)