Working on the Hebrew Calendar

The Hebrew Calendar has never been my strong point and the same goes for fast days. In general I’m pretty bad at remembering dates, and anyway, growing up, we usually talked about when a holiday would fall out in terms of the Gregorian Calendar. Additionally, the 7 yearly fast days have 6 different statuses and I tend to get confused a bit between those. So consider this post my personal homework, to better organize the Jewish Holidays and fasts in my head...

Yearly Summary

We'll start with a summary of the Jewish Year and it's holidays, fasts, and periods:

1. Tishrei
1. Rosh hashana(1st,2nd)
2. Tzom Gedalia(3rd)- Jewish governor assassinated, 1st temple
3. Yom Kippur(10th)
4. Succot(14th-21st)
2. Cheshvan
3. Kislev
1. Channuka begins(25th)
4. Tevet
1. Channuka ends(3rd)
2. 10th of Tevet- beginning of 1st temple seige
5. Shevat
6. Adar
1. Fast of Esther(13th of Adar)
2. Purim(14th of Adar)
3. Shushan Purim(15th of Adar)
7. Nissan
1. Fast of 1st Born(14th of Nissan)
2. Passover(15th-21st), start of Omer
8. Iyar
9. Sivan
1. Shavuot(6th), end of Omer
10. Tamuz
1. 17th of Tamuz(begin 3 weeks)-city overrun, 2nd temple
11. Av
1. 1st of Av-beginning of 9 days
2. 9th of Av(end 3 weeks/9 days)-both temples destroyed
12. Elul
1. Slichos

 

Groups

So that’s a chronological ordering. Now let’s talk conceptual ordering. The holidays basically fit into 4 categories:

1. Regalim

The three regalim, Passover, Shavuot, and Succot relate to stages in the Agricultural year and traditionally involved all of Israel converging on the Temple in Jerusalem

2. Holidays of Tishrei

The Month of Tishrei has it's own group of holidays. Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Succot are focused around Hashem judging the world and Am Yisrael.

Note that Succot appears twice, both as a regel and as a Holiday of Tishrei. As Rav Yoni Grossman points out, this dual identity is hinted at by its Mussafim, which include 14 lambs and 2 rams, as opposed to all the other holidays that have 7 lambs and 1 ram.

So which category does Shemini Atzeret fall into, with its 7 lambs and 1 ram? It’s not entirely clear. On one hand, one’s Olat Reiya for Succot can be brought on Shemini Atzeret, so it sounds like it’s part of the Regalim cycle. On the other hand, we have a Rabbinic tradition that the World is judged for rainfall on Shemini Atzeret, so that sounds like Chagei Tishrei.

3. Rabbinic Holidays

Channuka and Purim are rabbinically instituted.

4. Fasts for the Destruction

There are 4 fasts for the destruction of the Temple: Tzom Gedalya, the 10th of Tevet, the 17th of Tammuz, and Tisha be’Av. The latter two form the endpoints of the 3 weeks period of mourning and thus have their own special restrictions, like shaving/cutting hair/listening to music. Tisha be'Av has it's own special status and is the most severe rabbinic fast.


Note that the fast of Esther and fast of first born don’t fall into this category at all. Rather, they are practices connected to the holidays of Purim and Pesach, respectively. Also, the Fast of the First Born is unique in that it only applies to "Bechorot" or possibly their parents, and that it is not generally observed in practice, a strategically-timed siyum being the option of choice for it's annulment.

And, of course Yom Kippur is the only Biblically mandated fast and belongs in the category of Holidays of Tishrei.

So, there you go. Not the most exciting post, but hopefully another step in improving my own observance.

Rosh Chodesh vs. Chol Hamoed: Hallel

Following up on the chakira of Full/Partial Kedushat Hayom, we now have a related chakira, also about kedushat hayom. While the former chakira taught us that Rosh Chodesh only has a partial kedushat hayom limited to the korban musaf in Beit Hamikdash, this one will teach us that, additionally, Rosh Chodesh has a limited kedushat hayom created by the minhag of saying Hallel.

Chakira: Kedushat Hayom from the Torah vs. Kedushat Hayom created by a Minhag

• Chag has Kedushat Hayom as expressed by mitzvot of the day
• Rosh chodesh doesn’t have kedusha(except in beit hamikdash for korban Mussaf). But the minhag of treating it like Chag with regards to saying Hallel(itself a corollary to the mitzvah of Simcha) creates a limited Kedushat Hayom

אך לפי דרינו צריך עיון בדברי רב בסוגיא בתענית (כח ב) אשר אמר, אחרי שראה שבני בבל קוארים את ההלל בדילוג, "שמע מינה מנהג אבותיהם בידיהם"...הווה אומר, מנהג אבותיהם בידיהם לנהוג מנהג קדושה בקריאת הלל ביום זה, וממילא מתחייבים המה בקריאה זו.(הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ד)

• This is similar to the Minhag of keeping 2^nd day yom tov in the Golah, despite the original doubt over which day is Yom Tov having being alleviated by the move to a fixed calendar. The minhag creates a real kedusha, albeit one limited the level of the original safek(thus various leniencies apply to the second day).

קדושת היום חלה כמו ביו"ט שני על ידי הנוהג עצמו. עשיית יום טוב וניהוגו בבחינת יום מקודש מקדשים את היום ואין קדושתו חלה מעבר למנהג.(הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ד)

Nafka Minot

 

1. Rambam’s apparently contradictory halachot

The Rambam says that Rosh Chodesh Hallel is only an obligation when praying with a minyan.  However, he continues, if an individual begins saying hallel, he is obligated to complete it.

אבל בראשי חדשים קריאת ההלל מנהג ואינו מצוה ומנהג זה בצבור וכו', ויחיד לא יקרא כלל ואם התחיל ישלים ויקרא בדילוג כדרך שקורין הציבור (הל' מגילה ג:ז)

Explanation: Since Rosh Chodesh Hallel is a minhag by which a community gives Hallel limited kedusha, so it was only instituted in a communal setting i.e. when davening with a minyan. If, however, an individual does begin saying hallel, so the limited kedusha this creates obligates them to complete the hallel.

ברם היחיד הופקע רק מחובת ניהוג קדושה, אבל לא התמעט מיעילותו. ובכן, אם התחיל לקרוא – כלומר, אם פתח בניהוג קדושה – אז חלה קדושת היום לגביה והוא גומר את ההלל בחיוב. (הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ד)

2. Tosafot (ברכות יד א ד"ה ימים), on the other hand, says that neither Yachid nor Tzibbur say Hallel, but if they began, they should complete it.

 

Explanation: They don’t follow the minhag of Bavel, but even they agree that one who does creates kedusha that requires him to finish the Hallel.

3. The Raavad on the Rambam (ברכות יא:טז) says that Hallel should be recited with a blessing on Rosh Chodesh, but not on Chol Hamoed Pesach. 

 

Explanation: On Rosh Chodesh we are creating kedusha where there was none. This creates an obligation for Simcha and thus for Hallel, which then requires a bracha.

Chol Hamoed Pesach, on the other hand, has Kedusha from the Torah, but it’s part of the same unit of kedusha that we already said Hallel for on the first day. Since the obligation to say Hallel on Chol Hamoed Pesach stems solely from the Minhag, not from the obligation of Simcha, so it’s said without a Bracha.

Rosh Chodesh vs. Chol Hamoed: Tefilah & Bircat Hamazon

Last time we discussed the chakira of Full Kedushat Hayom vs. Limited Kedushat Hayom.  Let’s look how this distinction is realized with regard to mentioning the day in tefilah & bircat hamazon.

In general, the Rav points out three distinct requirements to mention the day in tefilah, the first two being generally accepted, the third being the chiddush:

1. Mention the Kedusha of the Day- tefilah is incomplete if forgotten 
2. Mention the Unique Nature of the Day- if forgotten, don’t need to repeat Shmoneh Esrei
3. Israel’s acceptance of the day as Rosh Chodesh is what estabelishes it as such(based on השגות הרמב"ן על ספר המצוות מ"ע קנ"ג ורמב"ם קידוש החודש ה:א). Therefore, on Rosh Chodesh specifically, Chazal require that we all mention the day in our tefilah in order to demonstrate this acceptance.

בענין הזכרה בתפלה נאמרו שתי הלכות: א) הזכרת קדושת היום בכל מועד מקודש כמו שבת ויו"ט ב) הזכרת מעין המאורע אע"פ שלעצמו של יום אין קדושה מיוחדת, וכגון תענית... וכן חנוכה ופורים או תשעה באב(הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ה)

ובכן נראה, כי ההזכרה בתפילה בר"ח, פרט לדין הזכרה מעין המאורע שבה, שבגינה אין חוזרים, נובעת ממקור אחר- והוא, ענין קביעות ראש חודש שנוהג אפילו בזמן הזה(הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ו)

Nafka Minot

The Rav takes this model and uses it to explain various difficult halachot in the literature:

1. Forgot yaaleh veyavo in shmoneh esrei at night 

  

• Chag- shmoneh esreh is lacking mention of kedushat hayom. Repeat it.
• Rosh Chodesh- only has din of מעין המאורע, since establishing the month doesn’t apply at night time. Don’t repeat.   

2. Forgot yaaleh veyavo of rosh chodesh during day

The gemara(ברכות ל ב) suggests that you don’t repeat shmoneh esrei because you can say yaaleh veyavo in your next tefilah. Requirement of keviut apparently only applies once per day, leaving only the requirement of מעין המאורע, which doesn't require going back and repeating the tefilah.

  

 3. Gemara שבת כד א  

 

The gemara debates whether we need to say rosh chodesh yaaleh veyavo in benching. Why does it consider the possibility that we don't say it? Because perhaps the takana of saying yaaleh veyavo for kviut only applies to tefila, not birkat hamazon(הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ג)

4. Gemara ברכות מט א  

The gemara is of the opinion that we don’t say the chatima of the compensatory beracha after benching on Rosh Chodesh. Why? Because the chatima mentions kedushat hayom which is not relevant on Rosh Chodesh except during Mussaf.

Rosh Chodesh vs. Chol Hamoed

In his speech “הזכרת ראש חודש וחול המועד” in שיעורים לזכר אבא מרי ז"ל, Rav Soloveichik discusses Rosh Chodesh and how it is different at the most basic level from other Moadim.

קדושת היום

The central chakira that the Rav develops is whether the day has:

• Full Kedusha: the entire day has Kedusha, as is the case with the Holidays 
• Limited Kedusha: the day’s Kedusha is limited to its unique service in Beit Hamikdash, and for all other purposes it is a יום חול

Chol Hamoed, like Yom Tov, is a day of Full Kedusha:

קדושת חולו של מועד מקיפה הרבה דינים וחלותים, ובעצם קדושתו היא חפצא של קדושת חג הסוכות או חג הפסח. (הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ג)

Rosh Chodesh’s Kedusha, on the other hand, is limited to the Mussaf offering and therefore is limited only to Beit Hamikdash:

נקרא הוא יום מקודש אבל קדושתו תחומה ומוגבלת רק לקרבן מוסף. (הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ג)

אין קדושת היום של ר"ח מעלה ולא מורידה בגבולין. (הזכרת ר"ח וחוה"מ:ד)

Nafka Minot

The Rav goes on to discuss at length several Nafka Minot of this distinction(I’ll try to cover these in more detail in another post):

1. Tefilin on Chol Hamoed- Rav Chaim quoted as saying that chol hamoed has the same kedusha as chag, but with heter melacha. Therefore we don’t wear Tefilin on Chol Hamoed, while we do on Rosh Chodesh
2. Din Simcha- we say Hallel on days that have a mitzvah of Simcha as do the three Regalim. Rosh Chodesh actually has a limited din of simcha due to the minhag of treating it with a limited kedusha, so we say Hallel, but it has a lesser status
3. Shmonah Esre & Bircat Hamazon- The Rav ties a number of dinim in mentioning Rosh Chodesh/Chol Hamoed to the chakira of Kedushat Hayom. For instance, whether one is required to repeat a forgotten יעלה ויבוא