THIS MONTH. Rabbi Judah Ha-Parsi¹ says that the Israelites, like the uncircumcised,⁠² employed a solar calendar. He offers as proof, Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season (Ex. 13:10). But lunar years are not all equal, as the seasons of plowing and harvest are dependent solely on the movement of the sun as it travels to the north or the south.⁠³ However, he did not speak correctly. I will now explain.⁠⁴ We know that it takes the moon, moving in its sphere⁵ in a given point facing the sphere of the zodiac, close to twenty-seven and a third days to return to this very point. Now let us assume a starting point wherein the moon is in conjunction with the sun at the beginning of Aries. In such a case the moon would not find the sun at the head of Aries when it returned there⁶ because the sun, traveling in its mean motion,⁠⁷ would by then have journeyed twenty-seven degrees.⁠⁸ This is because, contrary to the movement above,⁠⁹ the sun and the moon move from west to east. The sun and the moon would next be in conjunction at the end of twenty-nine and a half days, two-thirds and seventy-three parts of an hour, according to the way Israelites divide the hour.⁠¹⁰ Thus¹¹ the moon would have traveled the very degrees that the sun journeyed,⁠¹² and the moon also would have had to travel two days and close to five hours in the parts in which the sun had moved.⁠¹³ Actually, the year belongs only to the sun,⁠¹⁴ as the sun gives birth to the four seasons of the year, cold, heat, summer, and winter. Now let us assume the sun to be at the beginning of Aries. It will then travel three hundred and sixty-five days plus close to a quarter of a day in its sphere until it returns a second time to where it started out. It is for this reason that a year is called a shanah.⁠¹⁵ Now the moon has no year, as the sun has no month. Nothing new happens to the sun; only to the light of the moon does something new occur.⁠¹⁶ It is because of this that a month is called a chodesh and also a yerach.⁠¹⁷ It is so called¹⁸ because the light of the moon is renewed. We have conclusive proof that the moon has no light of its own, and that its light comes from the sun. The sun¹⁹ therefore does not darken except in the moment when it is in conjunction with the moon at the head or the tail of Aries.⁠²⁰ Similarly, the moon does not darken except when it is opposite the sun in the aforementioned places²¹ at night.⁠²² Due to the fact that the year of the uncircumcised is close to a solar year²³ and because they saw that the moon is renewed twelve times during a solar year, they divided the days of the year into twelve parts and called each part a month because it is close to the days of a lunar month. This arrangement of theirs is not in keeping with the laws of nature.⁠²⁴ Similarly the Moslems,⁠²⁵ because their festivals are contingent upon lunar months²⁶ and a month starts from the night that the moon is first seen. They saw that there are twelve months in a solar year and they did not find a closer way of reckoning than this,⁠²⁷ as there is only a difference of eleven days between the two ways of numbering the year.⁠²⁸ They therefore made all of their years lunar. The time of their Passover²⁹ recedes each year by eleven days until thirty-three solar years equal thirty-four lunar years.⁠³⁰ These things³¹ are not based on the laws of nature. Now God commanded in His Torah that the festivals be kept in their seasons, for He said, Observe the month of spring and keep the passover unto the Lord thy God (Deut. 16:1). Now if spring is not found³² by half of the month³³ then we make Passover in the month close to it.⁠³⁴ God similarly called the festival of Sha'vu'ot, the feast of harvest (Ex. 23:16)³⁵ and the festival of Sukkot, the feast of ingathering (Ibid.).⁠³⁶ The harvest and the ingathering are dependent on spring.⁠³⁷ Furthermore, we see that God said that we should not observe the Passover on any day but the midpoint of a lunar month.⁠³⁸ The same applies to the festival of Sukkot.⁠³⁹ God thus commanded that we observe lunar months⁴⁰ and that the seasons of the festivals be preserved.⁠⁴¹ Moses did not mention in the Torah that we should count twelve or thirteen months.⁠⁴² He said only⁴³ that we should begin the count⁴⁴ in the month that we find spring. That month is to be called the first month whether the year has twelve or thirteen months. It is thus written, in the second month (Num. 10:11) and In the third month (Ex. 19:1). All the other months are similarly written.⁠⁴⁵ Nisan, Iyyar, Sivan, and all the other names of the months are not Hebrew. They are Chaldean terms. We therefore do not encounter these terms in any book of Scripture except in the Scroll of Esther and in the prophecies of Zechariah, Daniel,⁠⁴⁶ and Ezra, who were in the Diaspora. This then is its⁴⁷ meaning: in the first month, which is called Nisan in the Chaldean tongue.⁠⁴⁸ However, we find three months called by other names in Hebrew, viz., in the month Ziv (I Kings 6:1); in the month Ethanim (I Kings 8:2); in the month Bul (I Kings 6:7). If we pursue the literal meaning of the text the month of Ziv is not Nisan but Iyyar, for it is written, in the month Ziv, which is the second month (I Kings 6:1), that is, which is known as the second to the first of the months of Israel. The words of Solomon's reign (Ibid.) are not connected to the word month but rather to the fourth year of Solomon's reign (Ibid.),⁠⁴⁹ as we do not find the months related in the account of any king.⁠⁵⁰ Scripture only reports the year that the king started his reign. In the second day⁵¹ of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign⁵² recorded in Chronicles (II Chron. 3:2) is proof of this. We can refute Judah Ha-Parsi⁵³ with the argument that not all years are equal.⁠⁵⁴ The years differ,⁠⁵⁵ due to the effect of the planets, in that the rain increases or diminishes and the heat or cold increases or diminishes each month,⁠⁵⁶ making it different from the known norm. Spring is therefore not be found to have arrived when the sun returns to the spot that it was in at the beginning of the previous year although it was then spring. There is⁵⁷ more than a year and two weeks⁵⁸ between one spring⁵⁹ and the next.⁠⁶⁰ The Israelites therefore relied on the spring found in their country in whatever month it occurred, as the time of the appearance of spring⁶¹ varies in all countries according to the distance of that land from the equator. I will now give you a general rule. Although the Israelites in the time of the Holy Temple watched for the arrival of spring,⁠⁶² the establishment of a leap year was not in their hands. It rather depended on the Bet Din which, as is related in the Mishnah,⁠⁶³ looked for other things besides spring.⁠⁶⁴ Now Moses did not explain to us in the Torah how we should establish years or months. Neither did he tell us what we should do if we do not find it to be spring. One can pose a difficult question from all this, namely, why did Moses explain the laws of the plagues of the leper, which fall upon one person and do not last forever,⁠⁶⁵ and leave out of the Torah the laws of the festivals⁶⁶ that all of Israel is obligated to keep at all times? Furthermore, eating leaven on Passover and eating on the Day of Atonement are punished with excision. If Moses relied on the conjunction of the moon and sun he should have explained whether he meant according to the moon's mean motion⁶⁷ or its true conjunction,⁠⁶⁸ which takes place opposite the sphere of the constellations, because at times there are approximately fourteen hours between the calculated conjunction⁶⁹ and the true conjunction. It is because of this that our holy fathers said, "At times it⁷⁰ comes at longer intervals; at times it⁷¹ comes at shorter intervals.⁠"⁷² Only one who knows his way in the science of astronomy can know this. Additionally, Moses should have explained from which part of the earth we reckon the conjunction. For behold, between Jerusalem and this city, whose name is Lucca, there is more than three hours.⁠⁷³ If Moses relied on the time the moon is first seen⁷⁴ he should have explained the place of its sighting,⁠⁷⁵ as the Arc of Vision⁷⁶ changes in each place according to the earth's latitude and according to the latitude of the moon from the line of the constellations, in addition to changes in visibility due to longitude, latitude, atmospheric conditions, and the height of elevation or lack thereof. All of these things require lengthy exposition. Now if it is cloudy, shall we out of doubt observe the new moon for two days?⁠⁷⁷ This proves that the establishment of the new moon is contingent on the declaration of the Bet Din in each generation.⁠⁷⁸ They had a tradition that the Bet Din establish seven leap years every nineteen years, totaling two hundred and thirty-five months or six thousand, nine hundred and thirty-nine and two-thirds days, plus five hundred and ninety-five parts of an hour. The aforementioned are nineteen solar years without addition or subtraction. Do not concern yourself with the hour and four hundred and eighty-five parts of an hour⁷⁹ according to "Samuel's calendar.⁠"⁸⁰ We know that this was not hidden from him.⁠⁸¹ Samuel only used a number which was close in his time to the men of his generation.⁠⁸² Today there is a difference of close to nine days⁸³ between the true circuit⁸⁴ and Samuel's circuit. Do not be amazed at this. For behold the Braita states⁸⁵ that one who wants to know the place of the moon should calculate the year of the world and divide it into months and divide the months into twenty-nine and a half days and two-thirds of an hour, i.e., seven hundred and twenty parts of an hour.⁠⁸⁶ Now seventy-three parts are missing.⁠⁸⁷ They will add up to more than two-thirds of a day each cycle.⁠⁸⁸ There will thus be⁸⁹ a difference of close to half a year between the calculation of the conjunctions from creation and our own calculation of the conjunction.⁠⁹⁰ It has thus been made clear to you that the sum of our years equals out every cycle of solar years, and our months are always lunar months.⁠⁹¹ Blessed be the Lord who has guided me in the straight path. I will now offer you proof from Scripture that the festivals are dependent upon the Bet Din. Scripture states, For the king⁹²had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month (II Chron. 30:2). Now if they had a tradition to look for spring,⁠⁹³ as those who argue with our rabbis of blessed memory claim, why did the king take counsel to establish the Passover in the second month?⁠⁹⁴ It will now be shown if their⁹⁵ words are true. Hezekiah did three evils.⁠⁹⁶ First of all, he did not offer the Passover sacrifice in its time⁹⁷ although he was ritually clean.⁠⁹⁸ Why did Hezekiah delay the observance of Passover because most of the congregation had not arrived?⁠⁹⁹ Such a thing is only found in the words of tradition,⁠¹⁰⁰ not in Scripture.⁠¹⁰¹ Second, he ate and caused Israel to eat leaven in the first month.⁠¹⁰² Third, on his own¹⁰³ he decided to observe the festival of unleavened bread in the second month. Such a thing is not to be done. With the exception of eating the paschal lamb¹⁰⁴ on one night,⁠¹⁰⁵ the Lord did not command the observance of the Passover in the second month, for all those who are unclean eat unleavened bread along with all of Israel in the first month. Far be it for Hezekiah to do such evil. Moreover, Scripture says of him that he did not turn aside to the right or left from the commandments of the Lord.⁠¹⁰⁶ Furthermore, Hezekiah himself said in his prayer, Remember now, O Lord, I beseech Thee, how I have walked before Thee…and have done that which is good in Thy sight (II Kings 20:3). I will now explain.⁠¹⁰⁷ Know that Hezekiah took counsel with the entire congregation¹⁰⁸ at the start of the first month that they should observe the Passover in the following month because most of the people had not arrived and the priests had not sanctified themselves in sufficient numbers.⁠¹⁰⁹ He thus added a month to the year, and the Passover that he observed was the actual Passover¹¹⁰ in its proper season. The fact that God plagued those who ate the paschal lamb in a manner contrary to what is written¹¹¹ is proof of this. If the Passover observed by Hezekiah was not celebrated in its proper time and was therefore not acceptable to the Lord,⁠¹¹² why did He plague them?⁠¹¹³ If Hezekiah sinned how is it that he prayed on their behalf¹¹⁴ and the Lord accepted his supplication and healed the people?⁠¹¹⁵ The answer to one who would argue that the sages of blessed memory did not maintain¹¹⁶ that Hezekiah acted properly in adding another month during the month of Nisan¹¹⁷ is: they¹¹⁸ spoke the truth. It is the custom of every Bet Din to ascertain at the end of the month of Adar whether it is necessary¹¹⁹ to add another month to the year or not. Now Hezekiah did not do this; he committed a small error in adding another month to the year at the beginning of the month.⁠¹²⁰ Now since the additional month¹²¹ always comes before the first month,⁠¹²² the latter is always the first of the months, and the festivals¹²³ will fall in the seventh month from it.⁠¹²⁴ This is the meaning of it shall be the first month of the year to you (v. 2).⁠¹²⁵ We know that many commandments are in memory of the Exodus from Egypt. Behold, it is therefore fitting that the Exodus be the first reference point in Israel's calculations. Thus it is written, And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year…in the month Ziv, which is the second month (I Kings 6:1). The gentiles ask, if the year is made up of months and the month of spring is its foundation and beginning, why do you calculate your years from the seventh month and say that a new year begins on its first day?⁠¹²⁶ The answer is that our sages of blessed memory have already noted¹²⁷ that there are four new year days.⁠¹²⁸ We clearly see that the sanctification of the jubilee year is on the tenth day of the seventh month (Lev. 25:9).⁠¹²⁹ Furthermore, God commanded that the Torah be read in the set time of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles (Deut. 31:10)…that they may hear, and that they may learn (Deut. 31:12). Now if the beginning of the year of release is reckoned from Nisan, why didn't God command that the Torah be read during the festival of unleavened bread? Now they were idle for half a year.⁠¹³⁰ Furthermore, Scripture states, and the feast of ingathering ¹³¹ at the turn of the year (Ex. 34:22). ¹³² Elsewhere it states,⁠¹³³ at the end of the year,⁠¹³⁴ when thou gatherest in thy labors out of the field (Ex. 23:16). Additionally, we can derive the aforementioned¹³⁵ from the way the Torah speaks and from the way nature acts. The Torah first states,⁠¹³⁶ ye shall not sow and afterwards says, neither (shall ye) reap (Lev. 25:12). The season of sowing is close to Tishri,⁠¹³⁷ not Nisan. Furthermore, if we reckon the beginning of the year of release from Nisan he who sowed in the sixth year¹³⁸ will not harvest in the seventh year, because the harvest falls after Nisan when the year of release has already started.⁠¹³⁹ He will also not sow in the year of release.⁠¹⁴⁰ We thus see that the words of our sages are correct.⁠¹⁴¹

THE BEGINNING OF MONTHS. Rabbi Moses Ha-Kohen¹⁴² says that there is no need to use the term rosh chodesh (new moon). The term chodesh suffices,⁠¹⁴³ since the meaning of chodesh is the day that the light of the moon is renewed. Scripture thus states, chodesh ve-shabbat (New moon and sabbath) (Is. 1:13); chodshekhem u-mo'adekhem (your new moons and your appointed seasons) (Is. 1:14); mi-de chodesh be-chodsho (from one new moon to another) (Is. 66:23). Others argued with him and asked, if this be the case, then why does Scripture state, ba-chodesh hashe'vi'i be-echad la-chodesh (And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month) (Num. 29:1)?⁠¹⁴⁴ Rabbi Moses Ha-Kohen answered, to remove doubt.⁠¹⁴⁵ They also quoted, u-ve-roshe chodshekhem (and in your new moons) (Num. 28:11) against him.⁠¹⁴⁶ He answered that Scripture speaks of the month of Nisan throughout the years,⁠¹⁴⁷ for only Nisan is the chief new moon.⁠¹⁴⁸ They then asked him, if so, then what sacrifices are we to offer on other new moons?⁠¹⁴⁹ He answered that Scripture states in the very same portion, This is the burnt-offering of every new moon throughout the months of the year (Num. 28:14).⁠¹⁵⁰ Scripture likewise states, Also in the day of your gladness, and in your appointed seasons, and in your new moons (u-ve-roshe chodshekhem),⁠¹⁵¹ ye shall blow with the trumpets (Num. 10:10) because it is the beginning of the year.⁠¹⁵² However, we¹⁵³ will not set aside the words of our rabbis of blessed memory because of our own opinions. Our sages said that we sound the trumpets on the new moon of every month.⁠¹⁵⁴ It is correct to say chodesh or rosh chodesh.⁠¹⁵⁵ It is written, ad chodesh yamim (but a whole month) (Num. 11:20), the meaning of which is: until the days of the month are complete.⁠¹⁵⁶