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What is a "leap year" in the Jewish calendar?

by Rabbi Naftali Silberberg

  

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Every few years (seven out of every nineteen years) an extra (thirteenth) month is added to the year. This is because the lunar year is approximately eleven days shorter than the solar year, so every once in a while the lunar calendar has to "catch up." Otherwise, the Jewish calendar will fall behind, and we would have Passover in the middle of the winter and Chanukah in the middle of the summer!

The lunar year is approximately eleven days shorter than the solar year, so every once in a while the lunar calendar has to "catch up"... Otherwise, we would have Passover in the winter and Chanukah the summer!
The Sanhedrin would add an extra month if they saw that otherwise Passover would fall out before the spring season.

The main factor in determining whether there would be a second Adar or not was the following:

If the 16th day of Nissan, which is the day when the Omer barley sacrifice was offered in the Holy Temple, would be before the equinox then a second Adar was added.

The Jewish calendar runs in 19 year cycles. Years 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 are leap years. This way, every 19 years the Jewish calendar will be exactly caught up with the solar calendar. For this reason, every 19 years your Jewish and secular birthday will fall out on the same day

TAGS: leap yearm, adar

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Passover
A Biblically mandated early-spring festival celebrating the Jewish exodus from Egypt in the year 1312 BCE.
Chanukah
An eight day mid-winter holiday marking: 1) The miraculous defeat of the mighty Syrian-Greek armies by the undermanned Maccabis in the year 140 BCE. 2) Upon their victory, the oil in the Menorah, sufficient fuel for one night only, burned for eight days and nights.
Sanhedrin
The Jewish Supreme Court. The court would convene in a designated chamber in the Holy Temple, and was comprised of 71 of the greatest scholars of the time. Continued after the destruction of the Temples, but was dissolved in the 5th century when due to Roman persecution the seat of Torah scholarship relocated from Israel to Babylon.
Adar
The twelfth month on the Jewish calendar. This month (which falls out approx. February-March), is the most joyous month on the calendar due to the holiday of Purim which is on the 14th and 15th of this month.
Nissan
The first month of the Jewish calendar. This month, which falls out in early spring, is known for the holiday of Passover which starts on the 15th of Nissan.
Omer
Starting from the second day of Passover, we count forty-nine days. The fiftieth day is the holiday of Shavuot. This is called the “Counting of the Omer” because on the second day of Passover the barley “Omer” offering was offered in the Holy Temple, and we count forty-nine days from this offering. [Literally, "Omer" is a certain weight measure; the required amount of barley for this sacrifice.]
Temple
1. Usually a reference to the Holy Temple which was/will be situated in Jerusalem. 1st Temple was built in 825 BCE and was destroyed in 423 BCE. The 2nd Temple was built in 350 BCE and was destroyed in 70 CE. The 3rd Temple will be built by the Messiah. 2. A synagogue.