Torah Rocket • Part 10v6.4.1OFFICIAL NUMBERING PRESERVED • Q10 & Q17 ABSENT
The Jewish Calendar
Lunar-solar calendar, Rosh Chodesh, leap years, fasts, Three Weeks, Nine Days and Tisha B’Av.
Source-locked: date-specific or incomplete notes are flagged instead of silently updated.
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Official questions
1. What is the Jewish Calendar based on?
Your study note: Both lunar and solar cycles. Pesach staying in spring and the leap-year extra Adar are examples.
2. a) What is Rosh Chodesh?
b) For how many days is it celebrated?
Your study note: Beginning of the month; one or two days, connected with the roughly 29.5-day lunar cycle.
3. Name all the Jewish months in chronological order.
SOURCE GAP/CHECK: The supplied note says “check and learn the appendix.” The month list itself is not supplied in this section.
4. How many months are there in a Jewish leap year?
Your study note: 13 months.
5. Which month is added in a leap year?
Your study note: Adar Beis, the second Adar.
6. When does the Jewish year begin and why?
Your study note: With Rosh Hashanah in Tishrei; the note connects this with creation of the world.
7. When does the Jewish year end?
Your study note: Elul.
8. What is the present Jewish year?
DATE CHECK: The supplied class note says 5784. This is intentionally preserved as the old note and must be updated for the actual exam date rather than silently changed.
9. When does the Jewish day begin and end?
Your study note: Begins at sunset; ends at nightfall when three medium-sized stars can be seen.
11. a) Define Chol Hamoed.
b) What is not permitted on these days?
Your study note: Intermediate days of a holiday. The note says heavy work such as planting/building is not permitted, and work should not be done simply for benefit after the holiday.
12. What is the Jewish date of Tu B’Shvat?
Your study note: 15 Shevat.
13. a) Why do we celebrate Tu B’Shvat?
b) How is it celebrated?
Your study note: Connected with the change of year for tithing and laws of Orlah/Neta Revai; celebrated by eating fruit.
14. Name the seven foods — 5 fruits and 2 grains — for which Israel is praised.
Your study note: Wheat, barley, dates, grapes, pomegranates, figs and olives.
15. a) Which holidays are one day in Israel but two in the Diaspora?
b) Why?
Your study note: Shavuot, first/last days of Pesach and first/last days of Sukkot. Historical second day due to delay communicating Rosh Chodesh from Jerusalem.
16. What are the names and dates of the three pilgrim festivals?
Your study note: Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot. SOURCE GAP/CHECK: dates are not supplied in this answer.
18. Name all fast days in chronological order and explain what each commemorates.
SOURCE GAP/CHECK: The full chronological list is blank in the supplied notes. Other notes mention Yom Kippur, Tisha B’Av and Asara B’Tevet, but not the complete requested list.
19. a) What are the two most important fast days?
b) How do they differ in practice?
Your study note: Yom Kippur and Tisha B’Av. Yom Kippur has Shabbat-like melachah restrictions; on Tisha B’Av one sits low and melachah may be done according to the note.
20. When do we read Eichah, Lamentations?
Your study note: Tisha B’Av.
21. What is special about Lag B’Omer?
Your study note: 33rd day of Omer; elsewhere in the notes 18 Iyar; connected with stopping of deaths among Rabbi Akiva’s students.
22. Why is the 17th of Tammuz observed as a fast day?
SOURCE GAP/CHECK: The note gives 17 Tammuz as the start of the Three Weeks but does not state why the day itself is a fast.
23. a) When do the Three Weeks begin and end?
b) When do the Nine Days begin and end?
Your study note: Three Weeks: 17 Tammuz–9 Av. Nine Days: 1 Av–9 Av.
24. a) How do we observe the Three Weeks? List 4 restrictions.
b) How do we observe the Nine Days? List 8 restrictions.
Your study note: Three Weeks: no music, haircuts, weddings, important purchases requiring Shehecheyanu. Nine Days add restrictions including bathing for pleasure, meat, wine, new clothes, laundering, swimming, fixing clothes and painting/renovating/decorating.
25. What happened on Tisha B’Av?
Your study note: Both Temples were destroyed; the notes also mention the decree after the spies’ report and later historical tragedies.
26. How do we observe Tisha B’Av? Name 5 restrictions.
Your study note: Fasting, sitting low, no leather shoes, no washing the body, no marital relations.
27. a) How many Temples did the Jewish people have and who destroyed them?
Your study note: Two. First destroyed by Babylonians; second by Romans.