How Much Do You Know About the Jewish Calendar?

The Jewish calendar is also called the Hebrew calendar. We thought we'd start out easy.

Sivan is the third month of the Jewish calendar. Shavout is observed in Sivan, which occurs in May/June.

The Jewish calendar and the civil calendar are not the same. Although the Jewish calendar remains the same year after year, because the two calendars are not of equal length, dates change on the civil calendar.

The Jewish month is based on actual moon cycles. The civil calendar defines months by the number of days.

Shevat is the name of the 11th month of the Jewish calendar. Shevat corresponds to January/February on the civil calendar.

Although they are treated a bit differently, a Jewish pregnant year equates to a civil leap year. The Jewish calendar adds one month, and the civil calendar adds one day.

The Jewish year is based on one solar cycle. A solar cycle is the amount of time it takes for the earth to revolve around the sun.

Rosh Chodesh is the first day of the month. In ancient times, two people had to testify to witnessing the new moon so that a new month could be declared.

Tishri is the seventh month of the Jewish calendar. This month may also be spelled Tishrei. Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur both occur during Tishri. Tishri equates to September/October on the civil calendar.

This is actually false, and it's one of the problems with a lunar calendar. A 12-month lunar calendar is slightly shorter than a solar year.

The Sanhedrin was tasked with regulating the ancient Jewish calendar. The Sanhedrin was made up of either 23 or 71 rabbis, depending on whether or not it was a Lesser Sanhedrin or a Greater Sanhedrin, respectively.

Av is the fifth month of the Jewish calendar. It is a summer month and occurs in July/August on the civil calendar. Av is a dark month in Jewish history.

Passover was the formal name of the Festival of Spring. In more recent times, Passover is related to the Exodus.

A "pregnant year," or Shanah Me'uberet, is a 13-month calendar. A 13th month is added to some years to ensure that important dates occur on the same day every year.

Kislev is the name of the ninth month of the Jewish calendar. This month corresponds to November/December on the civil calendar. The rain of the Great Flood stopped in this month.

During the Jewish leap year, the extra month is added before the new year begins. On the civil calendar, one day is added at the end of the second month, February.

The Jewish calendar totals the number of years since the creation. However, the Jewish people do acknowledge that the universe has been around much longer than the beginning of the Jewish calendar. They reconcile the difference by stating that the first "days" of creation were not 24-hour days as we know them.

Equating to August/September on the civil calendar, Elul is the sixth month of the Jewish calendar. The word Elul derives from a word that means "harvest."

The Jewish calendar has recorded roughly 5,700 years since creation. However, the belief that some of the days of creation were much longer than 24 hours accounts for the discrepancy between the Jewish calendar and scientific fact.

The Jewish calendar uses the abbreviation C.E., which means Common Era. The abbreviations A.D. which stands for anno domini, Latin for “in the year of the lord,” referring to the birth of Jesus Christ, and B.C., before Christ, are Christian. For the most part, scientists now also use C.E. instead of the Christian references.

Tevet, equal to December/January on the civil calendar, is the 10th month of the Jewish calendar. Hanukkah occurs during Tevet.

This is true. The days of the week on the Jewish calendar have numbers, not names. So, Sunday is the first day, Monday is the second day, Tuesday is the third day, and so on. The exception is Saturday, which is Shabbat.

Twenty-nine days, 12 hours, and 793 parts is equal to one month on the Jewish calendar. This is one lunar month.

Tammuz is the fourth month of the Jewish calendar. This summer month occurs in June/July and is the month in which Joshua stopped the sun.

Molad is the Jewish word for "new moon." The word literally means "birth."

A Hebrew "part," which is a unit of time, is equal to 3.33 seconds. This is known, in Hebrew, as a cheilek.

Nissan is the first month of the Jewish calendar. On the civil calendar, Nissan is equal to March/April. Passover occurs during Nissan.

The Jewish "day" begins at sunset. This interpretation of the beginning of a day is taken from the Bible.

Adar is a winter month that corresponds to February/March on the civil calendar. Adar is the 12th month of the Jewish calendar.

Pesach is another word for Passover. Passover occurs in the first month of the Jewish calendar; the month of Nissan.

Cheshvan is the eighth month of the Jewish calendar, which equates to October/November on the civil calendar. Cheshvan was the month in which the Great Flood began.

Yom is the Jewish word for day. The word "yom" is used for holidays and to denote the days of the week along with a number.

The names of the Jewish months are thought to be based on the Babylonian calendar. The Jewish people took the Babylonian names for the months with them when they were exiled from Babylonia.

Iyar is the second month of the Jewish calendar. This is a spring month and occurs during April/May.

The Jewish calendar is based on the Metonic cycle. The Metonic cycle is roughly a period of 19 years.