 Rosh Hashana A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... Meet 5761... The coming year is a SHANA P'SHUTA, meaning it has 12 months. It is coded ZAYIN-CHET-ALEF, meaning that Rosh HaShana is Shabbat (ZAYIN), the months of Cheshvan and Kislev each have 29 days (CHET for CHASEIR, missing - referring to the 30th of Kislev which is dropped from this year), and Pesach is Sunday - that's a Motza'ei Shabbat Seder! (ALEF). The year will have 353 days, the fewest number of days possible for a year. There will be 51 Shabbatot in 5761. Parshat VAYEILECH will not be read during 5761. (That's not really accurate because its first part will be read at mincha on the Shabbat before Rosh HaShana 5762 and on Monday morning, Erev Rosh HaShana. The first part of Vayeilech consists of 13 p'sukim, so only the remaining 17 p'sukim of Vayeilech will not be read anytime during 5761.) 5761 is the 4th year of the 304th Lesser (lunar, 19-year) Cycle since Creation. It is the 21st year of the 206th Greater (solar, 28-year) Cycle since Creation. 5761 is a SH'MITA year (according to the majority opinion on the subject of Sh'mita calculation). Besides Erev Pesach on Shabbat and the Seder on Motza'ei Shabbat, we will be having Purim M'shulash, Tripple Purim, in Jerusalem, with aspects of Purim spread over Friday, Shabbat, and Sunday. Many interesting halachot to review. If all that isn't enough, we also have the only Friday fast day possible - Asara b'Tevet falls on Friday this year. One more unusual feature of 5761 - Parshat Mikeitz is NOT Shabbat Chanuka. Vayeishev is. We will get to hear the regular haftara of Mikeitz, the famous story of Shlomo HaMelech and the babies. And we've got a total lunar eclipse scheduled for Monday night, January 8th. Some year we've got ahead of us. May it be a good and sweet year in every sense of the words. [The Rosh Hashana Homepage]
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