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... WORD OF THE MONTH Some sources write that Kiddush L'vana for Tishrei is to be said SPECIFICALLY on Motza'ei Yom Kippur. Others say to specifically say KL before Yom Kippur. Minhag Yerushalayim is to say KL at the first opportunity after 3 full days following the announced molad - even during Tishrei, Sivan, and Av when other customs wait until after YK, Shavuot, and 9Av respectively. The most (?) common practice is to say KL upon emerging from shul following Maariv of Motza'ei Yom Kippur, prefer- ably still wearing kittel & tallit and in the joyous mood that YK engenders. Most hold that it can be said before havdala and breaking one's fast. Last opportunity for KL this
month is Sunday night, Oct. 16th, all night. In extenuating circumstances,
one can say KL on Leil Sukkot until 4:49am, Oct. 18. Cheshvan and Kislev are the only two variable months in our Fixed Calendar. When they are K'seder, the year has 354 days, or 384 in the case of a Shana M'uberet (13-month, two Adar year). When the year is CHASEIR, "missing" a day, it is Kislev that only has 29 days and the year has 353 or 383 days. A SHALEIM year has an extra day, namely 30 Cheshvan, and the year has 355 or 385 days. 5766 has 354 days. 5765 had 383, being a M'UBERET and a CHASEIR. RH 5765 was on THU (and FRI). PEI-GIMEL-KAF and MEM-GIMEL-KAF years occur, on average, 11½% of the time. In those types of years, Yom Kippur falls on Thursday, as it does this year. Recent Thursday Yom Kippurs occurred in 5762 (2001), 5755 (1994), 5742 (1981). Most years that begin on Tuesday, do so because the molad of Tishrei is on Tuesday before noon or on Monday after noon. 5766 is a rare case of the molad of Tishrei being on Monday morning (and after 9h 32m 13p) and being a year that follows a M'UBERET, thereby being subject to D'CHIYA 4 (the fourth and rarest rule for postponement of RH beyond the day of the molad), which fixes RH on TUE (and WED). Whereas RH on TUE & WED and YK on THU is not so uncommon, what is rare about 5766 is that it became a RH on TUE year by D'chiya 4. That happens only a bit more than ½% of the time. The last time that happened (a D'chiya 4, not a THU YK) was 5688. Someone born on that RH would be 78 years old on RH this year, until 120. The time before that was 5519 (1758) when the Vilna Gaon was in his late 30s, George Washington in his late 20s, and Motzart was 2½ years old. The other issue was the fact that the last 17 p'sukim were not read during 5765. The first weekly sedra of a year is either Vayeilech (as it is this year, 5766) or Haazinu. The last weekly sedra of a year is either Nitzavim by itself (as it was in 5765) or Nitzavim and Vayeilech combined. A year beginning on MON or TUE will begin with Vayeilech on Shabbat Shuva. A year beginning on THU or SHABBAT will begin with Haazinu on Shabbat Shuva. In the same vein, a year preceding a MON or TUE RH, will end with Nitzavim alone. A year that preceeds a THU or SHABBAT RH will end with Nitzavim- Vayeilech. Since 5765 began on THU, its first weekly sedra was Haazinu. Since 5766 begins on TUE, 5765's last weekly sedra was Nitzavim. Therefore, Vayeilech was not read in 5765, except for the first 13 p'sukim on Shabbat afternoon and on Monday morning, Erev Rosh HaShana. The remaining 17 p'sukim of Vayeilech's total of 30 (shortest in the Torah) were not read during 5765. Significance? No. Good trivia though. And more importantly, all of the above gives us more knowledge of our calendar, which is part of the spirit of the mitzva of HACHODESH HAZEH LACHEM... [The
Parshat Ha'azinu Homepage]
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