WORD OF THE MONTH

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...

This Shabbat, we bench Rosh Chodesh Adar, which is always 2 days in our fixed calendar. This year it will be (Monday night,) Tuesday and Wednesday.

ROSH CHODESH ADAR YIH-YEH B'YOM SH'LISHI UVYOM R'VI'I HABA ALEINU V'AL KOL YISRA'EL L'TOVA

The molad is on Tuesday 02h 28m 17p (2:08am Israel Standard Time)

HAMOLAD YIH-YEH B'YOM SH'LISHI, ESRIM USHMONEH DAKOT V'SHIV'A ASAR CHALAKIM ACHAREI SHTAYIM BABOKER
The Molad will be Yom Sh'lishi (Tuesday), 28 minutes and 17 parts after Two in the morning.

In Rambam notation: GIMEL 8:521

The actual (astronomical) molad is 2:31am (very close to the average as we announce it, unusually so)
Adar & March match for 29 days (as did Tevet and January this year)

How often is Sh'kalim on Shabbat Parshat Mishpatim?

In a 12-month, 1-Adar year - almost always. 94.8% of all SHANA P'SHUTA. 59.86% of all years. (3.31% of the time, Sh'kalim is T'ruma.)

In a 13-month, 2-Adar year (Shana M'uberet)? Never. (Then it would be on Shabbat Parshat Vayakhel or P'kudei)

The rule for Parshat Sh'kalim is that we read it on the Shabbat before Rosh Chodesh Adar (if there are two Adars, we are concerned with the second one, the one that precedes Nissan), or on Shabbat Rosh Chodesh Adar, in which case, the Shabbat becomes a three Torah/kugel Shabbat. Sh'kalim is before Rosh Chodesh 88.5% of the time, as it is this year. It is on Shabbat Rosh Chodesh only 11.5% of years, together with Trippple Purim and Motza'ei Shabbat Seder.

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