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 Kislev, which will be on Tuesday and Wednesday, November 17 & 18. Cheshvan's Rosh Chodesh can be 1 or 2 days, depending on whether Cheshvan has 29 (its regular number - 55% of the time) or 30 days (in a "full", SHALEIM, year - 45% of the time, incl. this year).

ROSH CHODESH KISLEV YIHYEH MACHAR B'YOM SHLISHI UVYOM RVII HABA ALEINU V'AL KOL YISRA'EL L'TOVA:

The molad of Kislev is on Tuesday, Nov. 17th, 12h 15m 9p which is approx. 11:54am IST

HAMOLAD YIH-YEH BYOM SHLISHI, B'SHAA SHTEIM ESREI, CHAMEISH ESREI DAKOT V'TISHA CHALAKIM

In Rambam notation: Tuesday 18:279

Review of variable months
This review is NOT about the one or two Adar issue, NOR is it about which day of the week Rosh HaShana can or cannot begin. It IS about the third variable in the Jewish Calendar, the lengths of Cheshvan and Kislev.
All Jewish months have 29 or 30 days. Never fewer than 29 nor more than 30. In our fixed calendar, Tishrei, Sh'vat, the first of two Adars (when there are two), Nissan, Sivan, and Av ALWAYS have 30 days. Tevet, the Adar immediately preceding Nissan, Iyar, Tammuz, and Elul ALWAYS have 29 days.
Cheshvan and Kislev vary in length. Cheshvan's regular count is 29 days; Kislev is regularly 30.
It is sometimes necessary to add one day to a year (this is a result of the LO ADU ROSH rule that results in RH being pushed to a day later than it "should be"). When this happens, the extra day is 30 Cheshvan. Such years are called SHALEIM (complete or full). This is the most common of the three types of years, occurring 45% of years.
It is sometimes necessary (for the same reason) to take one day away from a year. That day is 30 Kislev. A year with only 29 days in Kislev is called CHASEIR (deficient or defective). Occurs 25% of years.
Years with 29 days in Cheshvan and 30 in Kislev are called K'SEDER (in order). 29.5%
Never will Cheshvan have 30 and Kislev 29 in the same year. The K'SEDER arragement makes that unnecessary.
When Cheshvan has 29 days, Rosh Chodesh Kislev is one day. When it has 30 days, R"Ch Kislev is two days. When Kislev has 29 days, Rosh Chodesh Tevet is one day. When it has 30 days, R"Ch Tevet is two days.

TTreader Feedback

We've been calling the current month either Marcheshvan or Cheshvan, depending upon how much room we had. A couple of times we wrote MarCheshvan, prompting TTreader feedback from YMH who challenged breaking the name into Mar and Cheshvan, with or without a space. Then we received an email from Rabbi Dr. Ari Zivotofsky who attached an article he wrote for the OU's Jewish Action about 9 years ago. Here's an abridged version of that article.

Misconception: The complete and correct name for the month following Tishrei is Cheshvan, and it is a quaint tradition to call it Mar Cheshvan because it is bitter (Hebrew: mar) due to its lack of holidays.

Fact: The correct name for this fall month is the one word Marcheshvan (actually, M'rach-sh'van is probably more authentic, but we'll suffice with Marcheshvan)...
The currently used Jewish names for the months were imported from Bavel and many of the names occur in Tanach. Marcheshvan is probably derived from its location in the calendar. Marcheshvan is from the two words "m'rach" and "shvan," corresponding to the Hebrew "yerech shmini," the 8th month...
In the Mishna and Gemara, the month is always called Marchesh- van...

There actually are sources that break the name into Mar and Cheshvan, but they seem to be based on the misconception or simply drashot on the way one could break the name down.

The Pri Chadash suggests that the name Mar Cheshvan is based on the fact that it is the beginning of the rainy season. The Targum translated mar as tipa, a drop, in the verse "Hen goyim k'mar midli - Behold, the nations are as a drop of [water from] a bucket" (Yeshayahu 40:15). As such, the name means the "rainy Cheshvan," and far from mar meaning bitter, it connotes a month of blessed rain.

Concerning the names we use for the months, as mentioned earlier, some are found in Tanach; others are not.

Nissan, Sivan, Tevet, and Adar are found in Megilat Esther (some elsewhere, too). Elul is found in Nechemia, Kislev in Zecharia and Nechemia, Sh'vat in Zecharia. Iyar, Tammuz, Av, Tishrei, and Marchesh- van are not found in Tanach.

Side point: If Marcheshvan means the eighth month, so does October, which was named when the year began with March, the spring month. With the switch to beginning the year with January, October is technically misnamed, being the 10th month.

Bottom line: The correct name for the month between Tishrei and Kislev is Marcheshvan.

Thank you YMH and RAZ for "keeping us honest". Any reference in this issue of TT to Cheshvan was written before the Jewish Action article was received and reviewed. B"N, it won't happen again.

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