Q&A: Understanding the Dates of the Holidays and Their Connection to the Exodus

Question: Does it bother you that we do not really know which day the Torah was given, yet we still celebrate Shavuot on the sixth of Sivan as though we are certain that that is the day it happened? Answer: Not in the least. You are referring to the dispute in the Gemara as to … Continue reading →

Negotiating Z’manim in Halacha, Part 2

(Continued from here.) Now for particular times. Aloth Hashahar – Dawn: In Israel it should be 72 minutes or so before sunrise. I say “or so” because it used to be impossible to calculate this with the degree of accuracy that we have today, and because the whole idea that it takes exactly 18 minutes … Continue reading →

בעניין שיטת הפרי מגדים בזמן הראשון של קידוש לבנה

איתא בירושלמי ברכות ט׳ הל ב׳ הרואה את הלבנה בחידושה אומר ברוך מחדש חדשים. עד איכן רבי יעקב בר אחא בשם רבי יוסי עד שתראה בחצי המטה רבי אחא ורבי חנינא בשם רבי יוסי עד שתתמלא פגימתה. רבנן דקיסרין אמרין עד י״ד יום. אמר רבי יוסי בי רבי בון ויאות. כלום מתמלאת פגימתה אלא עד … Continue reading →

Negotiating Z’manim in Halacha, Part 1

Dear ***, With regards to halachic z’manim, the system I recommend you use is actually quite simple. It is the one that is implied in the writings of Maimonides and endorsed by the Vilna Gaon, and the one that figures most prominently in the common calendars you find in synagogues, although in the last few … Continue reading →