THE JEWISH CALENDAR

All Jewish holidays begin at sundown on the eve of the holiday. All holidays are dated by the days and months of the Hebrew calendar and they are different from the general (European) calendar. The Hebrew calendar is based on twelve twenty-eight-day cycles of the moon, which adds up to 336 days in a year. The general calendar is based on the yearly cycle of the earth around the sun, which takes 365 days. Because the moon cycle is shorter than the sun cycle, to make up the difference an additional month called Adar Bet ("Adar Two") is added periodically to the Jewish calendar. There is another main difference between the Hebrew and the general calendars: the years of the Hebrew calendar are counted from the Biblical reckoning of the creation of the world nearly 6000 years ago, while the general calendar counts the years from the birth of Christ (to each their own myth!) The year 2019 of the general calendar is the Jewish year 5779. You can find the season and month of each Jewish holiday on the chart below. And to see on what days holidays will fall in the following years, please refer to "Jewish holiday calendars & Hebrew date converter" at website: https://www.hebcal.com/

SEASON	EUROPEAN MONTH	HEBREW MONTH	HOLIDAY
			Rosh ha-Shanah
Fall (Autumn)	September	Elul	Ten Days of Awe
	October	Tishri	Yom Kippur
	November	Hershvan	Sukkot
			Simchat Torah
Winter	December	Kislev	Hanukkah
	January	Tevet	Tu Bi-Shevat
	February	Shevat
Spring	March	Adar	Purim
		(Adar Bet)	Passover
	April	Nisan	Holocaust (Shoah)
			Remembrance Day
			Pesah
	May	Iyyar	Israel Independence Day
			Lag Ba-Omer
Summer	June	Sivan	Shavuot
	July	Tammuz	Tisha Be-Av
	August	Av

VOCABULARY OF JEWISH VALUES

Although every element of the Jewish tradition speaks to a different part of the Jewish soul, there is no injunction more important than regarding the way we relate to each other as human beings. In the V'ahavta part of the K'riat Sh'ma we are enjoined to teach our children by our own daily example. Below is a list of midot, Jewish values, that help us treat each other humanly in what Martin Buber called an "I-Thou" relationship. These values give us some guidelines and a context for the foundations of our spiritual community. You can read these as a private meditation and then apply them when relating with your family and community as a form of daily spiritual practice.

• Bal Tshchit - Mitzvah of not destroying or being wasteful
• Bikkur - Mitzvah of visiting the sick
• Bushah - Causing embarrassment
• Chesed - Mercy, compassion, or loving-kindness
• Chevre -The community of spiritual seekers
• Chesed Shel Emet - Mitzvah of caring for the dead
• Davven - Prayer, usually communal
• Devekut - Rapturous attachment; a state of mind cultivated in Jewish meditation
• Ein Sof - One of the Names of God. Literally the "without end". It is the idea of God-as-process, rather than as an object (Kabbalah related)
• Essen Tag - Home hospitality on holidays for the poor
• Gemilut Chasadim - Deeds of loving-kindness
• Gemilut Shel Chesed - Free loan (no interest)
• Gilgul ha-Nefesh - Reincarnation
• Hachnasat Kallah - Mitzvah of providing a dowry for a bride
• Hachnasat Orchim - Mitzvah of hospitality
• Halbashat Arumin - Mitzvah of clothing those in need
• Hashgacha Pratit - Divine providence
• Hekdesh - Community shelter for those in need
• Hitbodedut - Usually defined as inner-directed meditation
• Hitbonenut - Usually defined as outer-directed meditation
• Kavod - Mitzvah of granting honour or dignity
• Kavvanah - Focused, passionate intentionality
• Keren Ami - Means "fund of my people", refers to monetary gifts collected in religious schools
• Kavod Z'keynim - Mitzvah of honouring the elderly
• Kuppah - Community Tzedakah fund
• Leket - Remains of harvesting left for the poor; gleaning
• Ma'aser - 10-percent tithe for the poor
• Ma'ot Chittin - Mitzvah of providing Passover foods for the poor
• Mashpiah - Spiritual director
• Matanot L'Evyonim - Gifts to the poor on Purim
• Mazon - Mitzvah of providing food for the hungry
• Mench/Menchlikite - Being a good person; living in the image of God
• Mochin Gadlut -"Great mind", enlightenment
• Musar - Development of personal qualities, a prerequisite for deep-meditation practice
• Nichum Avaylim - Comforting the mourners
• Peah - Corner of the field that must be left for the poor
• Pidyon Sh'vuylin - Mitzvah of freeing the captives
• Pushke - Tzedakah box
• Rachamim - Mercy, compassion
• Tamchul - Community soup kitchen
• Tefillah - Prayer and/or meditation
• Tikkun Olam - Fixing, repairing the world
• Tzadik - A righteous person
• Tzedakah - Monetary gifts to help those in need
• Tzedek - Justice

The Holiday Cycle will follow in several posts
[go to The Holiday Cycle - 1 =>]