The Jewish lunar calendar and its components
The Jewish calendar is a lunar-based system, meaning that it is primarily based on the cycles of the moon rather than the sun. This unique approach to timekeeping sets the Jewish calendar apart from the more widely used Gregorian calendar, which is solar-based.
The Jewish calendar is composed of 12 or 13 months, each with either 29 or 30 days. This fluctuation in the number of days per month is due to the fact that the lunar cycle is approximately 29.5 days long. To maintain alignment with the solar year, the Jewish calendar includes an additional month every few years, known as a “leap year.”
The months in the Jewish calendar are:
- Tishrei
- Cheshvan
- Kislev
- Tevet
- Shevat
- Adar (or Adar I and Adar II in leap years)
- Nisan
- Iyar
- Sivan
- Tammuz
- Av
- Elul