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From the Rabbi’s Study Many inquiries have come my way recently about a not-infrequent Jewish calendar phenomenon: “Rabbi, the holidays are so early this year!” People are clearly referencing the seemingly unusual occurrence of Purim in February, Pesach in March, Yom Ha’atzma-ut in April, and Shavu’ot in mid-May (we could even go on to point out Tish’a B’Av occurring in July and all of Sukkot completed in September!). The obvious answer to their wonderment is that the Jewish holidays are actually, this year as every year, precisely on-time. It has always been this way. A glance at the Jewish calendar (which is the calendar that Judaism follows, and to which the Jewish holidays are wholly tied) shows us the exact dates for each of the Jewish holidays. Indeed, the eternally fixed dates for these holidays are commanded and delineated in the Torah (“These are the set festivals of Adonai, sacred occasions, which you shall proclaim at their appointed times” Leviticus 23:4). What causes the wonderment is, of course, is the juxtaposition of the Jewish holidays with the Gregorian calendar by which most of us schedule and regulate our daily lives. The Jewish holidays are only early or late (never on-time?) when we note their place on the Gregorian calendar. Our relationship to the holidays are almost always considered, publicized, and observed in terms of their place in our “secular” year. No matter! Living as we do in a world in which the Jewish calendar is not the world’s default calendar, our perennial observance of the Jewish holidays at their proper “appointed times” – while always shifting dates on the secular calendar – can actually make us ever-more mindful and appreciative of each. And there is more to be learned from this apparent calendar conundrum. We might be reminded that attention to dates and times is vital to a well functioning society. Indeed, ‘time-organization’ was one of the most elemental means created by God to make order out of chaos (“Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years” Genesis 1:14). In addition, the appointed times (whether seen as early, late, or perfectly punctual) are ongoing reminders for us of our God, Peoplehood, history, obligations, celebrations, and destiny. We must pay deep and continuing attention to these. Finally, we should also remember that it is through inattention to appointed times that we miss too many of the most important moments and opportunities of our lives. As Mordecai Kaplan once observed, “If you have a rendezvous with destiny, be sure to show up on time.” Our holidays are always on time – may we always be as well. Rabbi Jonathan Pearl
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