Sunday November 13 – Daniel

This week we made a very cool connection between some of the basic time cycles in the Jewish calendar and the sun and moon.  As you may or may not know, this week, the moon is closer to the earth than it has been since 1948!  Tonight if you go look at the nearly full moon around 6:30, the moon will seem exceptionally big and bright.  In class on Sunday, students learned that the Jewish months are defined by the lunar cycle, so we can know when a month is beginning when we don’t see a moon in the sky, and we can know that it is almost the middle of the month when the moon is full.  Rosh Chodesh celebrations are at the beginning of the month, and Rosh Hashannah is the beginning of the first month of the year.  Our months and years on the Jewish calendar are defined by the moon.  We also learned that in a Jewish understanding of days and nights, the day starts at sunset, not sunrise.  If you have a chance, go out tonight and have a moment of “Jewish Time” by moon gazing.  Its supermoon superfun!

Daniel