Months of the Jewish Year
The “first month” of the Jewish calendar is the month of Nissan, in the spring, when Passover occurs. However, the Jewish New Year is in Tishri, the seventh month, and that is when the year number is increased. This concept of different starting points for a year is not as strange as it might seem at first glance. The American “new year” starts in January, but the new “school year” starts in September, and many businesses have “fiscal years” that start at various times of the year. Similarly, the Jewish calendar has different starting points for different purposes.
The names of the months of the Jewish calendar were adopted during the time of Ezra, after the return from the Babylonian exile. The names are actually Babylonian month names, brought back to Israel by the returning exiles. Note that most of the Bible refers to months by number, not by name. Source: www.jewfaq.org
| Hebrew | English | Number | Length | Civil Equivalent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Nissan | 1 | 30 days | March-April |
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Iyar | 2 | 29 days | April-May |
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Sivan | 3 | 30 days | May-June |
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Tammuz | 4 | 29 days | June-July |
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Av | 5 | 30 days | July-August |
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Elul | 6 | 29 days | August-September |
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Tishri | 7 | 30 days | September-October |
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Cheshvan | 8 | 29 or 30 days | October-November |
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Kislev | 9 | 30 or 29 days | November-December |
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Tevet | 10 | 29 days | December-January |
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Shevat | 11 | 30 days | January-February |
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Adar I (leap years only) | 12 | 30 days | February-March |
  |
Adar (called Adar Beit in leap years) |
12 (13 in leap years) |
29 days | February-March |
Days of the Jewish Week
Other than Shabbat, the name of the seventh day of the week, the Jewish calendar doesn’t have names for the days of the week. The days of the week are simply known as first day, second day, third day, etc. Sometimes they are referred to more fully as First Day of the Sabbath, etc.
Source: www.jewfaq.org
| Hebrew | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
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Yom Rishon | First Day (Sunday) |
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Yom Sheini | Second Day (Monday) |
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Yom Shlishi | Third Day (Tuesday) |
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Yom R’vi’i | Fourth Day (Wednesday) |
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Yom Chamishi | Fifth Day (Thursday) |
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Yom Shishi | Sixth Day (Friday) |
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Yom Shabbat | Sabbath Day (Saturday) |
