Why Nisan Became the First Month of the Jewish Year

Ein Yaakov, Rosh HashanahOn the twenty-eighth of Adar, the good news came to the Jews(23) (Fol. 19) On the twenty-eighth of Adar, the good news came to the Jews that they need no longer abstain from studying the Law, for the king [of Syria had e

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusWhy the Feast of Unleavened Bread Carries Its Own NamePassover has two names. The night of deliverance is Pesach. The week that follows is Chag haMatzot, the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Ex

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusBake, Boil, and Set Aside Before the Holy SabbathTargum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 16:23) gives us the first explicit teaching of Sabbath cookery in the Torah, and the Targumist relays it with a domestic preci

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusThe Delightful Exercises That Make the SabbathThe Hebrew Torah commands Israel to keep the Sabbath. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan adds three words that change the flavor entirely: Israel shall keep the Sabbath "to

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on ExodusShavuot and Sukkot, the Two Feasts of HarvestThe Jewish year moves with the grain. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 34:22) marks two hinges of that turning wheel: the feast of weeks at the first of the wh

Book of JubileesGod Sets the Rainbow as a Sign of PromiseThe Book of Jubilees, treasured as scripture by some ancient Jewish communities like the Essenes of Qumran, retells the Torah with a storyteller's eye for detai

Why Nisan Became the First Month of the Jewish Year

Themes

Biblical References

Continue Reading