Cheshvan
Encyclopedia
Marcheshvan sometimes shortened to Cheshvan (Hebrew
: חֶשְׁוָן, Standard Tiberian
), is the second month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei
) and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year (which starts on 1 Nisan
) on the Hebrew calendar
.
In a regular (kesidran) year Marcheshvan has 29 days, but because of the Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, in some years an additional day is added to Marcheshvan to make the year a "full" (maleh) year. Marcheshvan is an autumn month which occurs in October–November in the Gregorian calendar
.
Given the Akkadian etymology, it seems likely the מ and the ו were switched at some point in time, since y-r-ḥ is the Semitic root for "moon" (and thus also "month"), and š-m-n is the Semitic root for "eight". Since then, the first two letters מַר (mar) have been reinterpreted as the Hebrew word for bitter, alluding to the fact that the month has no holidays or fasts.
Interestingly, the Ethiopian Jewish community celebrates Sigd
on the 29th day of Marcheshvan (50 days from Yom Kippur
, analogous to counting 50 days from Pesach
to Shavuos
), as recognized by the Israeli Knesset
July 2008.
The Hebrew Bible
, before the Babylonian Exile, refers to the month as Bul .
prayers in Israel
. If no rain has fallen by the 17th of the month, special prayers are added for rain
7 Marcheshvan - (1933) - Yartzeit of Rabbi Meir Shapiro
9 Marcheshvan - (1327) - Yartzeit of the Rosh, Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel
11 Marcheshvan - (2105 BCE)- Yartzeit of the righteous Methuselah
11 Marcheshvan - (1553 BCE) - Yartzeit of Rachel
.
11 Marcheshvan - (1443 BCE) - Yartzeit of Benjamin
.
11 Marcheshvan - (1797) - Yartzeit of Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl (Menachem Nachum Twersky
)
15 Marcheshvan - (139 BCE) - Yartzeit of Matityahu (Mattityahu)
15 Marcheshvan - (1938) - Kristallnacht
/Pogromnacht
17 Marcheshvan - (2105 BCE) - Great Flood began
17 Marcheshvan - (960 BCE) - First Temple
completed
23 Marcheshvan - (137 BCE) - Hasmonean holiday
27 Marcheshvan - (2104 BCE) - Flood ends
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: חֶשְׁוָן, Standard Tiberian
Tiberian vocalization
The Tiberian vocalization is a system of diacritics devised by the Masoretes to add to the consonantal Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible; this system soon became used to vocalize other texts as well...
), is the second month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei
Tishrei
Tishrei or Tishri , Tiberian: ; from Akkadian "Beginning", from "To begin") is the first month of the civil year and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian. It is an autumn month of 30 days...
) and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year (which starts on 1 Nisan
Nisan
Nisan is the first month of the ecclesiastical year and the seventh month of the civil year, on the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian; in the Torah it is called the month of the Aviv, referring to the month in which barley was ripe. It is a spring month of 30 days...
) on the Hebrew calendar
Hebrew calendar
The Hebrew calendar , or Jewish calendar, is a lunisolar calendar used today predominantly for Jewish religious observances. It determines the dates for Jewish holidays and the appropriate public reading of Torah portions, yahrzeits , and daily Psalm reading, among many ceremonial uses...
.
In a regular (kesidran) year Marcheshvan has 29 days, but because of the Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, in some years an additional day is added to Marcheshvan to make the year a "full" (maleh) year. Marcheshvan is an autumn month which occurs in October–November in the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
.
Given the Akkadian etymology, it seems likely the מ and the ו were switched at some point in time, since y-r-ḥ is the Semitic root for "moon" (and thus also "month"), and š-m-n is the Semitic root for "eight". Since then, the first two letters מַר (mar) have been reinterpreted as the Hebrew word for bitter, alluding to the fact that the month has no holidays or fasts.
Interestingly, the Ethiopian Jewish community celebrates Sigd
Sigd
Mehlella also Amata Saww or in is popular name Sigd is one of the unique holidays of Beta Israel community. Celebrated in 29th Cheshvan....
on the 29th day of Marcheshvan (50 days from Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
, analogous to counting 50 days from Pesach
Passover
Passover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
to Shavuos
Shavuot
The festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
), as recognized by the Israeli Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
July 2008.
The Hebrew Bible
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible is a term used by biblical scholars outside of Judaism to refer to the Tanakh , a canonical collection of Jewish texts, and the common textual antecedent of the several canonical editions of the Christian Old Testament...
, before the Babylonian Exile, refers to the month as Bul .
Events in Marcheshvan
7 Marcheshvan - V'tein Tal u-Matar ("Deliver Dew and Rain"), a prayer, is added to the Shemoneh EsreiAmidah
The Amidah , also called the Shmoneh Esreh , is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. This prayer, among others, is found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book...
prayers in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. If no rain has fallen by the 17th of the month, special prayers are added for rain
Marcheshvan in Jewish history
3 Marcheshvan - (1850) - Yartzeit of Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin- The 3rd of Marcheshvan is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of the death of Chassidic Rabbi Israel of Ruzhin (Israel Friedman) (1797–1850), known as "The Holy Ruzhiner"
7 Marcheshvan - (1933) - Yartzeit of Rabbi Meir Shapiro
Meir Shapiro
Yehuda Meir Shapiro , , was a prominent Hasidic rabbi and rosh yeshiva, also known as the Lubliner Rav...
- The death of Rabbi Meir Shapiro of LublinLublinLublin is the ninth largest city in Poland. It is the capital of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 350,392 . Lublin is also the largest Polish city east of the Vistula river...
, who founded the daily "page a day" regimen of Talmudic study which is known as Daf YomiDaf YomiDaf Yomi "page [of the] day" or "daily folio") is a daily regimen undertaken to study the Babylonian Talmud one folio each day...
.
9 Marcheshvan - (1327) - Yartzeit of the Rosh, Rabbi Asher ben Yechiel
- Rabbi Asher died in ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
on Marcheshvan 9 on the Hebrew year, 5088 (1327 CECommon EraCommon Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
).
11 Marcheshvan - (2105 BCE)- Yartzeit of the righteous Methuselah
Methuselah
Methuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
- MethuselahMethuselahMethuselah is the oldest person whose age is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 , at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood...
was one of the greatest tzaddikim and the longest-lived human being. He was the grandfather of NoahNoahNoah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
and died aged 969. The Holy One blessed be He, delayed the great Flood because of the 7 days of mourning for Methuselah.
11 Marcheshvan - (1553 BCE) - Yartzeit of Rachel
Rachel
Rachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
.
- RachelRachelRachel , as described in the Hebrew Bible, is a prophet and the favorite wife of Jacob, one of the three Biblical Patriarchs, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. She was the daughter of Laban and the younger sister of Leah, Jacob's first wife...
the wife of Yakov is a Matriarch of the Jewish people, mother of YosephJoseph (Hebrew Bible)Joseph is an important character in the Hebrew bible, where he connects the story of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in Canaan to the subsequent story of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt....
and BenjaminBenjaminBenjamin was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on...
. She died giving birth to her second son BenjaminBenjaminBenjamin was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on...
in Bethlehem, while on their way from Aram to Hebron and was buried there in order to be able to pray on the behalf of her children who were later to be exiled to Babylon (Jer. 31:14) and passed near her holy gravesite.
11 Marcheshvan - (1443 BCE) - Yartzeit of Benjamin
Benjamin
Benjamin was the last-born of Jacob's twelve sons, and the second and last son of Rachel in Jewish, Christian and Islamic tradition. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Benjamin. In the Biblical account, unlike Rachel's first son, Joseph, Benjamin was born in Canaan. He died in Egypt on...
.
- The 12th son of The Patriarch Yakov and founder of one of the 12 Tribes of Israel. The only one of the 12 sons of Yakov to be born on Jewish soil in Eretz Israel. He died in Egypt aged 111.
11 Marcheshvan - (1797) - Yartzeit of Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl (Menachem Nachum Twersky
Menachem Nachum Twersky
Rabbi Menachem Nochum Twerski of Chernobyl was the founder of the Chernobyl Hasidic dynasty. He was a disciple of the Baal Shem Tov and the Maggid of Mezritch, and published one of the first works of Hasidic thought...
)
- Rabbi Nachum of ChernobylChernobylChernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
was a disciple of the second leader of the Chassidic movement, Rabbi DovBer of MezeritchDovber of MezeritchRabbi Dov Ber of Mezeritch was a disciple of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Hasidic Judaism, and was chosen as his successor to lead the early movement...
, and the founder of the Chernobyl dynasty of Chassidic Rebbes.
15 Marcheshvan - (139 BCE) - Yartzeit of Matityahu (Mattityahu)
- Mattityahu was the son of The Kohen GadolKohen GadolThe High Priest was the chief religious official of Israelite religion and of classical Judaism from the rise of the Israelite nation until the destruction of the Second Temple of Jerusalem...
Yochanan. When during the 2nd century BCE the Seleucids-Syrian Greeks under Antiochus IV Epiphanes tried to forcefully hellenize The People of Israel, Mattityahu started a revolt in the city of Modiin. After his passing, his sons, The MaccabeesMaccabeesThe Maccabees were a Jewish rebel army who took control of Judea, which had been a client state of the Seleucid Empire. They founded the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled from 164 BCE to 63 BCE, reasserting the Jewish religion, expanding the boundaries of the Land of Israel and reducing the influence...
led the uprising to a victory establishing an independent Jewish state. This victory is celebrated every year on the festival of HanukkahHanukkahHanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
.
15 Marcheshvan - (1938) - Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, also referred to as the Night of Broken Glass, and also Reichskristallnacht, Pogromnacht, and Novemberpogrome, was a pogrom or series of attacks against Jews throughout Nazi Germany and parts of Austria on 9–10 November 1938.Jewish homes were ransacked, as were shops, towns and...
/Pogromnacht
- Pogrom considered to be the start of the Holocaust
17 Marcheshvan - (2105 BCE) - Great Flood began
- The rain started on the 17th of Marcheshvan of the Hebrew year, 1656 (2105 BCE), flooding the entire earth. Only NoahNoahNoah was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the tenth and last of the antediluvian Patriarchs. The biblical story of Noah is contained in chapters 6–9 of the book of Genesis, where he saves his family and representatives of all animals from the flood by constructing an ark...
and his family is said to have survived, in the ark (Noah's ArkNoah's ArkNoah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
) he built (by Divine command), and a pair of each animal species.
17 Marcheshvan - (960 BCE) - First Temple
Temple in Jerusalem
The Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
completed
- King SolomonSolomonSolomon , according to the Book of Kings and the Book of Chronicles, a King of Israel and according to the Talmud one of the 48 prophets, is identified as the son of David, also called Jedidiah in 2 Samuel 12:25, and is described as the third king of the United Monarchy, and the final king before...
completed the building of the First TempleTemple in JerusalemThe Temple in Jerusalem or Holy Temple , refers to one of a series of structures which were historically located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, the current site of the Dome of the Rock. Historically, these successive temples stood at this location and functioned as the centre of...
(it was not inaugurated until the following TishreiTishreiTishrei or Tishri , Tiberian: ; from Akkadian "Beginning", from "To begin") is the first month of the civil year and the seventh month of the ecclesiastical year in the Hebrew calendar. The name of the month is Babylonian. It is an autumn month of 30 days...
however)
23 Marcheshvan - (137 BCE) - Hasmonean holiday
- In TalmudTalmudThe Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
ic times, Marcheshvan 23 was commemorated as the day on which the stones of the altar which were defiled by the GreeksGreeksThe Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
were removed from the Holy Temple.
27 Marcheshvan - (2104 BCE) - Flood ends
- On the 27th of Marcheshvan of the Hebrew year 1657 (2104 BCE) "the earth dried" (Genesis 8:14), which finished the 365-day duration of the great flood which is said to have wiped out all life on earth except for the eight human beings and the animals (two of each species) that were on Noah's arkNoah's ArkNoah's Ark is a vessel appearing in the Book of Genesis and the Quran . These narratives describe the construction of the ark by Noah at God's command to save himself, his family, and the world's animals from the worldwide deluge of the Great Flood.In the narrative of the ark, God sees the...
. On this day, God is said to have commanded Noah to "Come out of the ark" and repopulate, settle and civilize the earth.