Extra Day of Holidays
You may notice that the number of days
of some holidays do not accord with what the Bible specifies. In most cases, we
celebrate one more day than the Bible requires. There is an interesting reason
for this additional day.
The Jewish calendar is lunar, with each
month beginning on the new moon. The new months used to be determined by
observation. When the new moon was observed, the Sanhedrin declared the
beginning of a new month and sent out messengers to tell people when the month
began. People in distant communities could not always be notified of the new
moon (and therefore, of the first day of the month), so they did not know the
correct day to celebrate. They knew that the old month would be either 29 or 30
days, so if they didn't get notice of the new moon, they celebrated holidays on
both possible days.
This practice of celebrating an extra
day was maintained as a custom even after we adopted a precise mathematical
calendar, because it was the custom of our ancestors. This extra day is not
celebrated by Israelis, regardless of whether they are in Israel at the time of
the holiday, because it is not the custom of their ancestors, but it is
celebrated by everybody else, even if they are visiting Israel at the time of
the holiday.
Rosh Hashanah is celebrated as two days everywhere (in Israel and
outside Israel), because it occurs on the first day of a month. Messengers were
not dispatched on the holiday, so even people in Israel did not know whether a
new moon had been observed, and everybody celebrated two days. The practice was
also maintained as a custom after the mathematical calendar was adopted.
Yom Kippur is
celebrated only one day everywhere, because extending the holiday's severe
restrictions for a second day would cause an undue hardship
Shana
Tova and Gemar Chateemah Tovaha to all,
שנה טובה וגמר חתימה טובה לכם
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