The Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah ended last week, and the holy day of Yom Kippur ends tonight at sundown (see also: FAQ: What is Yom Kippur?). Here are five facts you should know about the High Holy Days on the Jewish calendar:

1. In Judaism, the High Holy Days (sometimes referred to as “high holidays”) may refer to (1) the ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur, known as the Days of Repentance or theYamim Noraim(Hebrew for “Days of Awe”), (2) the days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur specifically, or (3) to the entire 40-day penitential period—themonth of Elul, the 30 days in the sixthmonth of the Jewish year, plus the ten days starting with Rosh Hashanah and ending with Yom Kippur.

2. The term High Holy days is not of Jewish origin but issuspected of having derivedfrom the once-popular English phrase, “high days and holydays.”The termholiday is also derived from the Old Englishhaligdægmeaning “holy day, consecrated day, religious anniversary, or Sabbath.”

3. The calendar used for Jewish religious observances is lunisolar, which means that months are based on the phases of the moon but adjusted in average length to fit the length of the solar cycle. (In contrast, the most widely used civil calendar—the Gregorian calendar—is solar based.) The calendar year features 12 lunar months of 29 or 30days, with an intercalary lunar month (a leap month) added periodically to synchronize the 12 lunar cycles with the longer solar year. Leap months are added in the Jewish calendar seven times every 19 years.

4. In the Jewish calendar the Anno Mundi (Latin for “in the year of the world”) is based on rabbinic calculations of the year of creation from the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Bible. Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (akaMaimonides) calculated that the “the third day of Nisan in this present year [March 22, 1178]” to be “the year 4938 of the creation of the world.” This calendrical code developed by Maimonides is used most often in munities, putting the current year on the Hebrew calendar as 5778, that is 5778 years since the creation of the world.

5. Rosh Hashanah (‘head [of] the year’)is the first day on the Jewish calendar, marking the traditional anniversary of the creation of Adam and Eve. The holiday begins at sundown on the first day ofTishrei.According to Jewish belief, on Rosh Hashanah God inscribes his judgment and the fate of each individual in the Book of Life. However, during the Ten Days of Repentance Jews have the opportunity to atone, seek forgiveness, and make amends for past sins and wrongdoings before the fate is sealed on Yom Kippur.

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