The Hebrew calendar is a lunisolar calendar used in Jewish tradition. It determines the dates of Jewish holidays, Torah readings, and religious rituals. Today, it remains central to Jewish religious life worldwide.
The Hebrew calendar has ancient origins rooted in biblical times. Initially observational, based on the new moon, it was later standardized in the 4th century CE by Hillel II. This allowed Jewish communities worldwide to follow the same calendar without relying on sightings of the moon.
The Hebrew calendar has 12 lunar months of 29 or 30 days. To keep festivals aligned with the seasons, a leap month (Adar II) is added 7 times in every 19-year cycle. This makes it both lunar and solar (lunisolar).
Today's Hebrew date is 3rd of Tishrei, 5786.
It is used to determine Jewish holidays, weekly Torah portions, and other religious observances.
It is lunisolar: months follow the moon, but leap months align it with the solar year.