II.
The Jewish Calendar.
1. Nisan.—The Sabbath before Passover is called שבת הגדול “the Great Sabbath,” on account of the importance of the approaching festival.
- 14th: ערב פסח “the Eve of Passover.” Fast of the First-born.
- 15th to 22nd: פסח “Passover.”
- 16th: “Beginning of counting the Omer,” ספירת העומר
- 17th to 20th: חול המועד “Half-holydays.”
- 23rd: אסרו חג “Farewell to the Festival.”
2. Iyar.—14th: פסח שני “Second Passover” (Num. ix. 9 sqq.).
- 18th: ל״ג בעומר the 33rd of the Omer. “Scholar’s feast.”
- שני חמישי ושני Fasts kept by some, on the first Monday, Thursday, and Monday succeeding each other in the beginning of the month, in order to atone for sins they may have committed on the Holydays.
3. Sivan.—3rd, 4th, and 5th: שלשת ימי הגבלה “The three days of bordering” (Exod. xix. 10–12).
- 5th: ערב שבועות “The eve of the Feast of Weeks.”
- 6th and 7th: שבועות “Feast of Weeks,” also called “Pentecost.” [[499]]
- 8th: אסרו חג “Farewell to the Festival.”
4. Tammuz.—17th: “Fast of Tammuz,” שבעה עשר בתמוז