We respond to every follow-up question submitted, but only publish selected ones.
In order to be considered for publication, questions must be on-topic, polite, and address ideas rather than
personalities.
Why are the dates for Jewish Holidays different each year?
The dates are never different, they are always the same. It is just that the date of Jewish holidays is determined by the Jewish calendar, and you are looking at a secular calendar! The Jewish year is usually 12 lunar months long, but 12 lunar months add up to only 354 days. To keep the Jewish year in step with the 365-day solar year, some Jewish years (7 out of 19) are 13 lunar months long. Thus, the 12-month lunar years are 11 days shorter than a solar year, and the 13-month lunar years are about 19 days longer. As a result, the Jewish calendar shifts back and forth relative to the secular calendar, but it comes out even by the end of the 19-year cycle.
