5785 - The Rarest Year of Them All Part II
As detailed in Part I (featured in the OhrNet Sukkos issue – vol. 32, no. 1), our current year, 5785, is not only a rare one, but calendarically speaking, actually the hands-downrarest of them all. 5785 is classified as a HaSh”A year in our calendars. This abbreviation is referring to Rosh Hashana falling out on Thursday (hei), both months of Cheshvan and Kislev being shalem (shin - 30 day months instead of possibly 29; these are the only months that can switch off in our set calendar), and Pesach falling out on Sunday (aleph).
A HaSh”A year is the rarest of years, and out of the 14 possibilities in Tur’s 247-year calendar cycle, this year type occurs on average only once in about 30.19 years (approximately 3.3 percent of the time). Indeed, at times there are 71 years (!) in between HaSh”A years. The last time this year type occurred was 31 years ago in 5754 / 1994. The next time will be 20 years hence in 5805 / 2044. The next several times after that are slated to be 27 years further, in 5832 / 2071 and then a 51 year gap in 5883 / 2122.
The reasons and rules governing the whys and whens this transpires are too complicated for this discussion; suffice to say that when the Mishnah Berurah discusses these issues he writes “ain kan makom l’ha’arich,” that this is not the place to expound in detail, which is certainly good enough for this author.
Obviously, such a rare calendar year will contain many rare occurrences. This series article sets out to detail many of them. Perhaps as we get nearer to the actual events, we will discuss them in greater detail. Let’s continue on our journey through our unique year.
No Kabbolas Shabbos in Tishrei
An interesting anomaly related to the many Tishrei Three-Day Yom Tovs discussed in Part I that may have slipped your attention, is that due to them occurring, a full Kabbolas Shabbos was not davened the entire month of Tishrei in Chutz La’aretz, and only the last Shabbos of the month in Eretz Yisrael. This is because anytime a Yom Tov falls out on Shabbos or even exits directly into Shabbos, the full Kabbolas Shabbos is not recited, but rather only the paragraphs of ‘Mizmor Shir’ and ‘Hashem Malach’ at the end of Kabbolas Shabbos. [Nusach Sefard adds in the beginning and end of Lecha Dodi as well].
Hence, with the first Shabbos of the year commencing with the conclusion of Rosh Hashanah, the second Shabbos being Yom Kippur, the third Shabbos being Shabbos Chol Hamoed Sukkos, and the last Shabbos directly following Simchas Torah (in Chutz La’aretz), a full Kabbolas Shabbos was simply not davened at all the whole month of Tishrei in Chutz La’aretz, and only on the last Shabbos of the month in Eretz Yisrael.
One final note about this special Tishrei. Over Rosh Hashana we had a rare five-days of consecutive Kriyos HaTorah that each were leined due a different specific reason – and without the recital of Hallel: Thursday, the first day Rosh Hashana we have “V’Hashem Paked es Sarah;” Friday, the second day of Rosh Hashana is Akeidas Yitzchak; Shabbos Shuva is Parashas Ha’azinu; Sunday, Tzom Gedalya (Hanidcheh) is “Vayechal Moshe;” and lastly, Monday – until Sheini of Parashas V’Zos Habracha. According to calendar expert Rav Dovid Heber in his recentThe Intriguing World of Jewish Time(pg. 147), this occasion is the maximum number of consecutive days on which leining is possible without reciting Hallel. Interesting, no?
Early Tal U’Mattar
Although in Eretz Yisrael we always start the recital of the request for rain ‘V’sein Tal U’Mattar Livracha’ on 7 Marcheshvan, nonetheless in Chutz La’aretz this addition to our Shemoneh Esrei only starts 60 days after the start of halachic autumn – ‘Tekufas Tishrei.’ According to the Gregorian calendar, from 1900 until the year 2100, this occurs on the night preceding December 5th (except in the December preceding a solar leap year, when it is the night preceding December 6th) when at Maariv we start saying ‘V’sein Tal U’Mattar Livracha.’
Either way, the corresponding date in our Luach (which generally falls out in the middle or end of Kislev), this year occurs quite early, on 4 Kislev. According to calendar expert R’ Yosef Yehuda Weber, the last time this occurred this early in our Luach was 20 years ago in 5766 / 2005. The next time it will be this early will be in another 19 years in 5804 /2043. Although this ‘calendar quirk’ does not have halachic import, it is quite unusual.
Our fascinating journey detailing the many remarkable facets of our rare year will IY”H be continued…
Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch famously wrote that “the Jew’s catechism is his calendar.” It is this author’s wish that by showcasing the uniqueness of our calendar year and its rare minhagim, this series will help raise appreciation of them and our fascinating calendarical customs.
This author wishes to thank R’ Yosef Yehuda Weber, author of ‘Understanding the Jewish Calendar,’ for being a fount of calendarical knowledge and for his assistance with this series.
