Hebrew Months

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Hebrew Months." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/categories/hebrew-months.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Hebrew Months. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/categories/hebrew-months

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-hebrew-months,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Hebrew Months},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/categories/hebrew-months},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

The months of the Hebrew calendar (Nisan, Iyar, Sivan and the rest), belong to a lunisolar system in which each month begins at the new moon and a thirteenth month, Adar II, is added in seven years of every nineteen to keep the festivals in season. The calendar sets the timing of the Jewish festival cycle. Each month carries its festivals, a zodiac sign, and in Kabbalistic sources a Hebrew letter and a tribe.

Facts

Structure

Lunisolar: months of 29 or 30 days beginning near the new moon, with a thirteenth month intercalated seven times in every nineteen years so that Passover stays in spring. 1

Origins

Place of Origin

The month names are Babylonian, adopted into Jewish usage during and after the Babylonian exile 2

Overview

Size of the Traditional Set

12 months (13 in a leap year, when Adar I is intercalated) 1

Status

Status Today

Living tradition, practised today 1

Learn More

The Months of the Hebrew Calendar

The months of the Hebrew calendar (Nisan, Iyar, Sivan, Tammuz, Av, Elul, Tishrei, Cheshvan, Kislev, Tevet, Shevat and Adar), belong to a lunisolar system in which each month begins at the new moon. To keep the festivals in their proper seasons, a thirteenth month, Adar II, is added in seven years of every nineteen, in the fixed Metonic cycle that governs the calendar.

Each month carries its festivals and observances: Nisan holds Passover, Tishrei the High Holy Days of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur and the festival of Sukkot, Kislev the beginning of Hanukkah, Adar the feast of Purim.

Season and festival

The insistence on keeping Passover in spring is why the Hebrew calendar is lunisolar rather than purely lunar, and the nineteen-year cycle of leap months is its solution. The months structure the Jewish year of remembrance, fasting and rejoicing, and the calendar's era is counted from a traditional date of creation.

The atlas gives each month its place in the year, its festivals, and its character. The Hebrew months belong with the other calendars gathered under Calendars & Time, and their festivals connect to the holiday category.

Cross-Tradition Connections