All Hebrew Months

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.

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.