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| OHCC LIVING | SEPTEMBER 2022 | 27 Yiddish Club L'Shanah Tovah Everyone! May the sounds of the Shofar herald a year of peace, happiness, good health, and a bit more prosperity for us all! Don't forget to mark your calendars for our meeting on Mon., Oct. 17, from 7 to 9 pm in Abravanel Hall. We promise a mix of entertainment, information, camaraderie, delicious nosh, and a good time to be had by all! Sun., Dec. 18 will bring us our Chanukah luncheon, with fabulous food and entertainment, from 12 to 3 pm in Abravanel Hall. A definite crowd pleaser! Here is something that may have puzzled you. Rosh Hashanah "falls late this year" or "it was early last year." Why is there this deviation regarding the dates of different Jewish holidays each year? The secular (civil) date on which a Jewish holiday falls is different each year because the Jewish year is based on a lunar calendar lasting 354 days. This is somewhat different from our 365-day secular, solar calendar. For example, Passover is supposed to be a spring holiday. However, if the lunar calendar were used exclusively, without any adjustment, Passover would fall 11 days earlier each year. Within 10 years this holiday would take place about 110 days earlier: almost four months earlier, in the month of December! You would be eating matzo while snow was melting on your windows. How is the adjustment made so that our holidays take place during the appropriate season? The annual 11-day discrepancy between the Jewish lunar calendar and the solar secular (Gregorian) calendar is adjusted by adding an extra month to the lunar calendar by way of adding an extra month to the calendar every two or three years (about seven times in 19 years). There are additional variables which are introduced into the Jewish lunar calendar, but I am going to omit them in order to avoid further confusion. An historical note: The Jewish calendar was introduced in its current form about 1600 years ago. The Gregorian calendar, which is the one we use daily, was introduced by Pope Gregory in 1582. Incidentally, Rosh Hashanah was celebrated "early" on September 7, 2021 and will be celebrated "late" this year on September 26, 2022, and in the "middle" on September 16, 2023! Yiddish word of the month: L'Chayim - pronounced L-Khy-Im. Hebrew: "To Life." This is a toast offered with a raised glass before sipping wine or liquor: "To your health." Don't confuse "L-Chayim" with "Mazel Tov". "Mazel Tov" is used as "Congratulations." At all Jewish celebrations, be it a wedding, graduation, or Bar Mitzvah, you will hear "Mazel Tov." Wishing you a sweet New Year Ask about our OHCC discount!