Cheshvan

← Tishrei       Marcheshvan (מַרְחֶשְׁוָן‬)       Kislev →

The Great Flood, which according to the Bible
wiped out the world, started in Marcheshvan.
Month Number: 8
Number of Days: 29 (sometimes 30)
Season: Autumn
Gregorian Equivalent: October–November

Marcheshvan (Hebrew: מַרְחֶשְׁוָן‬, Standard Marḥešvan Tiberian Marḥešwān; from Akkadian waraḫsamnu, literally, "eighth month"), sometimes shortened to Cheshvan (חֶשְׁוָן‬, Standard Ḥešvan Tiberian Ḥešwān), is the second month of the civil year (which starts on 1 Tishrei), and the eighth month of the ecclesiastical year (which starts on 1 Nisan) on the Hebrew calendar.

In a regular (kesidran) year, Marcheshvan has 29 days, but because of the Rosh Hashanah postponement rules, in some years, an additional day is added to Marcheshvan to make the year a "full" (maleh) year. Marcheshvan is an autumn month which occurs in October–November in the Gregorian calendar.

Given the Akkadian etymology, it seems likely the מ‬ and the ו‬ were switched at some point in time, since w-r-ḥ is the Semitic root for "moon" (and thus also "month"), and š-m-n is the Semitic root for "eight". Also, מ‬ and ו‬ are labials. Since then, the first two letters מַר‬ (mar) have been re-interpreted as the Hebrew word for bitter, alluding to the fact that the month has no holidays or fasts.

The Ethiopian Jewish community celebrates Sigd on the 29th day of Marcheshvan (50 days from Yom Kippur, analogous to counting 50 days from Pesach to Shavuos), as recognized by the Israeli Knesset in July 2008.

The Hebrew Bible, before the Babylonian Exile, refers to the month as Bul (1 Kings 6:38). In Sidon, the reference to Bul is also made on the Sarcophaugus of Eshmunazar II dated to the early 5th century BC.

Events in Marcheshvan

  • 7 Marcheshvan – V'tein Tal u-Matar ("Deliver Dew and Rain"), a prayer, is added to the Shemoneh Esrei prayers in Israel. If no rain has fallen by the 17th of the month, special prayers are added for rain [1]
  • Bahab – According to most minhagim, on the first Sabbath of Cheshvan, a prayer is recited on behalf of all those who are going to fast on Bahab. Bahab, or in Hebrew בהב‬, stands for 2, 5, 2, i.e., Monday (2nd day of the week), Thursday (5th day), and another Monday. On the Monday, Thursday, and second Monday after the Sabbath, the minhag is to fast and/or to recite penitential prayers called Selichot. According to Minhag Ashkenaz, the second Monday of Bahab is the Monday before Rosh Chodesh Kislev, the Thursday is the Thursday preceding that, the first Monday is the Monday preceding that, and the Sabbath in which the prayer is recited is the Sabbath preceding that. Bahab is also observed at the beginning of Iyar.

Marcheshvan in Jewish history and tradition

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References

  1. ↑ "Cheshvan". Orthodox Union. Archived from the original on 24 February 2006.
  2. ↑ 1 Kings 6:38
  3. ↑ Confino, Alon. "Why the Nazis Burned the Hebrew Bible", Commentary, vol. 137, no. 6, June 2014, pp. 30–34. EBSCOhost, http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=cookie,ip,cpid&custid=s4720966&db=a9h&AN=96341385&site=ehost-live.
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